Category: – Home

Math in Motion Educator’s Handouts by Barbara Pearl Author and educator Barbara Pearl is recognized around the country for her inspiring and motivational programs that promote a “positive message” about mathematics. As an international speaker Ms. Pearl has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia including Japan, China, Russia and the Gobi Desert.… Continue reading Math in Motion Educator’s Handouts

Noshi 6 Instructions In Japanese culture, noshi is a decorative element attached to a gift during a happy occasion. It is believed that this custom existed in Japan as early as the 12th century. Attaching noshi to a gift is still practiced today though few people fold their own noshi. Noshi can be purchased in… Continue reading Noshi 6

Noshi 5 This page gives instructions on how to fold Noshi 5. This is probably one of the easiest designs of noshi. Its beauty relies on having paper that has a thin border of different color. To achieve this look, you can cut two squares of paper; make the white sheet slightly larger than the… Continue reading Noshi 5

Noshi 4: example of noshi-zutsumi As described in Isao Honda’s book, noshi 4 is an example of noshi-zutsumi: a formal wrapper used in weddings. Start with two rectangular sheets of paper of size ratio 1:2. In the old days: place the red sheet over the white sheet and fold as if they were one sheet.… Continue reading Noshi 4

Noshi 3 Instructions Noshi 1, noshi 2, and noshi 3 are described in Isao Honda’s book as “orthodox noshi” (Noshi: Classic Japanese Origami). It is not clear what exactly he means by this; however, it may simply be that the three designs are the accepted patterns of noshi used as of the date of publication… Continue reading Noshi 3 Instructions

Noshi 2 lack of instructions Currently, no available instructions for noshi 2. Isao Honda’s book Noshi: Classic Japanese Origami, mentions three “orthodox noshi” which are labelled A, B, C (labelled 1, 2, 3 in this web site). The images above show the crease lines of each noshi but it does not give clear details as… Continue reading Noshi 2: Lack of Instructions

Noshi 1 This page gives instructions on how to fold Noshi 1. The method of folding was determined by reverse engineering; it is not knowledge derived from an individual who is familiar with the ancient art of noshi folding. Thus, the methodology will produce the “look” but it may not represent the “way” it should… Continue reading Noshi 1

Mizuhiki in Relation to Noshi Mizuhiki is the art of knotting cord into a decorative element. Mizuhiki has nothing to do with origami but it is related to noshi. Photo: examples of noshi with mizuhiki. In Japan, noshi is a folded piece of paper that you attach to a gift to confer good luck and… Continue reading Mizuhiki in Relation to Noshi

Noshi In Japanese culture, noshi is a decorative element attached to gifts. It can be attached to gifts for weddings, for births, and for other congratulatory events such as graduation or promotion. Noshi is given as a token of good luck; it is never used in funerals or burial ceremonies. [Photo from here] According to… Continue reading Noshi

Origami Donations The Origami Resource Center is dedicated to the art of paper folding. This web site hopes to encourage people to enjoy and learn the myriad of ways in which a plain piece of paper can be turned into an incredible piece of art. You can support this web site by making a donation.… Continue reading Origami Donations

Report Broken Links Please use the form below to report broken links. Help us track down dead-links by including: PAGE where broken link is found     example: https://origami-resource-center.com/origami-boxes/ name of the LINK that is broken     example: 8-Pointed Container by J Smith

The Story of Sadako Sadako Sasaki was a Japanese girl living in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan (August 6, 1945). In 1955, at age 11, Sadako was diagnosed with leukemia, a type of cancer caused by the atomic bomb. [Photo from wikipedia.com] While in the hospital, Sadako started to fold paper… Continue reading Sadako: A Story About Children and World Peace

History of Origami   The history of origami is under debate. Unlike other art forms, paper degrades quickly leaving no artifacts to suggest where origami originated and who first invented it. The information listed here provides a good overview of origami but is not an authoritative analysis of the subject. For detailed information regarding the… Continue reading History of Origami

Health Benefits of Origami Health benefits of origami: Why do people fold paper into little animal shapes? For most, it is because it’s fun and it looks nice. But for others, it is a way to relax; a way to let the day’s tension melt away. More and more now, care providers and researchers have… Continue reading Health Benefits of Origami and Folding Paper

Regular Ocho Regular Ocho and Mecho are two traditional origami butterfly described in “Wrapping Origami” by Yoshihide Momotani (1993). Momotani gives instructions to fold 3 pairs of paper butterflies:   • Classical Mecho & Ocho (from Kayaragusa)   • Formal Mecho & Ocho (Traditional), and   • Regular Mecho & Ocho (Traditional) Instruction to fold… Continue reading Regular Ocho

Regular Mecho

Ocho from Kayaragusa Ocho from Kayaragusa is a noteworthy origami model because it is one of the first examples of representational origami. The instructions on this page shows how to make Ocho – the male butterfly similar to the one shown in the 1845 publication Kayaragusa.   This information is derived from “Wrapping Origami” by… Continue reading Ocho from Kayaragusa

Mecho from Kayaragusa Mecho from Kayaragusa is a noteworthy origami model because it is one of the first examples of representational origami. The instructions on this page shows how to make Mecho – the female butterfly similar to the one shown in the 1845 publication Kayaragusa. This information is derived from “Wrapping Origami” by Yoshihide… Continue reading Mecho from Kayaragusa

Mecho and Ocho: Traditional Origami Butterflies   Mecho and Ocho are origami butterflies. They are famous because they are probably the first examples of representational origami. Previous to these two butterflies, paper folding was (as far as we can tell) limited to: wrappers such as noshi, envelopes such as tato, formal certificates such as Patenbriefs,… Continue reading Mecho and Ocho

Formal Ocho Formal Ocho is a traditional origami butterfly often used in wedding ceremonies. Ocho is the male butterfly whereas Mecho is the female butterfly. These paper butterflies adorn sake bottles or sake serving kettles (choshi) during traditional Japanese weddings. Mecho and Ocho are rarely seen except in formal ceremonies; however, these two butterflies are… Continue reading Formal Ocho

Formal Mecho Formal Mecho is a traditional origami butterfly often used in wedding ceremonies. Mecho is the female butterfly and Ocho is the male butterfly. These paper butterflies adorn sake bottles or sake serving kettles (choshi) during traditional Japanese weddings. Mecho and Ocho are rarely seen except in formal ceremonies; however, these two butterflies are… Continue reading Formal Mecho

Site Map   The Site Map for the Origami Resource Center is like a table of content. You may click onto any of the links to get to the page of interest. Or you may glance at the Site Map to get an overview of what this web site is about. Home History of Origami… Continue reading Site Map

Educational Benefits of Origami Parents and teachers understand the educational benefits of origami and use paper folding as a tool to teach math, arts and social studies.   Origami and Math If you have a square piece of paper, how many ways can you fold it to make 2 sections of the same size? A… Continue reading Educational Benefits of Origami

Credits & Contributors The contents of this site exists because of contributors from the origami community. It is through their creativity and willingness to share which makes this web site possible. We would like to thank the following people for allowing us to link to their site, for the use their diagrams and/or photos, and… Continue reading Contributors to Origami Resource Center

Contact Us

Origami Resource Center The Art of Paper Folding This origami resource center provides information about the art of paper folding. We provide links to diagrams, databases, book reviews, and ways to be a part of the paper folding community. In Japanese, the word “ori” means “to fold” and the word “kami” means “paper”. So, “origami”… Continue reading Home

Free Origami Instructions If you love folding paper into cool things, you’ve come to the right place. This page lists free origami instructions sorted by category. You can find everything from animals, flowers, birds, vehicles, boxes, stars, jewelry, and more.  Click the picture to get started.   Airplanes Animals Birds Bookmarks Boxes Butterflies Cars CD… Continue reading Free Origami Instructions