Japanese Girl Scout In N.Z. For Ideas

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30213, 19 August 1963, Page 2

Japanese Girl Scout In N.Z. For Ideas

A few deft folds and a square of pink paper was miraculously transformed into a small, perfect model of a crane with its wings outstretched in flight. Giving just one illustration of “origami,” or the Japanese art of paper-folding to make birds, animals and novelties, Miss Itsu Suzaki of Tokyo explained in Christchurch during the week-end that it was a favourite pastime for children in Japan.

Miss Suzaki k on a 12-week visit to New Zealand as a guest of the New Zealand Girl Guide Association. She will attend the fortieth anniversary celebrations of the association from August 27 to August 31, and will demonstrate origami during Craft Week, which is being held in conjunction with the celebrations. A member of the national board of the Girl Scout Association of Japan, Miss Suzaki said that Japan was at the stage of learning much about the movement from other countries. She was looking forward to attending the leaders' courses throughout New Zealand, and seeing how the organisation here worked, to get some new ideas. Girl Scouts In spite of being called •couts instead of guides, members of the Japanese association followed the same principles and aims. Junior members were called brownies, she said. Some additional badges were worked for in Japan, including ones for proficiency in the ancient tea ceremony, in floral arrangement, and in Japanese brush paintings, she said. There were 12.000 girl scouts in Japan. Recently, a week-long camp had been held to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the association there, and its third year as a full member of the World Association. More than 3500

girl scouts attended as well as a number from America, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. In 1920 there had been girl guides in Japan, but the movement was suppressed during the war. Started up with American help in 1948. it called its members girl scouts, as in America. Shortage of Leaden One of the main difficulties of girl scouting in Japan was to find sufficient leaders, and persons to raise funds, as Japanese women spend most of their time in their homes and do not take part in outside activities. Younger women were acquiring a more Westernised outlook though, she said. Miss Suzaki came into contact with scouting when she worked with the American occupation forces in adult education. just after the war. Today she is a translator in Tokyo for an American cosmetics firm. The sales manager is an American, and the salesmen Japanese, and it was her job to translate reports and communications between them. She began learning English in secondary school and later majored in English literature at university.

She was fortunate that her American employer was himself very interested in the girl scout movement. "When I want time off to go on such a trip as this for scouting, he arranges it for me." she said.