Origami Holiday Tree - Gift to VFW from Japanese Residents

Blue-lighted wreaths lining Main Street; snowflakes adorning Borough Hall; the Hannukah Menorah lighted Tuesday night at Main and Lemoine; the plaza at the Recreation Center all alight and adorned with a full-sized sleigh filled with decorated gift boxes ...

The Borough is a holiday dream in these long December nights.

More decorations - made of paper - using the Japanese art of Origami are indoors at the VFW Cairola-Barber Post on the corner of Main Street and Center Avenue.

James Viola, Commander of the VFW Post, was pleased to accept the gift from JUSA, Japan US Alliance of New Jersey.

JUSA is an organization that works with local residents in diverse areas. Their monthly meetings are held at the VFW hall. In alternate months the group assists newly arrived Japanese in networking and assimilation and in serving the needs of older Japanese who wish to remain in Fort Lee in their senior years, rather than return to Japan.

In a meeting with seniors, the idea of the Origami tree took root, said Mako Yoshioka, of JUSA.

“We invited an art therapist to our meeting,” she said at the unveiling of the decorated tree.

The therapist, Toshiko Kobayashi, finds that using the hands in fine motor coordination helps in preventing dementia. 

“Using the hands helps the brain to work harder,” Yoshioka says.  Like most Japanese, Yoshioka learned Origami folding as a child in Japan, and has mostly forgotten the technique.

The seniors and members of the VFW learned to take a single sheet of paper, white on one side, colored on the other, and fold it, unfold it, turn it around, fold it again and again. Little by little, paper cranes, stars, as well as Santa Clauses and snowflakes took shape.

June Nakayama, who works with young Japanese mothers but attended the lecture for Seniors, told her sons, Shogo and Tomo, both students at Fort Lee School No. 4, about the Origami decorations.

Several years ago, the Nakayama family visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York at Christmas time. They were amazed to find a very tall Christmas tree completely decorated with Origami ornaments. At the Museum for two decades, volunteers from Origami, USA, fold Origami decorations. At the museum the decorations are all represented of the Natural world: comets, dinosaurs, frogs, flowers.

The Nakayamas talked with Mako Yoshioka and Terry Tada, and they decided to present a tree to the VFW in appreciation for the use of their hall for JUSA meetings.

"My son, Tomo Nakayama, 12years-old (in School #4) and I were  enjoying origami program with Mako-san and Asakawa-san (JUSA) instructed by Kobayashi-sensei.Tomo was excited when he heard those origami ornaments go to donate as gift. I told him the ornaments went to VFW. He (was) delighted about it and made more ornaments with little brother, Shogo, 7 years-old (in #4 also). And they decided to fold additional Origami ornaments to decorate the tree."

In a very heavy rain, and on a significant date – December 7 – Mr. Tada and his wife wrapped the tree and delivered it to the VFW. After school the following day, the Nakayama family came after school, and adorned the tree with the ornaments they had made. Tomo, 8, had to be lifted up to put some decorations on the higher branches, but when finished, the family admired their handiwork.

Paper ornaments have to be displayed indoors, but there is talk of finding a way to fold waterproof ornaments to add the Origami tree to the Borough’s holiday decorations next year.