Origami - a brief introduction

Hi everyone! This blog is going to introduce a traditional Japanese art - Origami, as known as paper folding.

We will first give you a bit of background information of Origami, then we are going to teach you how to do Origami! So exciting isn't it? If you are worrying that Origami is going to be difficult to learn, no worries, we are going to teach you how to do it step by step so you won't miss any steps. So after this first post, each day we are going to post some new Origami so you can learn different ways to create fun and interesting paper-folding techiques!

• What is Origami?

Origami, 'ori' meaning "folding", and 'kami' meaning "paper", it is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside of Japan in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form. The goal of this art is to transform a flat sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques.

The number of basic origami folds is small, but they can be combined in a variety of ways to make intricate designs. The best known origami model is probably the Japanese paper crane. In general, these designs begin with a square sheet of paper whose sides may be different colors or prints.

• Brief history of Origami

In Japan, the earliest unambiguous reference to a paper model is in a short poem by Ihara Saikaku in 1680, which describes paper butterflies in a dream. Origami butterflies were used during the celebration of Shinto weddings to represent the bride and groom, so paperfolding had already become a significant aspect of Japanese ceremony by the Heian period (794–1185) of Japanese history. Samurai warriors would also exchange gifts adorned with noshi, a sort of good luck token made of folded strips of paper.

• Origami paper

Origami paper, often referred to as "kami" (Japanese for 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-changed models. Origami paper weighs slightly less than copy paper, making it suitable for a wider range of models. The origami papers look so beautiful that sometimes it will be hard to decide which one to use!

 

Washi(as shown above) 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 can also be made using bamboo, hemp, rice, and wheat.

So I guess that's about it for the first post. In the following posts, we are going to start teaching you how to do Origami step by step! Be ready for it!