Akiko Diegel

Akiko Diegel was born in Japan but has lived in New Zealand for about 30 years.

She learned to do origami when she was in kindergarten and has been doing it all her life. Origami is the art of folding paper to create objects in both two-dimensions and three-dimensions. Akiko enjoys teaching this craft as she feels it is exciting to be able to share her background and culture with others. She thinks it is good to share the diversity of beliefs and stories about the moon from around the world.

In Japan, the Moon Festival is called Otsukimi or Tsukimi which means “moon viewing”. It is also known as the 15th night or Jugoya. In Japan, during the Moon Viewing people gather at a window to view the moon and rice offerings are made to express gratitude for a good harvest and enjoy each other’s company.

A Japanese story (Tsuki no Usagi) tells how the Man in the Moon visited Earth and disguised himself as a beggar. He meets various animals who bring him food to eat. The rabbit however, had nothing to offer except grass so he asked the beggar to build a fire and was about the offer himself as a sacrifice for the beggar to eat. Because of his unselfishness and kindness towards the beggar, the Man in the Moon revealed his true identity and took the rabbit back to the moon to live with him.

Akiko used this theme to teach learners how to make a threedimensional card for the Moon Festival. She says, “In Japan, it is believed that you can see the shape of rabbits making rice cakes on the moon. There are customs, foods and decorations associated with moon festival that are unique to Japan. It is important for me to revisit my rich cultural background and share it with other people.”