Origami (折り紙 or even 折紙 origami "paper folding") is the art of Japanese paper folding. A word literally means "paper folding" in Japanese and refers to all types of paper foldable, potentially people of non-Japanese origin.

Origami exclusively utilizes the little total of different folds, however it may be combined around the kind of ways to produce intricate designs. Generally, these designs lead off using the square sheet of paper, whose sides may be different colors, & proceed while forgoing cutting a paper. Contrary to virtually all popular belief, traditional Japanese origami, which has been expert since a Edo era (1603-1867), has often been less nonindulgent all about these conventions, periodically cutting a paper when you took a creation of the project (Kirigami 切り紙) or starting sustaining the rectangular, circular, or more non-square sheet of paper.

History
There exists dispute complete which united states "invented" origami, though these are believed to become either China, Japan, or Korea. A bit of historiographer argue that origami was invented shortly fallowing paper (or additional precisely, paper making) was invented around China around AD 105, and so origami as well was inside all likelihood invented in China. Once a invention of paper was bring round Korea inside AD [[600] and to Japan in AD 625 by Buddhist monks, they too may have brought some basic forms of origami. Alternatively, origami may have been developed independently in the three countries.

The earliest known Japanese origami is probably ceremonial paper folding, such as noshi (熨斗), which started in Muromachi era (1392-1573). The earliest known European origami is probably the baptismal certificate of 16th century, represented by a little bird (Pajarita in Spanish or Cocotte in French).

An origami design can be as simple as a party hat or paper airplane, or as complex as a model of the Eiffel Tower, a leaping gazelle or a stegosaurus that takes an hour and a half to fold. Sometimes the most complex origami models are folded from foil instead of paper, because it allows more layers before becoming impractically thick. Modern origami has broken free from the traditional linear construction techniques of the past and models are now frequently wet-folded or constructed from materials other than just paper and foil. The Japanese do not see origami as an art form, but rather as an integrated part of their culture and tradition.

Joseph Albers, the father of modern color theory and minimalistic art, taught origami and paper folding in the 1920s and 30s. His methods, which involved sheets of round paper that were folded into spirals and curved shapes, have influenced modern origami artists like Kunihiko Kasahara. Friedrich Fröbel, founder of the kindergartens, recognized paper binding, weaving, folding, and cutting as teaching aids for child development during the early 1800s.

The work of Akira Yoshizawa of Japan, a prolific creator of origami designs and writer of books on origami, inspired a modern renaissance of the craft. His work was promoted through the studies of Gershon Legman as published in the seminal books of Robert Harbin Paper Magic and more so in Secrets of the Origami Masters which revealed the wide world of paperfolding in the mid 1960s. Modern origami has attracted a worldwide following, with ever more intricate designs and new techniques such as 'wet-folding,' the practice of dampening the paper somewhat during folding to allow the finished product to hold shape better, and variations such as modular origami, where many origami units are assembled to form an often decorative whole.

Recent historians have uncovered the lost origami Tamatebako, a model from the folk tale of "Urashima-Taro and the Tamatebako". A three volume wood cut book, "Ranma-Zushiki", published in 1734, contained two pictures that were identified by Yasuo Koyanagi in 1993 as the Tamatebako model. Masao Okamura, an origami historian, was able to recreate the model. The model, contrary to common theory of traditional origami, involved cutting and gluing.

Sadako Sasaki memorial in Hiroshima, surrounded by paper cranes

One of the most famous origami designs is the Japanese crane. The crane is auspicious in Japanese culture. Japan has launched a satellite named tsuru (crane). Legend says that anyone who folds one thousand paper cranes will have their heart's desire come true. The origami crane (折鶴 orizuru in Japanese) has become a symbol of peace because of this legend, and because of a young Japanese girl named Sadako Sasaki. Sadako was exposed to the radiation of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as an infant, and it took its inevitable toll on her health. She was then, a hibakusha -- an atom bomb survivor. By the time she was twelve in 1955, she was dying of leukemia. Hearing the legend, she decided to fold 1,000 cranes so that she could live. However, it was not just for herself that she wished healing. It is said that what made the girl truly special in her effort was her additional wish to end all such suffering, to bring peace and healing to the victims of the world.

Sadako folded 644 cranes before she died. Her classmates continued folding cranes in honor of their friend. Sadako was buried with a wreath of 1,000 cranes. While her effort could not extend her life, it moved her friends to make a granite statue of Sadako in the Hiroshima Peace Park: a young girl standing with her hand outstretched, a paper crane flying from her fingertips. Every year the statue is adorned with thousands of wreaths of a thousand origami cranes. A group of one thousand paper cranes is called senbazuru in Japanese.

The tale of Sadako has been dramatized in many books and movies. In one version, Sadako wrote a haiku that translates into English as:

Taking Origami developments into the 21st Century, designer Jay Cousins created a simpler form of Origami in plastic - dubbed orikaso. Influenced by the purity and beauty of Origami, and Japanese design principles, Orikaso processes can be used to create functional and useful products.

Basic instructions
Most origami folds can be broken down into simpler steps. A list of techniques is accumulating in the origami tech tree.

Mathematics of origami

Main article: Mathematics of paper folding

The practice and study of origami encapsulates several subjects of mathematical interest. For instance, the problem of flat-foldability (whether an origami model can be flattened) has been a topic of considerable mathematical study.

Folding a flat model from a crease pattern has been proven by Marshall Bern and Barry Hayes to be NP complete. [http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/bern96complexity.html]

The problem of rigid origami ("if we replaced the paper with sheet metal and had hinges in place of the crease lines, could we could still fold the model?") has great practical importance. For example, the Miura map fold is a rigid fold that has been used to deploy large solar panel arrays for space satellites.

Variations
Kusudama Origamic architecture