| The Origami Beginning | | | | occupied by the Moors who brought their |
| Origami is the art of paper folding. It is a great | | | | creativity to paper folding. |
| way to spend time creating beautiful things and a | | | | Though paper and paper folding took hold in |
| great hobby to enjoy. | | | | Europe, it is cloth folding, like folding napkins, that |
| So where does origami come from? Where did it | | | | was popular in the elite class. |
| get its start? | | | | While Europe was exposed to paper folding, it |
| Origami History | | | | was really the Japanese who made origami the |
| Ori in Japanese means paper and gami in Japanese | | | | phenomenon and popular art form it has become |
| means folding. So Origami means to fold paper. | | | | today. |
| Before origami could be developed it had to be | | | | Contemporary Origami History |
| invented. The person who did that was a Chinese | | | | In contemporary times, it is a Japanese artist by |
| man named Cai Lun who lived under the Han | | | | the name of Akira Yoshizawa, a world master |
| Dynasty in the second century around 105 AD. | | | | with over 50000 creative designs, who established |
| He came up with a way to make paper. | | | | origami as the artistic movement it is today. |
| At first paper was difficult to make and very | | | | He met a rich benefactor in New York, Lillian |
| expensive. But it was fabricated and used in | | | | Oppenheimer who founded the Origami center in |
| monasteries to record all sorts of information. | | | | New York in 1958. From there folding groups |
| It is Monks who brought paper from China to | | | | appeared all over the world. |
| Japan. And it is in Japan where someone got the | | | | Some of the notable groups today include Origami |
| bright idea to start folding it. | | | | USA, the British Origami Society, Nippon Origami |
| Paper folding was done for ceremonial things like | | | | Association, Japanese Origami Art Society, and |
| weddings and grand occasions. The "noshi" or | | | | the Israeli Origami Center. |
| folded paper was given as a gift and was even | | | | There are master origami folders through out the |
| thought to bring good luck among samurai | | | | world and origami is not only an art form but it is |
| warriors. | | | | also a business. |
| Butterfly origami, for example, were traditional | | | | Origami masters have worked to design heart |
| wedding gifts. | | | | stents for medicine and worked on all sorts of |
| As the technique of making paper migrated along | | | | industrial design ideas. |
| the Silk road west, paper found it s way into | | | | Origami is a great hobby, and if you get good |
| Europe through Spain. Spain at the time, was | | | | enough, can be a great way to make a living. |