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Last updated 23/1/2025

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This page is being used to collect information about the history of the folding of Connected Cranes from a single slit (or sometimes cut and slit) sheet, a practice that is sometimes called Rokoan Style origami.

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1797

Publication of the 'Senbazuru Orikata'.

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1885

A picture of 'One Hundred Cranes' appears in 'Kindergarten Shoho' (Preliminary Kindergarten) by Iijima Hanjuro, which was copyrighted on October 4th Meiji 17 (1884) and published by Fukuda Senzo in August of Meiji 18 (1885).

This illustration is reproduced from the 'Senbazuru Orikata'.

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1894

A Connected Crane design called 'Horai' appears in year 6 issue 9 of the Japanese children's magazine 'Shokokumin'. 'Horai' is the name of a holy mountain in old Chinese stories. There is a similar design (but made in a different way), in the 'Senbazuru Orikata', where a note explains that the three cranes that form the base of the design resemble a mountain.

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Issue 18 of the same year contained an article explaining how to fold 13 Connected Cranes. This design is also found in the 'Senbazuru Orikata'.

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1895

Four Connected Crane designs appear in year 7 issue 17 of the Japanese children's magazine 'Shokokumin':

Article 40, Ehiroi (Feeding)

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Article 41: Inaduma (Lightning)

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Article 42: Muragumo (Gathering Cloud)

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Article 43: Sugomori (Staying in the Nest)

I do not have a copy of the page showing the finished design.

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1931

Basic diagrams for a way of creating 13 paper Cranes from a slit square appear in 'Origami (Part 1)' by Isao Honda, which was published in Japan in 1931.

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1944

The same diagram, but this time with a picture of the finished design, appears in 'Origami Shuko' by Isao Honda, which was published in 1944.

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1965

Diagrams for several connected crane designs appear in 'The World of Origami' by Isao Honda, which was published by Japan Publications Trading Company in the USA in 1965.

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