What is Origami?

1. ORIGAMI
THEME

2. What is Origami?
• Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper into decorative shapes and
figures.
• Origami word is derived from two Japanese words “Ori” meaning “to
fold” and “kami” meaning “paper”.
• It is an art form that has been handed down from parent to child
through many generations. Origami involves the creation of paper
forms usually entirely by folding. Animals, birds, fish, geometric
shapes, puppets, toys and masks are among the models.

3. HISTORY
• The art of making paper from pulp originated
in China in the year 102A.D.
• The introduction of paper making to Japan
several hundred years later (6th Century)
coincided with the development of their
religion and soon became part of the lives of its
people.
• origami butterflies used during Shinto
weddings to represent the bride and groom.
• Samurai warriors are known to have
exchanged gifts adorned with noshi, a sort of
good luck token made of folded strips of paper

4. The Crane
• Perhaps the most well known origami model
is the crane.
• In Japanese, Chinese, and Korean tradition,
cranes stand for good fortune and longevity
because of its fabled life span of a thousand
years.
• The Japanese refer to the crane as “the bird
of happiness”
• It is said that a thousand folded cranes, one
for each year of its life, makes a wish come
true.

6. Origami Paper
• Origami paper is used to fold origami, the art
of paper folding. The only requirement of the
folding medium is that it must be able to hold
a crease.