The orizuru, the best-known model in origami. Thin paper makes the later folds easier; a 15 cm square is a good first size. Crease every fold sharply, because the collapses rely on the creases you make now.
White side up, fold in half edge to edge and unfold, then fold in half the other way and unfold. Turn the paper over.
Fold in half corner to corner both ways, unfolding each time.
With a corner pointing at you, bring the left, right and top corners down to the bottom corner. The creases fold in on their own and the paper flattens into a small square with its open end at the bottom: a square base.
Fold the lower edges of the front layer in to the centre line.
Fold the top triangle down over the flaps and crease hard along their top edges. Then unfold the triangle and both side flaps.
Lift the bottom corner of the front layer up along the horizontal crease. The sides fold in along the kite creases and meet in the middle. Flatten it into a long diamond. This is a petal fold.
Turn over and repeat steps 4 to 6 on this side: kite folds, top down and unfold, then a petal fold. The result is a bird base.
Fold the lower edges of the front layer in to the centre line. Turn over and do the same on the back. The lower half is now two thin points.
Inside-reverse-fold each thin point up between the wing layers: open the layers slightly, push the point up inside along a crease near its base, then flatten. One point becomes the neck, the other the tail.
Reverse-fold the tip of one point down to form the head.
Fold the front wing down along the line between the neck and tail. Fold the back wing down behind to match.
Hold a wing in each hand and pull them gently apart to puff out the body. Curve the wings slightly downward and the crane will stand.
The orizuru, or folded crane, is the most recognised model in origami. In Japan the crane is a symbol of long life and good fortune, and it has been folded for centuries: the oldest known origami book, Hiden Senbazuru Orikata, published in Kyoto in 1797, is devoted to cranes.
A popular tradition holds that folding a thousand cranes, a senbazuru, grants a wish. The custom became known worldwide through Sadako Sasaki, a girl from Hiroshima who folded cranes while ill with leukaemia caused by the atomic bombing. Strings of paper cranes are still left at the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima as a wish for peace.
The crane is also a lesson in technique. It builds on the square base and the bird base, and along the way uses kite folds, a petal fold and inside reverse folds. These moves appear in a great many other models, so learning the crane opens up much of traditional origami.
About 15 minutes the first time. With practice most people fold one in two or three minutes.
A 15 cm square of thin origami paper. Smaller squares are harder until you know the steps, and printer paper is a little stiff for the petal folds.
Usually the petal folds aren’t fully flattened, or the narrowing folds in step 8 don’t meet the centre line. Re-crease those layers and the body slims down.
Traditional, Japan. Instructions and diagrams written for this site.