Origami (折り紙) is the art of folding paper, transforming a single flat, uncut square into a crane, a flower, a boat, or a form of astonishing complexity, using nothing but folds. Simple enough for a child's first crane and deep enough to occupy mathematicians and artists for a lifetime, it is one of Japan's most quietly universal cultural exports.
From ceremony to play
Paper was precious when it first came to Japan, and early folding was ceremonial: formal paper wrappings and ornaments used in Shinto rites and to decorate gifts, such as the noshi still attached to formal presents today. As paper became cheaper in the Edo period, folding spread as a popular pastime and a children's craft, and instructions began to circulate. The name itself is plain, ori ("folding") plus kami ("paper"), but the tradition it names is old and layered.
The crane and the wish
No origami form is more loved than the crane (鶴, tsuru), a bird that in Japan symbolises long life and good fortune. From it comes one of the most moving of all folk customs: the senbazuru (千羽鶴), a string of one thousand folded cranes. Legend holds that whoever folds a thousand cranes is granted a wish, and they are made as prayers for recovery from illness, for peace, or for good luck. The custom became a worldwide symbol of peace through the story of Sadako Sasaki, a girl who folded cranes while dying of leukaemia after the bombing of Hiroshima; strings of paper cranes are still sent to her memorial from around the world. Modern origami has also grown into a serious field, its folding patterns studied by mathematicians and even applied to folding structures in engineering and space.
Words & idioms to take away
Idioms & proverbs to carry away
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折り紙: 折り ("folding") + 紙 ("paper"); the same kami/gami as in washi, traditional Japanese paper.
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千羽鶴 (senbazuru): "one thousand cranes," a garland of folded cranes made as a wish or prayer, especially for healing and peace.