Stestrup is a small town in rural Denmark. The Stestrup primary school was closed this summer 2023. Let us remember them by recalling that in January 1991 Makato Yamaguchi visited the school together with an entire Japanese TV team in order to make origami together with the children and their parents. The picture shows him and a cake folded from paper.
Makato Yamaguchi (山口 真, Yamaguchi Makoto, born 1944 in Tokyo) is a Japanese origami master and has worked to further origami, in particular young designers, as a leader of JOAS (Japanese Origami Academic Association) and as a chief editor of Origami Tanteidan (origami detectives), a leading magazine of origami.
You may find pictures and instructions of some of his models, e.g., search YouTube for makoto yamaguchi origami. The mammoth here is just one among many.
In 1990 one of the parents to the children at Stestrup school, Reiko Tange Christensen, asked the school if they would like an origami event including a Japanese tv team and an origami exhibition. The school accepted. This is how Makato Yamaguchi came to not just Denmark, but Stestrup by Holbæk.
In Danmark a team of origami savvy people was assembled with the famous Thoki Yenn in front. He was at the time 72 years old and recognised in the origami society world-wide. The origami team helped folding a brontosaurus from a 6.5 x 6.5 meter piece of paper imported from Japan for this purpose. Models that big may only be folded with the help of several people.
Makato Yamaguchi with knee pads stands in the center with a small dino in his hand, and Thoki Yenn is on the floor to the left supporting the dino’s neck.
In addition to the giant dino the event offered an exhibition, several folding activities, and a dinner Friday night with 165 guests and a concert by the music school of the municipality.
During all of this the tv team would follow along, film the activities and peoples’ reaction to origami, and interview them.
(Almost) no blog without folding instructions. This time a simple bird published in Midtsjællands Folkeblad (the local news paper) on the occasion of the visit.
Yamaguchi has produced several books. I may recommend this entertaining book Origami for Parties which has provided many hours of fun.
I want to thank Christian Tange for telling the story and extending the pictures to me. Without him this piece of the story of origami in Denmark would be forgotten.