Origami
traditional Japanese art of paper folding
Origami (折り紙) is the art and technique of folding paper. It also refers to the two- and three-dimensional forms created in the process. The use of the term has been extended in modern times to include other materials such as metal, textiles, and it is also used in the biological sciences to describe folded structures like DNA.
Although the word origami has Japanese roots, the practice itself is universal and its origin remains unknown.
The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques. Modern origami practitioners generally discourage the use of cuts, glue, or markings on the paper. Origami folders often use the Japanese word kirigami to refer to designs which use cuts.
In the detailed Japanese classification, origami is divided into stylized ceremonial origami (儀礼折り紙, girei origami) and recreational origami (遊戯折り紙, yūgi origami), and only recreational origami is generally recognized as origami. In Japan, ceremonial origami is generally called "origata" (ja:折形) to distinguish it from recreational origami. The term "origata" is one of the old terms for origami.
The small number of basic origami folds can be combined in a variety of ways to make intricate designs.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Origami” is traditional Japanese art of paper folding. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Origami, traditional and Japanese, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “traditional Japanese art of paper folding” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q83357. The Library of Congress control number is sh85095643. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Origami” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.