Paper folding, or "Origami" is one of Japan's unique traditional arts. It is an amusement and a skill of holding square paper without using paste or scissors to shape things such as birds, goldfish and helmets, in particular the crane is widely recognized as the masterpiece of origami. One thousand folded cranes linked together by thread is called senbazuru (one Thousand Cranes) and is made and given to a sick person with the wish for a speedy recovery upon visiting him.
