Origami (pronounced or-i-GA-me) is the Japanese art of

paperfolding. "Ori" is the Japanese word for folding and "kami"

is the Japanese word for paper. That is how origami got its
name. However, origami did not start in Japan. It began in
China in the first or second century and then spread to Japan
sometime during the sixth century.

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
(NO-shee). This was a paper folded with a strip of dried
fish or meat. It was considered a good luck token. Also,
the Shinto Noblemen would celebrate weddings by wrapping
glasses of sake or rice wine in butterfly forms that had been
folded to represent the bride and groom.

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

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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.

Not only were the Japanese folding paper, but the Moors, who
were from Africa, brought paperfolding with them to Spain when
they invaded that country in the eighth century. The Moors
used paperfolding 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 and later the
United States.

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.

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