The history of origami: the art of paper

Origami is a unique art culture peculiar to Japan. Actually there are similar culture in Europe, but Japanese origami developed far deeper and widely among people.
Most of Japanese elementary schools adopt origami into class to develop artistic sense. Therefore if you ask random Japanese to make some origami art, some of them likely to be able to make origami arts.

The paper used for origami is "origami paper" or "chiyogami".
Origami paper is a squared paper with various colors. chiyogami, on the other hand, is a squared paper with very decorated Japanese designs.

If you visit Japan and go to bookstore, you can easily find origami paper or chiyogami along with various books on origami art.

Now, let me introduce you about the history of origami and study how it developed in Japan.

At the beginning of 7th century, paper technology was imported from China. And as usual, Japanese people improved it and created Washi (和紙) which is thin but strong paper.
In early years, Washi was used for sutra copying or recording history and make books.
But soon they started to use Washi to wrap a gift to Gods. Afterward, Japanese people realized that when folding paper, there will be a beautiful crease on the paper.

At Muromachi era (1336 – 1573), Japanese distinguished family such as Ogasawara family and Ise family started to found a official manners to fold papers. This manner was used to wrap up gifts to someone. The Noshi paper culture today is the reminder of this manners.

The time comes closer to today at Edo era, Japanese people started to enjoy folding paper itself. It is the beginning of origami culture.

At 1797, the first book on origami was published which is called "秘傅千羽鶴折形" (Secret way to fold thousand paper cranes). This book explains how to make various unique paper cranes for detail.

At Meiji era (1868–1912), origami was adopted to kindergarten eduction. These education resulted in making origami to be a popular culture widely among Japanese people.