Origami: Old is Gold

What is Origami?

Origami is the art of folding paper into various forms and designs without using scissors or adhesive. A single sheet of paper is carefully folded to form elaborate sculptures and figures as part of a traditional Japanese craft. Origami is frequently used for ornamental and aesthetic purposes and can range from very basic and simple designs to incredibly intricate and elaborate works of art.

History

The word origami has Japanese roots. It is derived from the Japanese words “ori” (meaning to fold) and “kami” (paper). Even though the word origami is Japanese, it is believed that the art of folding paper originated in China after paper was invented in the 2nd Century. In China, before paper was invented, the art of folding paper was practiced on cloth and other materials, like leather. The Japanese developed paper and created washi, a type of paper which is very thin and is therefore better suited to origami arts and crafts as it is easier to fold. It is not known who invented origami, but monks, along with Buddhist teachings, brought ideas about origami to Japan in the 6th Century. At first origami was reserved for ornamental purposes, such as marking sacred objects in shrines. In early times, paper was very rare and expensive, so only the wealthy could enjoy these crafts. After some time, modern origami commenced. In the 17th Century, paper became commonplace and more people in Japan could practice it. Origami is now famous all over the world. One of the largest hobby groups outside of Japan, OrigamiUSA, has 1700 members worldwide. Origami Crane, an iconic design.

Basic Origami Folds

The two most basic origami folds are “Yama-ori” and “Tama-ori”. “Yama-ori” means to fold the paper so that the crease faces outwards like a mountain, hence being colloquially called a mountain fold. “Tama-ori” means to fold the paper inwards so that the crease faces inwards like a valley. This is the reason why it is often called a valley fold. Many different shapes can be produced by combining these two folding techniques. Accurately making these creases can often be challenging, but that is part of the fun.

Famous Origami Artist: Akira Yoshizawa

One of the most famous origami artists is Akira Yoshizawa. He was born to a family who specialised in farming. At age 13, he learnt how to be a technical drafter (person who makes technical drawings). When he was 37, he quit his job to focus on origami. He later served Japan in World War 2. After that, he started publishing books on origami. Yoshizawa pioneered a notation system for folding a piece of paper, known as the Yoshizawa-Randlett system. The YoshizawaRandlett system is now universally used, and it allows a visual communication system that teaches you how to fold a piece of paper to a desired form. He also pioneered the wet folding technique, which is to carefully moisten parts of paper to make rounded shapes.

Benefits of Origami

Origami is not only fun, but it is very good for you too. Origami stimulates the brain as it requires hand-eye co-ordination, develops fine motor skills, and supports mental concentration. Origami also makes people feel calm and happy as there are nerve impulses being sent to your brain when your hands are folding paper. This in turn releases serotonin, Yoshizawa-Randlett System which influences mood, and makes us feel calm and happy. Furthermore, recent research has indicated that the overall attention level increases as a result of origami. Also, the basic concepts of folding paper are found in mathematical concepts, spatial reasoning and problem solving. In addition, researchers have found that students who have done origami have better mathematical understanding than their peers.

Origami Nowadays

Origami isn’t just child’s play. Ever since the 17th Century in Japan, origami has gone on to become a respected art form and it is now a very good tool to revolutionize science and technology. The patterns and folds in origami, when used hand in hand with mathematics will result in a variety of creative inventions. For example, in the past in the world of biomedicine, origami has spurred and inspired a robot, which can crease and fold into a pill capsule, and when ingested, unfold, and be directed around the body. Many space projects have used the folding principles of origami. Origami is unique in the way that, when large structures are made using thin materials, you can use origami to fold and compress these structures to fit them into rockets, from where it can then go to space and unfold by itself. Origami is one mechanism that can do that as it gives us the end-of-the-line mathematics of how thin sheets fold up. In 1955, the miura-ori pattern was used as collapsible solar panels for Japan’s Space Flyer Unit. Furthermore, the solar array wings in the International Space Station uses a z-folding pattern and the mars phoenix lander used a fan-folded solar array, called the UltraFlex. Now, the Starshade is the resulting project of the use of origami in the aerospace industry, which NASA hopes to use in conjunction with a space telescope to detect orbiting exoplanets. Resembling a flower as it unfolds and expands, Starshade is Robot Pill Japan's Space Flyer Unit Mars Pheonix Lander meant to block light given off by nearby stars, improving the capabilities of the space telescope. It can be transported to space by a rocket as origami has made Starshade foldable, thus allowing it to fit. Therefore, origami has a lot of uses in the aerospace industry.

Conclusion

In conclusion, origami is a very versatile craft. It boasts many benefits, such as improving the academic abilities of a person. It is also an activity of mindfulness, and it creates a calm atmosphere. In addition, its mathematical and geometric folds are being used to make large structures compressed into dense, efficient packages. In summary, even though origami is an ancient craft, it still remains a pristine gold today.