 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Different Japanese Arts : ORIGAMI What is Origami? Origami is the art of folding a single piece of paper into objects. Literally it means "the art of folding paper", deriving from oru (fold) and kami (paper) Different things can be made out of paper. From dogs to birds to gorillas and gift items, everything can be made out of a single sheet of paper. No matter how intricate the final design, origami adheres to its original concept that the product must be achieved exclusively by folding paper (no glue, tape, staples, scissors, or other auxiliary aids). Very often, handmade paper called washi is used for origami. Washi is the Japanese word for handmade paper. Many people think it is "rice paper" but it is not made from rice at all. The inner bark from some kind of plants is pounded into mush and mixed with a solution to produce a thick, pasty substance. This paste is evenly spread onto bamboo mesh screens. When it has dried, sheets of paper are carefully pulled off the screens. Delicately patterned washi, makes an excellent gift-wrap and ideal for origami. History Origami has been around for hundreds of years in Japan. It is said that Japan has a tradition that when a person is sick, relatives and friends often fold a thousand paper cranes, as a prayer for the person's recovery. Its use ranges from the religious to the traditional leisure time activity. Folded pieces of paper adorn many objects in Shinto rituals, and many offerings are wrapped in paper, folded in certain prescribed ways. Origami originated in the 1st century AD in China with the innovation of paper. The Chinese made useful commodities such as vases, bowls and boxes from folded paper. 500 years later, the Buddhist monks bought this art to Japan. While it was initially used in architecture and ceremonial functions, it gradually evolved into the 'art of paper folding'. Prior to 1880, the Japanese paper folding was called orikata (folding exercises) but as designs became more playful and complex it got to be named origami (to fold paper). In the Heian Period (794-1185), it was popular to fold valuable paper and use it to beautifully wrap letters and presents. The women of the imperial court began to fold dolls and other shapes for their amusement. (In fact, Origami has always been more common with girls.) In the Edo period (1600-1868) people thought up different kinds of origami involving cutting and layering of paper, and the activity grew popular among the common people of Japan. Later, in the Meiji era (1868-1912), origami came to be taught at elementary schools. Students continue to study origami at school to this day; it is used to teach concepts in geometry, such as the relationship between a plane and a solid shape. The Japanese transmitted their designs via an oral tradition, with the recreational designs being passed from mother to daughter. Akira Yoshijawa and Sam Armlet developed a system of lines and arrows that simplify written instructions. This opened up Origami to the rest of the world. Exhibitions of his work in the West in the 1950's inspired many Westerners to fold and by the mid 1960's, paper folding was developing as quickly in the West as in Japan. Yoshijawa has developed a technique known as 'backcoating' that is the lamination of two layers of handmade mulberry paper to produce a paper that is unparalleled for folding. Also, a technique known as 'wet folding', where a heavily sized paper is folded while wet, allows the folder to sculpt his model into soft curves and 3D forms.
|
