This post is inspired by the Haiku Heights prompt “Origami”.
When I was a child I was really impressed by the string of paper dolls my dad could make by cutting or tearing a folded newspaper.
Fondly he folded
Paper people holding hands
Fragile family
patterns to cut out for a chain of paper people
And, when I was teaching I used to love making paper shapes with the children as part of maths lessons. By the time they were in top juniors as it was then, the children had progressed to making dodecahedrons which they decorated beautifully and hung from the ceiling.
Dodecahedron
But never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that it was possible to make houses, garages and even a church out of paper. However, that and more, has now been done.
You may remember the dreadful earthquake that hit the Kobe region of Japan in 1995. 6,434 lost their lives. After the earthquake there were literally thousands of people made homeless. They needed shelter which could be erected quickly and cheaply. The architect Shigeru Ban designed a paper church/community centre. Made entirely out of paper donated by companies, it was erected in 5 weeks by about 160 volunteers from local churches. The church was called Takatori after the original church which had been destroyed by the earthquake.
The church measured 10 metres by 15 metres and had 58 paper tubes in an elliptical pattern inside an outer skin of corrugated polycarbonate sheets.
The church was intended to be temporary but it was used as a homeless shelter and church for 10 years before it was dismantled and moved to Taiwan in 2005.
Takatori Church
Shaken and shattered
Kobe’s homeless sought shelter
In a paper church
Takatori Church
Kobe Luminarie
Silent and serene
A city of lights springs up
And hope shines out
Takatori Catholic Church, Hyogo, Japan. Designed by Shigeru Ban. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Related articles
- Printable Paper Dolls to Color & Cut Out | Education.com (education.com)
- Kobe remembers Great Hanshin Earthquake on 18th anniversary (japandailypress.com)
Heavenhappens 
fabulous site. So calm to read. And thanks for reading my pendryw haikus too.
LikeLike
Oh what a lovely comment! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy my posts x
LikeLike
Fascinating!
LikeLike
Well written, heartfelt haiku!
LikeLike
Thank you x I think most posts come from the heart don’t they x I am so glad you read and enjoyed it x
LikeLike
beautiful haiku and informational, as always 🙂
LikeLike
Yep its the teacher in me!! Glad you enjoyed it x
LikeLike
beautiful!
LikeLike
Thank you x
LikeLike
I never heard houses can be made out of paper! and that’s an awesome creation that saves money and time during natural disasters!
LikeLike
I thought it was a wonderful inspiring and uplifting story so i just had to pass it on x Thank you for reading and commenting x
LikeLike
The strength of paper lies in the use it is put to… You have a way of weaving in interesting facts in your posts…loved each of the three Haiku, each of them has a story of its own,
LikeLike
Thank you I am so glad you like my little background stories ~ I’m afraid it is the teacher in me ~ I just have to explain everything!!
LikeLike
Paper is fragile indeed, but it becomes oh so strong when words are applied to it!
Origami Masters
LikeLike
True x Nothing so powerful as words. Lovely to hear from you x
LikeLike