1000 Cranes

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1000 Cranes

Jun Hamamoto’s SQ Origami Students

2021, 18”w x 29-50” long

Former students

Matt Nguyen

Lam Le

Sonny Nguyen

Zitsue Lee

My name is Danny Ho. I am a member of the origami class at San Quentin taught by Instructor Jun Hamamoto. I have been in the class over five years, and have been given many opportunities to support numerous charitable origami projects. In the five years I have been participating, a good portion of every week has been dedicated to folding origami. It has really relaxed me and helped me alleviate lots of stress. I’ve often founds myself deep in my folding that I even forgot to eat. In short, I love folding origami for it has given me a true joy. Many thanks to Instructor Jun Hamamoto, who has made the classroom a magical place for many of us to learn and grow!

With profound gratitude,

Danny Ho

***

Bruce Fowler

Art is how I express myself today in a positive way. To build selfesteem. To give back to my community.

Threw donations and sharing . With hopes of Touching some ones heart. Awakening a Thought. Or Just bringing a smile.

Origami during my incarceration has been a wonderful way to meditate and center myself. It has been a good stress reliever and brings Joy to everyone I share Them with. I’ve been blessed to have such a wonderful teacher as Jun I Thank everyone a William James For Their Kindness.

Respectfully, Bruce

***

John Levin

I am a huge fan of Japanese culture. When my family and I traveled to Japan in 2004, I fell in love with the country, the people, the language, and the culture. Having the opportunity to learn how to fold origami in Jun’s class has given me the gift of being able to pursue an aspect of my passion even while incarcerated.

Origami has become a wonderful source of relaxation and self-care for me, and I am grateful for Jun and the generosity with which he regularly gives her time and materials for the class.

John Levin

***

Former students

Son Nguyen, origami cranes. Former student

At a time when life seemed bleak, I unexpectedly found joy and purpose through San Quentin origami class.

Led by a patient and amazing instructor the class was fun and brought healing by helping us reconnect us to our communities and we made lasting friendships along the way. Many thanks to Auntie Jun!!

***

Lam Hong Le, origami cranes. Former student

From the community and society I meet a lot of good people. That really impact for myself, for a convict like myself. The incarcerated people thought no one care, nobody wanted us, but origami and Peace Day got me in contact with others and they help us. In this life everyone can make mistakes and transform and change and be better person, look after one another. Feel a lot of love from good people who were our teachers in the Art Program at San Quentin. Heal the community and relationships through Art. We sit down, put our effort to do something good for the people, motivate us to help one another.

***

Tien Pham, origami cranes. Former student

Tien was deported to Vietnam in March 2021 after being incarcerated for 28 years.

I have learned so much from my dear Auntie Jun’s origami class at San Quentin State Prison: from folding origami to being kind to others and discovering the true meaning of life.

Beside creativity, origami has also helped me meditatively and practically with patience, calmness, and building connection with others. Furthermore, origami has given me opportunities to contribute my small part to the community and the messages we have sent are much more meaningful than just a piece of art.

These are what I have learned from origami class: peace, joy, love, connection, and service.

Matt Nguyen, former student

“I had found peace, a sense of pride and joy from the origami program inside San Quentin State Prison. The prison environment was very hectic, stressful and sometimes pretty dangerous. When I was finally accepted into the origami program, I was very intimidated by looking at the origami cranes presented to me and the pieces of color paper that was supposed to be the cranes after many folds. I slowly learned each steps and the many folds required to create the crane. I noticed in the process as I creased and folded each line, my other worries of life in prison slowly disappeared and I felt a calm and peace like in a state of meditation. I had a sense of pride and joy when I stared at my finished cranes and knowing that I could give back to my community that I once reck havoc upon by donating it to a charity in a local community. I really appreciated the origami program inside prison and pray that others could continue to be able to benefit from the program as I had once did.”

Zitsue Lee, former student

Origami Stories from The Golden State

“NEVER FOLD”

In my incarcerated youth, with next to no emotional and mental health support within my immediate environment. I was in a constant state of emotional volatility-suffering from stress, depression, and anxiety. So, it was to no one’s surprise that I often found myself housed in solitary confinement.

During one of these extended stays in solitary, my older sister, who read in a meditation article about the therapeutic benefits of Origami, sent me an Origami book with the hope that it would help me “slow down”.

I remember receiving this Origami book on how to fold complex animals and then just staring at it for close to two months, wondering, how was I going to fold any of these animals without paper. In solitary, I wasn’t even allowed to have more than four sheets of writing paper at one time and I used those to write my family. So, I was at a lost.

But, one afternoon or evening or morning; without a window, I never knew which, I picked up the Origami book my sister sent to me, flipped it to the first animal which was an orangutan and pictured myself folding it step by step, over and over.

When I was confident that I had memorized each fold. I ripped the page that held the orangutan and I began folding it. After multiple folds and even more unfoldings, I finally completed the last fold and for the first time in a long time, I held in my fingers, something productive my hands and energy had created. It was right after that I realized a little over a week had passed and although I still felt stressed, depressed, and anxious, none felt suffocating.

Soon after, I placed the orangutan on the sink in the cell as there wasn’t any other place to prop it. Month after month after month, I continued memorizing folds, one after another and soon enough, I had an orangutan, horse, eagle, elephant, and many others too. But it seemed that as soon as my collection of Origami animals became more than three, correctional officers would come and take them, confiscated as contraband.

This experience became the first droplet of knowledge that I gained through Origami and my constant reminder that nothing physical or of material is truly mine.  

By the time I left solitary, I no longer had a Origami book. Neither did I have a zoo to show for the two years, but what I did leave solitary with was the understanding that even though I would lose my youth to the Department of Corrections and that the prison system will eventually take and strip me of more than just material things, they could never take from me what I’ve learned, or how I’ve grown, who I am and who I will be.

The years after, I read a lot about Origami. Mainly, the significance of certain folds. So, when friends and myself would feel helpless or hopeless, I would fold cranes and give each one filled with the wish that these cranes could carry us all to better days, for which, they did.

Other times, when friends or family were sick, I would fold them kusudamas with my hope for their speedy recovery or continued good health and long life.

Today, with all those years spent in solitary confinement seeming like another’s life, I’m free and working at a California Health Center based in Oakland, California. I still  often carry a few sheets of Origami paper with me wherever I go, whether if it’s in the clinic or on our COVID Test/Vaccination Sites, and whether if it’s folding with grandma’s and grandpa’s or with children, life currently is certainly scary and we all need a little hope that we’ll all see better days soon.