Introduction to Origami
A piece of white paper, after being cut and folded, becomes a vivid work of art.
Origami is an art activity that involves folding paper into various shapes. Origami requires only a few folds to create intricate and intricate designs. Generally speaking, origami designs are made from square pieces of paper folded, sometimes in different colors, and paper cutting is usually not required. In most origami competitions, contestants are required to fold a work from a complete square piece of paper without damage.
Origami originated in China and developed in Japan. Japans traditional origami appeared in the Edo period (1603-1867). Europe also has its own origami art. In the 19th century, Westerners began to combine origami with natural science. Origami has not only become a teaching aid in architecture schools, but has also developed into a branch of modern geometry.
Origami has long evolved into more than just a toy for children. It is also an activity that is beneficial to the body and develops intelligence and thinking.
Origami History
Origami originated in China, but it is generally believed that origami was truly developed in Japan. In ancient China, origami was mainly a traditional art used by children as a pastime. It was later improved and revived by the Japanese origami writer Akira Yoshizawa. He proposed the wet folding method and invented the Akira Yoshizawa Randlett system (illustrated origami terminology) with American Sam Randlett. Since the 1960s, the art of origami has been popular. Starting from combined origami, various origami schools of thought have since developed, such as cut-edge origami, purist origami, pure land origami, etc.
There is no doubt that origami was born in China. Around the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, the Chinese created the earliest realPaper. Since early paper was of low quality and low in output, it was obviously not suitable for folding. There is no record of origami in literature and unearthed cultural relics, so it is unknown when origami originated. This has also become indirect evidence that many Japanese people today believe that origami originated in Japan. Paper first appeared in Japan in the sixth year of Emperor Yangs reign in the Sui Dynasty. Tan Zheng, a versatile Goguryeo monk, introduced papermaking to China.
Originally, origami was used for worship in Japan. It was not until papermaking became popular that it became popular among the people. Around the beginning of the 19th century, the first origami book with written records and illustrated instructions appeared in Japan. The Japanese have always regarded origami as one of their national quintessences. And origami is a compulsory subject in primary schools across the country. They believe that in addition to preserving inherent culture, origami can inspire childrens creativity and logical thinking, and can also promote hand-brain coordination. In Japan, the take-off of origami technology began at the end of the 19th century. But the real breakthrough came from a Japanese named Akira Yoshizawa (who is also recognized as the father of modern origami). He has been creating origami since the 1930s and has taken origami technology to a new level. When his works were exhibited in the West, they aroused widespread and enthusiastic responses. This inspired a group of enthusiastic people from the West to devote themselves to the creation and research of origami. In the past few decades, through the unremitting efforts of a new generation of origami artists, modern origami technology has developed to an unprecedented level. It can even be said to be beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Because it is difficult to imagine that those extremely complex and lifelike origami works are folded out of a completely uncut square piece of paper. Therefore, modern origami is no longer just for children. It can be a wholesome activity that is both challenging and thought-provoking. Healthy activities for the mind and body that stimulate the mind.
Japanese Origami
The Japanese Tetsuji Kamiya used extremely exquisite skills to create the worlds most complex origami work, "Ryujin". All the works of this Japanese named Tetsu Kamiya are done with a piece of paper, and every craft is It is extremely complicated. The most complicated origami work in history is his "Dragon God". He completed the Dragon God with a piece of 2m*2m white paper. Kamiya said that he did not want to do such a thing again.
Japan, Tan Zheng himself is also called ""Paper God". Since then, origami has quickly emerged in Japan and has been widely used in Buddhist rituals. Around 1200 AD, more complex paper models appeared in Japan. At that time, Japanese samurai had a popular ritual of exchanging their own Paper flowers folded with a knife and a special folding method were used to prove friendship. Paper models were also used to celebrate weddings. By the Muromachi Shogunate period, paper became a cheap commodity, and origami began to spread to all walks of life. During this period, Japans traditional During the Dolls Day festival, mothers began to fold various paper dolls for worship, and they have remained popular to this day. However, in Japan, the earliest records of origami cultural relics were also after the 18th century. Some Ukiyo-e works of the Edo period reflect the role of origami. In the case of Japan, in 1797, the monk Yoshitsune of Kuwana Mayors Enji Temple in Mie Prefecture wrote the worlds first origami book, the secret biography of the Thousand Feather Crane Folding Form, and published it.
Origami materials
Although almost all sheet-like materials can be folded, the choice of material will directly affect the folding effect and even the final appearance of the model.
Standard photocopy paper (70-90g/m?) is suitable for simple folds such as crane and water bombs. Heavier paper (100g/m? or above) is suitable for wet folding. The wet folding method can create a rounder shape for the model because the wet part will become stronger after drying.
Special origami paper (called "kami" in English, meaning "paper" in Japanese) is sold in pre-wrapped sheets of graph paper in various sizes from 2.5 to 25 centimeters or larger. . Common origami paper has one side colored and one side white; however, double-sided colored or patterned colored paper is also available on the market, which are most suitable for color-changing models. As for lighter origami paper, the model has a wider range of applications. Lined aluminum foil, as the name suggests, is a thin sheet of metal glued to thin paper.
Some origami enthusiasts in Asia also make their own so-called "synthetic paper", which is made by gluing aluminum foil and tissue paper together.
Origami classification
1. "Origami" in different colors
Rich colors, a variety of colors to choose from. Origami is not limited to single or double colors.
Depending on what needs to be expressed, colorful materials can be used for origami.
2. Double-sided colored “origami”
Types include single color on both sides or single color on one side. Making boxes is extremely convenient. Many papers are double-sided and double-color, which also provides us with good expressive raw materials for the creation of three-dimensional things.
3. "Origami" with halo color
Indispensable material when folding morning glories and hamsters. The halo-colored "origami" can provide more three-dimensionality in the light, thus increasing the stimulation to peoples senses.
4. Mesh “origami”
Cloth origami made of fibers has the same properties as paper. However, the texture and feeling shown are obviously different from traditional paper, and can often have the effect of being fake and real.
5. “Origami” with metallic luster
Gold, silver and other foil origami have the disadvantage of being easy to wrinkle and difficult to fold, but due to its strong plasticity and the "light" reflection and refraction effect it produces, it is very popular among children.
6. "Origami" with printed texture
In recent years, in addition to the traditional "umbrella folding method", the "belly-section folding method" has also been widely used in the basic techniques of origami. The use of square grids arranged in longitude and latitude (the number of grids is mostly multiples of 2 and 3) and 45-degree turns greatly improves the possibility of realizing many origami models (models).
Origami Mathematics
The learning and research of origami covers different areas of mathematics. For example, the issue of plane foldability (whether a crepeed shape can be folded into a two-dimensional model) is an important mathematical research topic.
It is worth noting that all points on the paper surface exhibit zero Gaussian curvature, and only fold naturally along lines of zero curvature. However, crease-free paper surfaces along the curvature, which can be achieved with wet paper or fingers, do not exhibit this limitation.
The problem of rigid origami ("If paper is replaced by a thin metal plate and there are nodes in the fold line, can we still fold the model?") has great practical value. For example, Miura Folding, a rigid folding method proposed by Miura Koryo, has been used to deploy large solar panel arrays for space satellites.
