The History of the Yipiyap Bird
by Amelia Stallworthy
A question that has played on my mind ever since joining Yipiyap is; what’s with the logo?! As someone who is very interested in the history of art and how it shapes the world around us, I couldn’t help but wonder about the story behind the Yipiyap bird!
The Yipiyap bird was inspired by the paper crane and whilst researching, I found that the bird originates from Japan. In Japanese folklore, a crane is a mythical bird that is thought to live for a thousand years. Origami, the art of paper folding, has been around since the 6th century and decorative figures of paper cranes can be seen on ceremonial kimonos dating as far back as the 16th century. The first recorded instructions on how to make the bird can be found in the 1797 book, Sen Bazuru Orikake, which translates to “how to fold 1,000 paper cranes”. Legend says that if anyone folds a thousand paper cranes, they will have their heart's desire come true!
Paper cranes were popularised as a symbol of peace following the story of Sadako Sasaki. She was only two years old on 6th August 1945 when an American bomber dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. She sadly developed leukaemia and whilst hospitalised, she made paper cranes in the hope that she would recover. She died aged 12, but her message of peace lives on. A statue of Sadako, along with a paper crane, was erected in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park to honour Sadako and all other children affected by the horrors of war.
The paper crane has such a deep history that it is important to learn more about it and acknowledge its significance. To find out more about how the paper crane came to be the logo of Yipiyap I had a chat with Anne, the founder of Yipiyap. When Yipiyap was established, Anne worked with a creative team who thought about the company's ethos and how this could translate into a logo. The idea of origami and creating something beautiful from a piece of paper through hard work and folding, linked well to Yipiyap’s belief that students benefit from individual attention when learning. Anne summed up our discussion with “through education, students are given wings to fly!”.
Paper cranes only require a square piece of paper and a person to fold it into shape. When making a paper crane, each fold and crease makes an indentation on the paper which can't be removed. Creating a paper crane can be seen as a metaphor for what we do as tutors; every bit of help we provide, every question we answer, and every piece of encouragement we give has an impact on a student’s education.
I also asked Anne if she has made a thousand paper cranes and she answered “personally, I think around two hundred and fifty, but I will definitely keep track from now on!”. Hopefully Anne will make it to a thousand and her heart’s desire will come true! I hope this has been an interesting read for everyone who works for Yipiyap; you now know a little bit of the history surrounding the badge that you wear with pride to work every day!