Origami
Origami Origami is the Japanese word for paper folding. ORI means to fold and KAMI means paper.
The art of making paper from pulp originated in China in the year 102A The art of making paper from pulp originated in China in the year 102A.D. The secret of making paper was kept in China for several hundred years and finally made its way through Korea and into Japan. A Buddhist monk is said to have carried this secret . Colors and silk threads were added and origami was held in high esteem. Gifts were decorated with "noshi." Noshi had particular fold patterns depending on the gift.
At first, there was very little paper available so only the rich could afford to do paper folding. The Japanese found useful purposes for their origami. For example, the Samurai 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. Noshi-tsuki were folded certificates.
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 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.
Not only were the Japanese folding paper, but the nomadic people of the northern shores of Africa, brought paper folding with them to Spain when they invaded that country in the eighth century. The nomads used paper folding 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.
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