Origami Tsuru – History and How to make Origami.

[Saga]

How to make origami

 

I am an origami lover,and to be honest I just like the originality,creativity and the quickness of mind that origami holds in itself.

What actually origami means?

 

Let’s head for the kanji, 折り紙, the first part ” 折り ” is actually ”folding”. As for the second kanji,it’s ”kami”,but voiced to ”gami” – ” 紙 ” , ”paper”.

 

I can show you a dozen of … just awesome works. Really,I am not joking,there are such origami that can impress you.

But,I decided to teach you how to make different origami. When I have time,I can simply show you how to fold a certain origami form.

 

So,I decided to start with the paper crane. You know,it’s kind of a symbol in Asia. But,depending on the color(s) you chose to make it with,it can carry a different meaning. No worries,I’ll give you the color meanings of the paper crane. So,let’s start,folks,yet first the history. (・_・)

 

ORIGAMI HISTORY

 

How origami was born? Originally the paper folding was used from Buddists,religious writing on papers known as washi. Mainly in Shinto religion, it was used to wrap offerings to the Gods. Little by little it became an individual art. Nowadays people connect the origami with the folding paper art. It spread around the whole Asian culture,not only in Japan.

 

It hides patience,warm feelings and hopes. Origami is a thing that one wouldn’t start doing without a reason,so it was in religion before. During rituals, Shinto priests would offer to the Gods different offerings wrapped in beautiful paper,some even had forms. This is how origami art was born.

 

 

 

PAPER CRANE – ”ORIGAMI TSURU”

 

Yes, ”tsuru” (鶴) means ”crane” in Japanese. Let’s try make a paper crane today. You don’t need any special materials,just mainly paper.

 

The form of the paper you’ll use must be square,always. Yes,square,no triangles,no round-like forms,but square. I’m trying to make the lesson more easy. So,there are three main bases we’ll go through. The first one is,

 

SQUARE BASE:

 

STEP I

Square sheet paper is what you need. Fold it in half,diagonally. Watch each side to cover exactly the opposite side,so you’ve had the center captured. Unfold it afterwards.

 

 

STEP II

Now, look carefully at the crease you’ve done. If it’s not visible enough,please do it once again and pay attention to it. When you are sure it’s well folded,from there fold once again in half, as it’s shown on the picture.

 

 

STEP III

Open lightly one side,it’s really visible how to do it. If the creasing was done well enough,they’ll cooparate and it will fall into places,forming a square. Press lightly down,it should fall into place and you’ll have a square now on the one side though.

 

 

STEP IV

Flip the paper over. You can see how the other side is still not formed,but you see the crease you previously made,ne? Open the flap lightly and do a squash fold,like you did in Step III. Hop,you did it. Now you have the square base.

 

Don’t forget to flatten it.

Let’s go for the next base which is called,

 

BIRD BASE:

 

STEP IFrom the square base state, we’ll fold it as it shown on picture. Catch the sides,and fold them. You’ll notice that the under side will be unfolded,but no worries, we’ll take care of it. Once again,pay attention to your creasing.

 

 

STEP IIPress down the tip,it should point the ”wings”. Crease well,then unfold,as it is shown on pictures.

 

 

STEP IVWhen ready,lift the bottom corner upwards,don’t panic. If you creased well,the lines will help you. Now flatten it and form a triangle. Exactly how it’s shown on pictures.

 

 

STEP VHalf done,folks. Flip the paper over now. And do the same thing like in the steps above. Pay attention to your creasing. When done with the flatten triangle,you’ve done the complete bird base.

 

Let’s move to the other step,it’s the final crane base,

 

STEP I

Fold the sides as shown on pictures,inwards,and crease well.

 

 

STEP II

When done,flip over and do the same as you have done with the bottom side. The result should look as on the picture.

 

STEP III

You should have the ”wings” done by now,so next step is to do the inverse folding. Catch one ”wing” and fold it diagonally inwards,same as shown on the picture. Pay attention it’s not right after the base of the origami ends,a bit lower the diagonal is formed. When done,do it outwards,crease well. Do it with the other wing too.

 

STEP IV

With that creasing, we can do the inverse folding. Now,lift one of the wings and tuck it in between the paper sides. When lifting you’ll see how the paper slightly cooperates for the tucking. When done,press the paper flat. Do the same with the other wing too.

 

STEP V

Now, what I called ‘wings” were actually the two sides of the crane. Choose one of them and do an inverse folding,to form the head.

 

STEP VI

Here,press down already the real wings to spread them open. Flatten a bit the middle ”hump” of the crane. We are done! (:

 

COLOR MEANING

Red – Red represents strong love, passion and desire;

Dark Crimson – Dark crimson stands for inner beauty and inner strength;

Pink – Pink represents happiness, tenderness, best friends and sweethearts;

Orange – Orange is a rich color of enthusiasm and energy;

Yellow – Yellow stands for freedom and joy;

Green – n is the traditional color of healing – it represents living things growing healthily and with strength. It is the color of harmony and finding balance. Green is the color of luck and wealth;

Blue – Blue represents honor and faith;

Purple – Purple is the traditional color of nobility and courtly love;

White – White represents the hope for the future, a fresh start, innocence and purity;

 

Origami folding pictures’ source: Origami Instructions for Kids

 

 

 

 

[yaoifictionlove]

I love origami but I'm still at the simple airplane level.

[crystald]

I like to practice origami at school breaks.

[Embracing Fujoshi]

I love origami. My favorite things to fold are flowers - tbh i am currently struggling with roses

[Dayu]

I remember as a child we're thought on how to make origami by foreigners. My mind is foggy that makes me not to remember if the foreigners were Japanese or Korean but I am sure they are Asian. Hahaha