What is Origami?
The word origami comes from the word oru (fold) and kami (paper). Origami is a traditional art in Japan. Origami has 3 different types:
- Classic Origami: Classic origami is an origami type with only folding the paper. Scissors and glue are not used for shaping paper while we are doing a classic origami.
- Modular Origami: Modular origami is an origami type doing 3D shapes and combining the other shapes in an origami. Shapes are unlimited.
- Krigami: Krigami has a small difference from the classic origami but you can use scissors in this type of origami. This origami type is a cutting art.
The History of Origami
We don’t have so much information about when it started but thoughts are like Chinese people found it and after that it came to Japan by a Buddhist monk. It is accepted as Japanese people found it because Japanese people are more interested in paper. The word ‘’kami’’ is different from the word in ‘’Origami’’ but it is homophone with the word God.
Japanese people have a respect for books and other materials which are made with paper. This is their tradition. If you want to tell what the origami is, you should first start with the paper. Paper was invented by Chinese people in 250 B.C. This is the biggest invention after writing. When it was new, it had so much price and it was so hard to find, so only rich people could buy them. In those times they were using in religional ceremonies and packaging.
Time passed by, paper got cheaper than past, so more people did origami art. Paper is the material you always need when doing an origami. Paper might have taken its fame from origami. Paper can be used in origamies but some papers can’t be proper for some origamies. Example of classic origami, we should use hard papers but in modular origami, we should use harder papers for taking damage. Japanese people did the basic form of origami 1200 years ago.
These forms had a religional meaning for them. In Henian Period (794-1185), origamies were used in temples to decorate in religional ceremonies. In Japan, which still continues named ‘’Senbaorizuru’’, is another name of the 1000 Crane Folding Tradition. Thoughts are like this tradition started in this period. Samurais gave gifts to each other which were the flowers made with papers because paper was so important in those times.
They used Noshi decorations. In our time, Noshi decorations are used for decorations and package decorating. In Muharmachi Period (1338-1573) paper was cheaper than past so the origami spreaded all over the world. In this period, there were 2 types of school which were ‘’Ise’’ and ‘’Ogasawara’’.’’Ise’’ was the school the samurais went and ‘’Ogasawara’’ the normal people went. In this period, origami was not a writing source so it went from generation to generation.
Our knowledge about origami is mostly in Edo Period (1603-1867). Senbaorizuzu Orikata (1000 Crane Folding)-(1797) and Kan No Mado-(1845) was the first writing sources about origamies.The most popular person about origami is certainly Akira Yoshizawa. Thoughts are he has about 50.000 works and he found origami symbols. His books were so much but it didn’t came to these days.Silk Road helped west side to learn paper and origami.
European’s first knowledge about origami was when Muslims conquered Spain. In Islam, origamies about person and animal were forbidden so they did geometric shapes mostly. When Spanish people met with origami, they added their tradition and some figures to origami. A known man Miguel Unamuno (1864-1936) opened the first origami school whose name was ‘’Unamuno’’. This school still continues. Another known man named Ismael Adilfo Cerceda is a knife thrower and he did the origami for being calm.
He did some new figures too. Friedrich Froebel didn’t know origami so much but ‘’Froebel’’ cubes were basics of the origami so some sources show Froebel is the first to use origami in education. Another known person is Robert Harwin, helped to grow origami art. Paper Magic (1956) was the first origami book of him. Nowadays, origami is a worldwide art, not special for Japanese people. There so many places to do origami.
Math in Origami
Origami might be using Math in art the most. To succeed in origami, a person who is doing it must have knowledge of geometry and ability of thinking 3D. When folding the paper it turns into some shapes. Some of them are that: Square, rectangle, different triangle types etc. It helps us to see the relationship between shapes.
Mina ÇEVİK
9-A
