The History of the Art of Origami   by Ray Paschen

The art of origami is usually believed to have originated in Japan during the 17th century AD.

It’s hard to specify precisely where and when origami developed because paper breaks down fairly quickly making it difficult to keep records. The art form in all likelihood developed in China around the first century AD and came to Japan sometime around the sixth century AD where it ultimately became a cultural tradition.

Originally due to the fact that paper was expensive origami was an art form only enjoyed by the rich and was used for practical purposes such as folding letters. Samurai would gave each other little paper good luck charms known as noshi and paper butterflies were folded for Shinto weddings.

In the Edo period (1600 – 1868) new methods were created to effectively mass produce paper. This is when origami started to fully develop into the art that we know today.

Origami instructions were passed down person to person and no diagrams were written until in 1797 when a book called Senbazuru Orikata (How to Fold a thousand Cranes) was published. In Japanese mythology the Crane was thought of as a holy bird. As origami gained in popularity the belief that one would receive a wish or be given good luck from folding a thousand Cranes developed.

Once other collections of diagrams started to get published origami officially received a name.

The name origami comes from the Japanese verb oru meaning to fold and the Japanese word for paper, kami. Putting the two together returns the word origami.

Modern origami was developed in the early 1900s by Akira Yoshizawa who is commonly believed to be the grandmaster of origami. Akira Yoshizawa invented the method of wet folding which involved moistening the paper before folding to give finished models more of a sculpted and three dimensional look. By 1989 he had developed over 50,000 models and written eighteen books.

In the 1980s a group of folders started to to investigate the mathematical properties of origami. With the addition of computer software it was possible to develop very complex models such as the ones you see today.

Interestingly enough, Japan isn’t the only country with a rich origami history. Origami was also created by the Moors of Africa.

While Japanese origami is famous for creating representations of animals, Islamic traditions did not allow for artists to create depictions of living creatures. This was because of the second commandment of the Ten Commandments forbidding building graven images.

The Moors instead explored the mathematics of origami and invented complicated shapes and tessellations.

When the Moors invaded Spain in the 8th century AD they brought origami with them and soon after it began to spread around Europe.

About the Author

For more information about origami please visit the Ultimate Origami Resource Website for all kinds of origami resources.

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