It's Origami week at the store until March! Come check out our Origami display. We have lots of great paper packs, instructional books, Rolls of yellow paper for $1 each that you can make giant paper cranes with. We even have a free origami instruction booklet with free sheets of paper so you can try paper folding for yourself, or help us out in trying to make 1000 paper cranes!
The Meaning and Origin of Origami:
Origami, from ori meaning "folding", and Kami meaning "paper" (kami changes to gami due to rendaku) is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside of Japan in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form. The goal of this art is to transform a flat sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques, and as such the use of cuts or glue are not considered to be origami.
Paper cutting and gluing is usually considered Kirigami.
The number of basic origami folds is small, but they can be combined in a variety of ways to make intricate designs. The best known origami model is probably the Japanese paper crane. In general, these designs begin with a square sheet of paper whose sides may be different colors or prints.
Traditional Japanese origami, which has been practiced since the Edoera (1603-1867), has often been less strict about these conventions, sometimes cutting the paper or using non-square shapes to start with. The principles of origami are also being used in stents, packaging and other engineering structures.
Almost any laminar (flat) material can be used for folding; the only requirement is that it should hold a crease.
Origami paper, often referred to as "Kami" (Japanese for paper), is sold in prepackaged squares of various sizes ranging from 2.5 cm (1 in) to 25 cm (10 in) or more. It is commonly colored on one side and white on the other; however, dual colored and patterned versions exist and can be used effectively for color-changed models. Origami paper weighs slightly less than copy paper, making it suitable for a wider range of models.
Normal copy paper with weights of 70-90 g/m2 can be used for simple folds, such as the crane and &nb 100 g/m2 (approx. 25 lb) or more can be wet-folded. This technique allows for a more rounded sculpting of the model, which becomes rigid and sturdy when it is dry.
Foil-backed paper, as its name implies, is a sheet of thin foil glued to a sheet of thin paper. Related to this is tissue foil, which is made by gluing a thin piece of tissue paper to kitchen aluminium foil. A second piece of tissue can be glued onto the reverse side to produce a tissue/foil/tissue sandwich. Foil-backed paper is available commercially, but not tissue foil; it must be handmade. Both types of foil materials are suitable for complex models. Washi is the traditional origami paper used in Japan. Washi is generally tougher than ordinary paper made from wood pulp, and is used in many traditional arts. Washi is commonly made using fibers from the bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (edgeworthia papyrifera), or the paper mulberry but can also be made using bamboo, hemp, rice and wheat.
Artisan papers such as unrya, lokta, hanji, gamp, kozo, saa and abaca have long fibers and are often extremely strong. As these papers are floppy to start with, they are often back coated or re-sized with methylcellulose or wheat paste before folding. Also, these papers are extremely thin and compressible, allowing for thin, narrowed limbs as in the case of insect models.
Paper money from various countries is also popular to create origami with; this is known variously as Dollar Origami, Orikane, and Money Origami
TOOLS:
It is common to fold using a flat surface but some folders like doing it in the air with no tools especially when displaying the folding. Many folders believe that no tool should be used when folding. However a couple of tools can help especially with the more complex models. For instance, a bone folder allows sharp creases to be made in the paper easily, paper clips can act as extra pairs of fingers, and tweezers can be used to make small folds. When making complex models from origami crease patterns, it can help to use a ruler and a ballpoint embosser to score the creases. Completed models can be sprayed so they keep their shape better, and a spray is needed when wet folding.
One Thousand Origami Cranes:
Senbazuru is a group of one thousand origami paper cranes, (tsuru) held together by strings. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane. Some stories believe you are granted eternal good luck, instead of just one wish, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. This makes them popular gifts for special friends and family. The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise) and is said to live for a thousand years: That is why 1000 cranes are made, one for each year. In some stories it is believed that the 1000 cranes must be completed within one year and they must all be made by the person who is to make the wish at the end. Cranes that are made by that person and given away to another aren't included: All cranes must be kept by the person wishing at the end.
A thousand paper cranes are traditionally given as a wedding gift by the father, who is wishing a thousand years of happiness and prosperity upon the couple. They can also be given to a new baby for long life and good luck. Hanging them in one's home is thought to be a powerfully lucky and benevolent charm.
Several temples, including some on Tokya and Hiroshima, have eternal flames for world peace. At these temples, school groups or individuals often donate senbazuru to add to the prayer for peace. The cranes left exposed to the elements, slowly dissolving and becoming tattered as the wish is released. In this way they are related to the prayer flogs of India and Tibet.
In Western countries, the custom has been extended from giving a senbazuru to cancer patients to using them at funerals or on the grave.
Sadako Sasaki:
The thousand origami cranes were popularized through the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who was two years old when she was exposed to radiation from the atomic bombing of
Hiroshima during World War II
. Sasaki soon developed leukemia and, at age 12, inspired by the senbazuru legend, began making origami cranes with the goal of making one thousand. In a popular version of the story as told in the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, she folded only 644 before her eath; in her honor, her classmates felt sorry and agree to complete the rest for her. In an alternate version of the story, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum states that she did complete the 1,000 cranes and continued past that when her wish did not come true.
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