Origin of origami

The history of origami followed after the invention of paper in China around 105 A.D. It was brought to Japan by monks in the 6th century. Handmade paper was luxurious and only available to few. Paper folding was strictly used only for ceremonial, mostly religious purposes.

The Japanese word “origami” itself is a combination of two smaller Japanese words: “ori” (root verb “oru”), meaning fold, and “kami” meaning paper. Until recently, not all types of paper folding were grouped together under the term origami. Before that, the paper folding for play had been known by a number of names, including “orikata” “orisue” “orimono” “tatamigami” and others. It is not clear precisely why “origami” became the generic name; it was speculated that the term was used in kindergartens because it was easier for young children to write written characters.

During the Edo period (1603–1868), paper folding in Japan had become both recreational and ceremonial. It has come to be seen as a modern form of art that was achieved by the introduction of mass-produced and more affordable paper.

 

Written instructions for paper folding first appeared in 1797, when Akisato Rito published Sembazuru Orikata, or “thousand crane folding.” In 1845, Adachi Kazuyuki introduced a more detailed compilation of paper folding with Kayaragusa. By the late 1800s, the term for paper folding morphed from orikata (“folded shapes”) to origami.

Pages from Akisato Rito’s Sembazuru Orikata (1797)

Europe also has a history of paper folding that goes back to the twelfth century or earlier, when the Moors introduced the tradition of mathematically based folding to Spain. The Spanish also formed paper folding into an art form called papiroflexia or pajarita. By the 1800s, kindergarten-aged children in Europe and Japan were learning paper folding.