Origami: Before and After

Origami is known as the paper folding art of Japan that has evolved throughout the years and made itself known as an innovative art.  But do you know where and when Origami first originated? Also how origami has affected our world today? 

The Beginning

Paper first originated in China and around the 6^th century (610 AD) a Buddhist monk named Dokyo brought paper from china to Japan. Origami is believed to have derived from Chinese paper folding known as Zhe Zhi.

During the Heian period (794- 1185) paper was still a rare and expensive material, so it was reserved for Nobility and religious ceremonies. Sometimes, if they were lucky, samurai had origami presents to exchange to one another. During the Edo period paper finally became available to the general public and they could now explore the uses of paper and origami in everyday life. During the Meiji period more than 70 origami designs were created outside of the ceremonially used designs. After the Meiji period origami was pushed back to a child’s pastime as preschool teachers used origami in their teachings.

And Now

It wasn’t until the mid 1900’s adults started to look at origami in a different perspective. Origami artist started to emerge as well as Origami theorists and scientist who started to look at origami with a logical mind. Mathematical, Computational, and Technological origami was thus made.

These logical minds believed that the basics of origami laid out the ground rules for many mathematical equations. These ground rules could then be used to help solve computational problems which then could be applied to technology today. Airbags are an example of these principles at work. They used origami folding to make this large inflatable cushion squeeze into this compact little box. Other small applications of origami in today’s technology include: a soda can made with a light material that is durable thanks to origami indentations in the design, a bottle that is easy to crush because of the spiraling origami patterns on the edge, and of course a map that could be folded to fit your palm, but can easily be opened by the tug of a corner. An invention on a much larger scale would be that of a telescope that is bigger than the space Hubble, but can be compressed into a tiny box.

Origami has opened the eyes of many which have caused research organizations to be established and conference held around the world. Who knows what other possibilities origami has to offer to our world.