Origami is not from Japan.

It began in China in the 1st or 2nd century and then spread to Japan
sometime during the 6th century.
Paper was very expensive in those days and it was considered as a luxurious
product.
Origami products represented presents, tokens, etc. Inside the paper there
were different objects.

One of the most popular figures is the crane.

The crane is a sacred bird in Japan representing good luck and longevity.

In
Japanese
festival
Samurai, people used to
gave each other good luck
charms made out of paper
known as noshi with
abalone meat.
Shinto people used to
celebrate
weddings
by
wrapping glasses of wine in
shape of butterfly on some
social occasions.

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The goal is to transform a flat sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through
folding and sculpting techniques.

Modern origami practitioners generally discourage the use of cuts, glue or

markings on the paper.
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Origami folders often use the Japanese word kirigami to refer to designs
which use cuts, although cutting is more characteristic of Chinese
papercrafts.
The small number of basic origami folds can be combined in a variety of ways
to make intricate designs.
The best-known origami model is the Japanese paper crane. In general,
these designs begin with a square sheet of paper whose sides may be of
different colors, prints or patterns.
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These seem to have been mostly separate traditions, until the 20th century.
In China, traditional funerals often include the burning of folded paper most
often representations of gold nuggets (yuanbao). The practice of burning
paper representations instead of full-scale wood or clay replicas dates from
the Sung Dynasty (905-1125 CE). Traditional Chinese funeral practices were
banned during the Cultural Revolution, so most of what we know about
Chinese paper folding comes from the modern-day continuation of these
practices in Taiwan.
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In Japan, the earliest reference to a paper model is in a short poem by Ihara
Saikaku in 1680, which mentions a traditional butterfly design used during
Shinto weddings. (They symbolize the bride and the groom.)
Folding filled some ceremonial functions in Edo period Japanese culture; noshi
were attached to gifts, much like greeting cards are used today.

Samurai warriors also exchanged origami in the form of folded paper strips,
called noshi, which were tokens of good luck.
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In Europe, there was a well-developed genre of napkin-folding, which
flourished during the 17th and 18th centuries. After this period, this genre
declined and was mostly forgotten; historian Joan Sallas attributes this to the
introduction of porcelain, which replaced complex napkin folds as a dinner-

table status symbol among nobility.

However, some of the techniques and bases associated with this tradition
continued to be a part of European culture; folding was a significant part of
Friedrich Froebels Kindergarten method, and the designs published in
connection with his curriculum are stylistically similar to the napkin fold
repertoire.
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When Japan opened its borders in the 1860s, as part of a modernization
strategy, they imported Froebels Kindergarten system -- and with it, German
ideas about paper folding. This included the ban on cuts and the starting
shape of a bicolored square. These ideas and some of the European folding
repertoire were integrated into the Japanese tradition.

Before this, traditional Japanese sources used a variety of starting shapes,

often had cuts and if the had color or markings, these were added after the
model was folded.
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Akira Yoshizawa, Kosho Uchiyama began creating and recording original
origami works. Akira Yoshizawa in particular was responsible for a number of
innovations, such as wet-folding and the Yoshizawa-Randlett diagramming
system, and his work inspired a renaissance of the art form.

During the 1980s, a number of folders started systematically studying the

mathematical properties of folded forms, which led to a rapid increase in the
complexity of origami models.
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Techniques
Many origami books begin with a description of basic origami techniques
which are used to construct the models. This includes simple diagrams of
basic folds like valley and mountain folds, pleats, reverse folds, squash folds
and sinks.
There are also standard named bases which are used in a wide variety of
models, for instance the bird base is an intermediate stage in the
construction of flapping bird.

Additional bases are the preliminary base (square base), fish base,
waterbomb base and the frog base.
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almost any laminar (flat) material can be used for folding; the only
requirement is that it should hold a crease.

Origami paper is sold in prepackaged squares of various sizes ranging from

2.5cm to 25cm or more. It is commonly colored on one side and white on the
other, however, dual coloured and patterned versions exist and can be used
effectively for color-change models.

weighs slightly less than copy paper, making it suitable for a wider range of
models. Normal copy paper can be used for simple folds (eg: crane,
waterbomb). Heavier weight papers can be wet-folded. This technique allows
for a more rounded sculpting of the model, which becomes rigid and sturdy
when it is dry.

Origami paper is sold in prepackaged squares of various sizes ranging from

2.5cm to 25cm or more. It is commonly colored on one side and white on the
other, however, dual coloured and patterned versions exist and can be used
effectively for color-change models.

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Tools
It is common to fold using a flat surface, but many folders believe that no tool
should be used when folding. However a couple of tools can help especially
with the more complex models. For instance, a bone folder allow for sharp
creases to be made in the paper easily, paper clips can act as extra pairs of
fingers and tweezers can be used to make small folds.
Completed models can be sprayed so they keep their shape better, also a
spray is needed when wet-folding

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Action Origami
Origami not only covers still-life, there are also moving objects. Action
origami includes origami that flies, requires inflation to complete or, when
complete, uses the kinetic energy of a persons hands, applied at a certain
region on the model to move another flap or limb.

Action origami, first appearing with the traditional Japanese flapping bird, is
quite common.
One example is Robert Langs instrumentalists; when the figures heads are
pulled away from their bodies, their hands will move, resembling the playing
of music.
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Modular origami
consists of putting a number of identical pieces together to form a
complete model. Normally the individual pieces are simple, but the final
assembly may be tricky.
Many of the modular origami models are decorative balls like kusudama, the
technique differs though in that kusudama allows the pieces to be put
together using thread or glue.
Chinese paper folding includes a style called Golden Venture Folding where
large numbers of pieces are put together to make elaborate models. It is
most commonly known as 3D Origami (however, the name did not appear
until Joie Staff published a series of books with the same title). This style
originated from some Chinese refugees while they were detained in America
and is also called Golden Venture folding from the ship they came on.
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Wet-folding
Wet-folding is an origami technique for producing folds with gentle curves
rather than geometric straight folds and flat surfaces. The paper is dampened
so it can be moulded easily, the final model keeps its shape when it dries. It
can be used, for instance, to produce very natural looking animal models.
Size, an adhesive that is crisp and hard when dry, but dissolves in water
when wet and becoming soft and flexible, is often applied to the paper either

at the pulpstage while the paper is being formed, or on the surface of a ready
sheet of paper. The latter method is called external sizing and most commong
uses Methycellulose paste or various plant starches.
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Pureland Origami

Brace yourselves for more restrictions!!!

only simple mountain/valley folds may be used
all folds must have straightforward locations

It was developed by John Smith in the 1970s to help inexperienced folders or

those with limited motor skills.

Some designers also like the challenge of creating within the very strict
constraints.
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Origami Tessellations
This branch of origami is one that has grown in popularity recently. A
tessellation is a collection of figures filling a plane with no gaps or overlaps. In
origami tessellations, pleats are used to connect molecules such as twist
folds together in a repeating fashion.
During the 1960s, Shuzo Fujimoto was the first to explore twist fold
tessellations in any systematic way, coming up with dozens of patterns and
establishing the genre in the origami mainstream.
Chris Palmer is an artist who has extensively explored tessellations after
seeing origami tessellations out of silk.
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Kirigami

Kirigami = paper cutting

Cutting was often used in traditional Japanese origami, however most origami
designers no longer consider models with cuts to be origami, instead using
the term kirigami to describe them.
This change in attitude occurred during the 1960s and 70s, so early origami
books often use cuts, but for the most part they have disappeared from the
modern origami repertoire; most modern books dont even mention cutting.
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The practice and study of origami encapsulates several subjects of
mathematical interest. For instance, the problem of flat-foldability (whether a
crease pattern can be folded into a 2-dimensional model) has been a topic of
considerable mathematical study.

A number of technological advances have come from insights obtained

through paper folding. For example, techniques have been developed for the
deployment of car airbags and stent implants from a folded position.

The problem of rigid origami (if we replaced the paper with sheet metal and
had hinges in place of crease lines, could we still fold the model?) has great
practical importance. For example, the Miura map fold is a rigid fold that has
been used to deploy large solar panel arrays for space satellites.
Origami can be used to construct various geometrical designs not possible
with compass and straightedge constructions. For instance paper folding may
be used for angle trisection and doubling the cube.
There are plans for an origami airplane to be launched from space. (A
prototype passed a durability test in a wind tunnel on March 2008, and
Japans space agency adopted it for feasibility studies.)
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Technical origami, known in Japanese as origami sekkei (), is an
origami design approach in which the model is conceived as an engineered
crease pattern, rather then developed through trial-and-error.
With advances in origami mathematics, the basic structure of a new origami
model can be theoretically plotted out on paper before any actual folding
even occurs.

This method of origami design was developed by Robert Lang, Meguro

Toshiyuki and others, and allows for the creation of extremely complex multilimbed models such as many-legged centipedes, human figures with a full
complement of fingers and toes, and the like.
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Senbazuru is a group of one thousand origami paper cranes held together by
strings.
An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand
origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane.
Some stories believe you are granted eternal good luck, instead of just one
wish, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury.
This makes them popular for friends and family.
The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the
dragon and the tortoise) and is said to live for a thousand years: that is why
1000 cranes are made, one for each year.
In some stories it is believed that the 1000 cranes must be completed within
one year and they must all be made by the person who is to make the wish at
the end.
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A thousand paper cranes are traditionally given as wedding gift by the father,
who is wishing a thousand years of happiness and prosperity upon the
couple.

Hanging them in ones home is thought to be a powerfully lucky charm.

Several temples have eternal flames for world peace. At these temples,
school groups or individuals often donate senbazuru to add to the prayer for
peace. The cranes are left exposed to the elements, slowly dissolving and
becoming tattered as the wish is released.

The Japanese Space Agency JAXA used folding 1000 cranes as one of the
tests for its potential astronauts.

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The thousand origami cranes were popularized through the story of Sadako
Sasaki. a Japanese girl who was 2 years old when she was exposed to
radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II.
Sasaki soon developed leukemia and, at age 12, after spending a significant
amount of time in a nursing home, began making origami cranes with the
goal of making one thousand, inspired by the senbazuru legend.
In a popular version of the story as told by the book Sadako and the
Thousand Paper Cranes, she folded only 644 before she became too weak to
fold anymore, and died; in her honor, her classmates felt sorry and agreed to
complete the rest for her.
There is a statue of Sadako holding a crane in Hiroshima Peace Park, and
every year on Obon day, people leave cranes at the statue in memory of the
departed spirits of their ancestors.
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Fact #1
The smallest origami crane is most likely made by Mr. Naito of Japan: He used
progressively smaller and smaller squares until the the smallest crane was
made from a 0.1 x 0.1 mm square. Naito folded the tiny crane using a
microscope and special tools which he made himself.
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Fact #4
Candy wrappers can be folded into origami models too!
In Mexico, candy wrappers have been weaved into fashionable handbags and
purses. This helps clean up the environment and allows native Mexican
Indians to become self-sufficient.
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Fact #7
In 2005, Chronicle Books published a book called Baby-Gami. If Origami
means fold paper then does baby-gami mean fold baby? No, Baby-Gami is all
about folding blankets around babies. Sort of like... sushi. This art form is
actually called swaddling and is well known to mothers throughout the world.
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Fact #6
In 2003, the British Origami Society and David Brill orchestrated the assembly
of the longest origami train. Organizers invited origami enthusiasts from all
over the world to send paper train cars. The 1,550 train cars arriving from
many countries were connected into a 254 meters long train. Unfortunately,
Guinness World Records did not include this feat into their book of records
stating that it was too specialized.
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Fact #10
In July 2007, Vignesh Cumareshan made 1002 origami swans for a Musical
Graduation Concert. The 1000 small swans were made from 10 cm square
sheets of paper. Swans were chosen for the ceremony because the swan is
the vahana (vehicle) of Saraswati (the Hindu goddess of Music).