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A. Introduction

Origami is the art of paper-folding into works of sculpture preferably without
the aid of scissors or glue. The methods of folding paper into pretty forms and images
made origami a highly creative art. Nowadays with the modern advancements,
origami reveals a rich geometric structure that gives us the infinite possibilities of
exploring paper-folding.
Traditional origami is done without cutting or pasting. However, in the recent
creative origami, scissors and even paste are used to help form more complicated
designs. At a lower level, origami is just regarded as a hobby that can bring
enjoyment. At a higher level, it actually involves a series of mathematical concepts
like origami geometry and symmetry. From the animals to polygons, origami displays
an immeasurable creation of art.
The beauty of origami lies in the result of a totally attractive piece of
mathematical artwork which is created from a simple, flat sheet of square paper by
using almost entirely folds of corners, creases, and edges.

B. History of Origami

1. Early History of Origami:

The name origami is originated from Japanese word, ori which means
folding and kami which means paper. When combined together, it formed the word
origami.
Some say origami originated in China around 2000 years ago. But it is
probably wrong. This opinion is based on the conjecture that origami started right
after the invention of paper, for which they have no evidence. The paper of Former
Han dynasty shows no trace of origami.

The Chinese character for paper, zhi, originally stood for writing material
made of silk. The origin of the Japanese word for paper, kami, is said to be birch tree,
kaba, or strips of wood or bamboo, kan. Both of them are also writing material. These
suggest that paper was primarily writing material, not folding.
Others say origami originated from Japan in Heian era. Again, it is probably
wrong. They refer to a story of Abe-no Seimei who made a paper bird and turned it to
a real one, or another story about Fujiwara-no Kiyosuke who sent his ex-girlfriend a
fake frog. There is no reason, however, for believing that they folded paper to make
them.
In Japan, they use wrapping paper called tatogami or tato. Today they mainly
wrap kimono with it. It actually dates back to Heian era. But it is by no means an
example of origami, since it is folded just squarely.
They use paper strips, shide or heisoku, and paper dolls, hitogata, in Shinto.
They are also old. However, they were never made of paper in ancient Japan. In
addition, they are not necessarily folded even now. They can see no relationship

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between Japanese religion and the origin of origami. The Japanese words for paper
and gods have the same spelling, kami. But their pronunciation they are different in
old Japanese.
They use the word origami from Heian era in Japan. But it originally refers to
a form of writing. An origami is a landscape piece of paper folded in half
latitudinally. They usually write letters or lists on it. In today's Japan, origami-tsuki
(with origami) means authentic because connoisseurs write their appraisal on the
origami since Edo era. They did not call paper folding origami in Japan until Showa
era. Origami was called "orisue" or "orikata" in Edo era, and "orimono" from the end
of Edo era to the early Showa era.
In Edo period (1600-1868) new methods were develop to effectively mass
produce paper. This is when origami began to fully develop into the art that we know
today. Origami instructions were passed down person to person and no diagrams were
written until 1797 when a book called Senbazuru Orikata (How to Fold 1000 Cranes)
was published. In Japanese mythology the Crane was considered a sacred bird. As
origami gained in popularity, the custom that one would receive a wish or receive
good luck from folding a thousand Cranes developed.













2. Traditional Origami:

Both Japanese and European had their origami when Japan closed its border.
The origami in two regions were fairly independent. The Meiji Restoration and
following exchange between Japan and Europe caused fusion of East and West
origami.
Japanese imported Frbelian kindergarten movement, which contained
European classic origami, when they re-built the educational system after the
European one. On the other hand, Western kindergarten adopted Japanese classic
origami. Thus Japanese and European classic origami were mixed. The repertoire of
origami evolved here has come down until now and formed the core of traditional
origami.
Japanese also started to produce origami paper, a square of Western paper
colored on one side, because of the needs of kindergarten to teach Frbelian origami.
Since Meiji era, new models have been added in traditional origami, and many of them
are suitable to fold with origami paper. On the other hand, many models suitable to
fold with washi were dismissed.
The models of traditional origami travel a long distance in a short time,
sometimes beyond borders, as people move. Japanese Orizuru migrated to Europe and
became Flapping Bird in the first years of Meiji era. Then Miguel de Unamuno, who

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was active from the end of 19th century to the early 20th, made many models based on
Flapping Bird.


In Europe, they did not use the word origami until 1950s. Origami was called
"papierfalten" in German and "paper folding" in English. When Japan imported
Frbelian origami, they were translated to "shoshi," "tatamigami," or "kamitatami" at
the kindergarten, and to "origami-zaiku" or "origami" at the primary schools. But these
words did not spread out of the educational system. In Spanish, "pajarita" means not
only origami bird but also origami in general.
Traditional origami has been born and brought up in the cultural exchange
between East and West. It is not a Japanese original culture but intrinsically a hybrid
of Japan and Europe. Although it is most popular in Japan, it has been inherited in
Europe, the Americas, China, and so forth since 19th century or the early 20th.

3. Modern Origami:

Modern origami, which started in 20th century, is based on the completely
different paradigm. The folding sequences of modern origami are regarded as
"models" "designed" by "origami creators."
The father of modern origami would be Uchiyama Koko, as he patented his
origami models. Today some people believe that origami models should be
copyrighted. The idea that particular persons have intellectual property in folding
sequences is typical of modern origami.

In modern origami, the creativity is attributed to the designers, and the
appreciation to the folders. They prefer the models which have not only good final
shapes but also good sequences. In addition, they put importance on reproducibility of
the model, that is, folders are supposed to make the same shape as intended by the
designer.

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The diagrams, which represent the folding sequence of a model, are important
in modern origami, as they represent the model itself. They are supposed to show the
entire sequence. We have similar kind of representation in Japanese classic origami,
but they did not describe the entire sequence.
In the modern origami, some emphasize the aspect of origami as the puzzle
reproducing the shapes of objects under a certain rule. The most common rule is to
fold one sheet of square paper without cutting or gluing.
Behind the rule, there is an implicit premise that origami models should be
folded with origami paper. They make a point of easiness of origami, that is, we need
nothing but origami paper to do origami. Thus, a model made of more than one sheet
of paper is regarded as good when it is made of sheets in the same size and can be
assembled without glue.
In 1950s and 60s, an international origami circle was established by creators
and folders such as Yoshizawa Akira, Takahama Toshie, Honda Isao, Robert Harbin,
Gershon Legman, Lillian Oppenheimer, Samuel Randlett, Vicente Solrzano-
Sagredo, and so forth. They have advanced popularization of origami through their
community. They published the origami models of the designers from Japan, Europe,
and the Americas in Japanese and English. They also founded national and local
organizations then "Origami" became an universal word.

4. Mathematics Origami

We often apply the first part of a certain model's sequence and design
different origami models. Consequently, many models have some halfway shapes
in common. Such halfway shapes are called bases when they are arranged
according to the geometrical analysis. Among the first surveys of the bases were
that of Uchiyama Koko in 1930s and that of Vicente Solrzano-Sagredo in 1940s.
The new models in modern origami depends heavily on a few established
bases. They use Bird base, which is the halfway shape of Orizuru, in creating not
only birds but also animals or flowers. They hardly invent new bases, although
they sometimes make variations such as Bird base folded from a triangle or a
combination of Bird base and Frog base.
When we fold a base and unfold it, we get a crease pattern. Geometrical
study of the crease pattern has been made since 1980s, and it paved the way for
the invention of new bases. Now the meaning of the base become completely
different. Suppose a creator designs a new model, say Pegasus, s/he would not
choose one from existing bases but make Pegasus base.
Maekawa Jun and Peter Engel independently started such mathematical
origami. Both of them noticed that the crease patterns of established bases consist
of particular triangles and rectangles. They divided a crease pattern into these
"atoms," and rearrange them to make new crease patterns. In other words, they
designed new models before they fold them.
The advanced theory has been developed by Meguro Toshiyuki, Kawahata
Fumiaki, Robert Lang, and others. In this theory, a base is regarded as a set of
independent areas and distinguished by the length and arrangement of the areas.
They devised algorithms that generate the crease pattern of the base from an
arbitrary length and arrangement of areas. Lang's TreeMaker is a computer

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program which supports origami design based on his algorithm. Combining these
design method, we can make complex models with only one sheet of square paper
and without scissors. Thus, the aspect of origami as the puzzle is more and more
emphasized in mathematical origami. That is, they compete in designing realistic
or complex models under the rule of one sheet of square with no cut. In addition,
they regards the crease pattern as an important part of the model besides the final
shape and the sequence.


5. Historical Figures of Origami:



Akira Yoshizawa was born on March 14, 1911. His parents were dairy
farmers, but he moved to Tokyo when he was just 13 years old to take a job in a
factory. When he was in his early 20s, he was promoted from his factory worker
position to a job as a technical draftsman. As part of his duties, he was responsible for
teaching new employees basic geometry. He decided to use origami, which he had
learned as a child, as a teaching tool to make these lessons easier to understand.
In 1937, Akira Yoshizawa quit his factory job to practice origami on a full-
time basis. He essentially lived in poverty for most of the next two decades, making a
meager living by selling tsukudani on a door-to-door basis.
During World War II, Akira Yoshizawa served in the army medical corps in
Hong Kong. He made origami models to cheer up the sick patients, but eventually fell
ill himself and was sent back to Japan.
In 1951, a Japanese magazine asked Akira Yoshizawa to fold models of the 12
signs of the Japanese zodiac. This was a turning point in his career, since the exposure
led to several exhibitions of his work and the publication of 18 different origami
books.
In 1954, Akira Yoshizawa founded the International Origami Centre in Tokyo.
The Centre helps promote awareness of origami by arranging exhibitions,
demonstrations, and instructional classes.
In 1956, Akira Yoshizawa married his wife Kiyo. She served as his manager
and taught origami alongside him until his death.
Akira Yoshizawa's incredible origami skill afforded him many opportunities to
travel around the world, which made it possible for him to serve as a goodwill
ambassador for the Japanese government. In 1983, he was named to the Order of the
Rising Sun. This is one of the highest honors for a citizen of Japan. On March 14,
Yoshizawa Akira

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2005, Akira Yoshizawa died from complications of pneumonia. This was his 94th
birthday.On March 14, 2012, Google honored Akira Yoshizawa on what would have
been his 101st birthday with an origami doodle on their homepage. The doodle was
created by Dr. Robert J. Lang.

Akira Yoshizawa Origami Models and Exhibitions
Even though Akira Yoshizawa was a self-taught origami artist, his work was
eventually exhibited in shows around the world. His origami appeared in exhibits at
the Cooper Union in New York, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the
Louvre.
Akira Yoshizawa estimated he created 50,000 different origami models over
the course of his career. However, only a handful of these were ever diagrammed and
published. Simple and elegant lines were the defining features of Akira Yoshizawa's
origami models. He never used scissors, glue, or additional embellishments when
creating his origami designs. His lumbering gorillas, flying dragons, and
graceful cranes were sculptural art. His goal was to convey emotion and feeling
even if this didn't result in an entirely realistic representation of his subject.

Invention of the Wet-Folding Technique
Although Akira Yoshizawa pioneered many different origami techniques, wet-
folding is one of his most significant contributions. This technique involves slightly
dampening the paper before making a fold. Wet-folding allows the paper to be
manipulated more easily, resulting in finished origami models that have a rounder and
more sculpted look. The ability to create origami with a more realistic appearance was
an important advancement in paper folding, since it took models away from the realm
of simple crafts and towards true artistic expression. Wet-folding is most often used
with thicker paper, however. Normal origami paper is very thin and thus prone to
tearing when using the wet-folding technique.

Creation of the Yoshizawa-Randlett System
The Yoshizawa-Randlett system of notations is a standardized way of
diagramming the steps involved in folding a particular origami model. In 1954, Akira
Yoshizawa's Atarashi Origami Geijutsu (New Origami Art) used a diagramming
system that included dotted and dashed lines to indicate mountain and valley folds,
plus symbols such as the markings for inflate and round. This caught the attention
of Samuel Randlett and Robert Harbin, who added a few additional symbols to
develop the complete notation system that is still used by paper folders around the
world today.



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Robert J. Lang (born May 4, 1961) is an American physicist who is also one
of the foremost origami artists and theorists in the world. He is known for his complex
and elegant designs, most notably of insects and animals. He has studied
the mathematics of origami and used computers to study the theories behind origami.
He has made great advances in making real-world applications of origami to
engineering problems.
Lang was introduced to origami at the age of six by a teacher who had
exhausted other methods of keeping him entertained in the classroom.

By his early
teens, he was designing original origami patterns.

Lang used origami as an escape
from the pressures of undergraduate studies. While studying at Caltech, Lang came
into contact with other origami masters such as Michael LaFosse, John Montroll,
Joseph Wu, and Paul Jackson through the Origami Center of America, now known
as Origami USA.

While in Germany for postdoctoral work, Lang and his wife were enamored
of Black Forest cuckoo clocks, and he became a sensation in the origami world when
he successfully folded one after three months of design and six hours of actual
folding.

Lang takes full advantage of modern technology in his origami, including
using a laser cutter to help score paper for complex folds. Lang is recognized as one
of the leading theorists of the mathematics of origami. He has developed ways to
algorithmatize the design process for origami, and is the author of the proof of the
completeness of the HuzitaHatori axioms.

Lang specializes in finding real-world applications for the various theories of
origami he has developed. These included designing folding patterns for
a German airbag manufacturer. He has worked with the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory in Livermore, California, where a team is developing a powerful space
telescope, with a 100 m (328 ft) lens in the form of a thin membrane. Lang was
engaged by the team to develop a way to fit the tremendous lens, known as the
Eyeglass, into a small rocket in such a way that the lens can be unfolded in space and
will not suffer from any permanent marks or creases.

Lang is the author or co-author
of eight books and many articles on origami.





Robert J.Lang

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resources

http://mmorganportfolio.weebly.com/uploads/7/8/8/6/7886538/informal_and_formal.pdf
http://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.849/fall10/lectures/L20_images.pdf
http://math.uttyler.edu/nathan/classes/senior-seminar/JaemaKrier.pdf
http://www.origami.gr.jp/Archives/People/CAGE_/divide/01-e.html
http://www.takayaiwamoto.com/Greek_Math/Delian/Haga_Delian.html
http://origami.about.com/od/History-Of-Origami/a/Akira-Yoshizawa-Origami-Biography.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_J._Lang
http://origami.ousaan.com/library/historye.html