Origami is an ancient art which was practiced in ancient Japan many years ago, but it didn't start there. The Chinese invented it in the first or second century and it came to Japan in the sixth century, and it has spread across the world since. But why?

There is an old, old legend, the "Senbazuru Orikata", the secret to folding one thousand cranes. In Japan, the crane was a sacred bird, so if not only an experienced origami master, but any poor soul, folds one thousand paper cranes, then he or she will be granted a wish. This gave people initiative to fold paper, and, eventually, more designs were introduced. Shown here are all one thousand cranes that were made in Hiroshima, Japan. That's a lot of cranes!