was spread from person to person and has formed an important part of
Japanese culture." Ori " is the Japanese word for folding and "kami"
is the word for paper. That is how origami got its name. However
Origami did not start in Japan. It began in China in the 1st or 2nd
century & then spread to Japan some time during the 6th century.Not
only were the Japanese folding paper, but the Moors who were from
Africa, brought paper folding with them.to Spain when they invaded
that country in the 8th century. The Moors used paper folding to
create geometric figures because their religion prohibited them from
creating animal forms. From Spain it spread to South America. as trade
routes were developed the art of Origami was introduced to Europe &
later the U S A .
As easier papermaking methods were developed, paper became less
expensive. Origami became a popular art for everyone, no matter if
they were rich or poor. However, the Japanese people have always been
very careful not to waste anything. They have always saved even the
tiniest scraps of paper and used them for folding origami models.
For centuries there were no written directions for folding origami
models. The directions were taught to each generation and then handed
down to the next. This form of art became part of the cultural
heritage of the Japanese people. In 1797, How to Fold 1000 Cranes was
published. This book contained the first written set of origami
instructions which told how to fold a crane. The crane was considered
a sacred bird in Japan. It was a Japanese custom that if a person
folded 1000 cranes, they would be granted one wish. Origami became a
very popular form of art as shown by the well-known Japanese woodblock
print that was made in 1819 entitled "A Magician Turns Sheets of
Birds". This print shows birds being created from pieces of paper.
In 1845 another book, Window on Midwinter, was published which
included a collection of approximately 150 origami models. This book
introduced the model of the frog which is a very well known model even
today. With the publication of both these books, the folding of
origami became recreation in Japan.
Origami is a mentally stimulating activity for children and is also a
wonderful way to develop a dialogue between children and their parents
and grand parents as well. Origami is an excellent therapy and manual
exercise for the elders or physically handicapped. Regardless of age
,sex, culture or language can be enjoyed by all.In spite of it's
usefulness, it was felt at one time that origami was not a creative
art since it involved only imitations. However in recent years many
excellent origami designers have shown through a multitude of
beautiful creations that origami can be original, creative and
inventive. Every day new origami models and ideas are developed.
It has also been acknowledged that origami has tremendous value in
education. It has been adopted as part of the teaching program in
Japan and many other countries. Through the exchange of new ideas and
designs between enthusiast from different countries. Origami also
contributes to good international relations.
You can do anything you want with a piece of paper. You can fold it
into any kind of a shape and technically you can call it origami. But
if you want to do it in a traditional way you should follow these two
simple rules: Start with a square of paper and never cut the paper!
As a beginner you are anxious to start making beautiful little
creatures, flowers, and other things out of paper. And this is
terrific but you might also want to consider the paper. It makes a big
difference in the final result.
Regular printer paper or notebook paper is very adequate for making
basic origami figures and shapes but if you want to make something
really special you should get some paper that is made specifically for
origami.
Typical paper for origami is thinner than printer paper. This makes it
much easier to fold and makes it a lot easier to get multiple folds
out of. Once you start making intermediate figures and shapes you will
have difficulty with printer paper. The thinner origami paper will
take folding much better.
And, Origami paper comes in a wide variety of colours and patterns
which makes the end result much more attractive.
The best origami paper is made from the fibers of various plants. It
has a luxurious feel and is a bit thicker than normal paper. If you
are looking for the best paper you should look at something called
Washi Paper. This is handmade from the bark of Japanese trees and
shrubs.
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There are also names for styles of patterns in the paper. Yuzen paper
had textile patterns on it and Chiyogami had repeating wood block
patterns.
Shinwazome Paper - This is thick textured that has embossed and raised
patterns. It is paper that is often described as luxurioius and it
often is embossed and detailed with gold highlights.
Many origami books begin with a description of basic origami
techniques which are used to construct the models. These include
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 the flapping
bird.
Almost any laminar material can be used for folding; the only
requirement is that it should hold a crease.
Origami paper, often referred to as "kami" (Japanese for paper), is
sold in prepackaged squares of various sizes ranging from 2.5 cm to 25
cm 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-changed models. Origami paper weighs slightly
less than copy paper, making it suitable for a wider range of models.
Normal copy paper with weights of 70–90 g/m2 can be used for simple
folds, such as the crane and waterbomb. Heavier weight papers of
(19-24&nb 100 g/m2 (approx. 25 lb) or more can be wet-folded. This
technique allows for a more rounded sculpting of the model, which
becomes rigid and sturdy when it is dry.
Foil-backed paper, just as its name implies, is a sheet of thin foil
glued to a sheet of thin paper. Related to this is tissue foil, which
is made by gluing a thin piece of tissue paper to kitchen aluminium
foil. A second piece of tissue can be glued onto the reverse side to
produce a tissue/foil/tissue sandwich. Foil-backed paper is available
commercially, but not tissue foil; it must be handmade. Both types of
foil materials are suitable for complex models.
Washi is the traditional origami paper used in Japan. Washi is
generally tougher than ordinary paper made from wood pulp, and is used
in many traditional arts. Washi is commonly made using fibres from the
bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (Edgeworthia papyrifera),
or the paper mulberry but also can be made using bamboo, hemp, rice,
and wheat.
Artisan papers such as unryu, lokta, hanji, gampi, kozo, saa, and
abaca have long fibres and are often extremely strong. As these papers
are floppy to start with, they are often backcoated or resized with
methylcellulose or wheat paste before folding. Also, these papers are
extremely thin and compressible, allowing for thin, narrowed limbs as
in the case of insect models.
Paper money from various countries is also popular to create origami
with; this is known variously as Dollar Origami, Orikane, and Money
Origami.
It is common to fold using a flat surface but some folders like doing
it in the air with no tools especially when displaying the folding.
Many folders believe 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 allows 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. When making complex models from
origami crease patterns, it can help to use a ruler and ballpoint
embosser to score the creases. Completed models can be sprayed so they
keep their shape better, and of course a spray is needed when wet
folding.
Origami not only covers still-life, there are also moving objects;
Origami can move in clever ways. Action origami includes origami that
flies, requires inflation to complete, or, when complete, uses the
kinetic energy of a person's hands, applied at a certain region on the
model, to move another flap or limb. Some argue that, strictly
speaking, only the latter is really "recognized" as action origami.
Action origami, first appearing with the traditional Japanese flapping
bird, is quite common. One example is Robert Lang's instrumentalists;
when the figures' heads are pulled away from their bodies, their hands
will move, resembling the playing of music.
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 3D origami where large
numbers of pieces are put together to make elaborate models. Sometimes
paper money is used for the modules. 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.
Wet-folding is an origami technique for producing models 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 pulp stage 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 commonly
uses Methylcellulose, or MC, paste, or various plant starches.
Pureland origami is origami with the restriction that only one fold
may be done at a time, more complex folds like reverse folds are not
allowed, and all folds 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 good models within the very strict constraints.
Origami Tessellations
This branch of origami is one that has grown in popularity recently.
Tessellation refers to a collection of figures fill 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. Around the same
time period, Ron Resch patented some tessellation patterns as part of
his explorations into kinetic sculpture and developable surfaces,
although his work was not known by the origami community until the
1980s. Chris Palmer is an artist who has extensively explored
tessellations after seeing the Zilij patterns in the Alhambra, and has
found ways to create detailed origami tessellations out of silk.
Robert Lang and Alex Bateman are two designers who use computer
programs to create origami tessellations. The first American book on
origami tessellations was just published by Eric Gjerde and the field
has been expanding rapidly. There are numerous origami tessellation
artists including Chris Palmer (U.S.), Eric Gjerde (U.S.), Polly
Verity (Scotland), Joel Cooper (U.S.), Christine Edison (U.S.), Ray
Schamp (U.S.), Roberto Gretter (Italy), Goran Konjevod (U.S.),and
Christiane Bettens (Switzerland) that are showing works that are both
geometric and representational.
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 the 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.
There may soon be an origami airplane launched from space. A prototype
passed a durability test in a wind tunnel on March 2008, and Japan's
space agency adopted it for feasibility studies.
Technical origami, also known as origami sekkei , is a field of
origami that has developed almost hand-in-hand with the field of
mathematical origami. In the early days of origami, development of new
designs was largely a mix of trial-and-error, luck and serendipity.
With advances in origami mathematics however, 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 multi-limbed models such as
many-legged centipedes, human figures with a full complement of
fingers and toes, and the like.
Today, master paperfolders can be found in many places around the
world. Akira Yoshizawa of Japan is one of these. He is considered the
"father of modern origami" because of his creative paperfolding. He
also developed a set of symbols and terms that are used worldwide in
the written instructions of origami.
The interest in origami continues to increase today. Just as the
ancient Japanese found useful purposes for their origami models, so do
we today. Origami will also be a part of our future as we look toward
the millennium. The origami crane has become a global peace symbol.
note; References- History of Origami- by Callie & Jeramy
History of Origami- Akira Yoshizawa
At first, there was very little paper available so only the rich could afford to do paperfolding. The Japanese found useful purposes for their origami. For example, the Samurai (sa-MURE-ay) would exchange gifts with a form known as a noshi 
The crane was considered a sacred bird in Japan. It was a Japanese custom that if a person folded 1000 cranes, they would be granted one wish. Origami became a very popular form of art as shown by the well-known Japanese woodblock print that was made in 1819 entitled "A Magician Turns Sheets of Birds". This print shows birds being created from pieces of paper. 
