Carp Banner Koinobori May 5 is Children's day in Japan. Families often fold and fly carp banners for the male children to celebrate.

Follow Sarahgami at Twitter.com!


Check out a funny Origami Link.


Welcome!   Irasshaimase!

Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding. Origami can be traditional or creative Traditional Japanese origami folds include the ceremonial folds such as the Noshi which is folded paper and a strip of abalone attached to gifts as a token of good wishes. Now days most commercial wrapping paper in Japan is pre-printed with a drawing of a Noshi. Ceremonial or formal origami requires the use of specific color papers and folds for different occasions and purposes. There are also traditional origami folds such as the crane which have no known origin. Creative origami can be used to represent just about anything and use any paper that you have on hand. Creative or artistic origami only became widely accepted in the latter half of the 20th century. The popularity of recreational origami has quickly spread from Japan to the rest of the world.

Origami has been used in the Japanese educational system to teach geometry and improve handwriting. Origami is an excellent activity to improve eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, dexterity, basic concepts (colors, shapes), sequencing, following directions, and problem solving. Origami is also a lot of fun! Origami paper for folding is inexpensive or you can make your own. I recommend getting a good quality craft rotary cutter so you can cut the paper square!

After a 9 year hiatus, during which I earned my Master's Degree in Information and Library Science, got married, started a business, and had a baby, I am finally updating my origami site. I've added diagrams for my origami shamrock and will be working on the iris origami models as well as some newer origami dolls I've recently created. I hope to include Japanese language and cultural information in the updated site. Japanese words will follow the English names or words.

Origami has been a serious hobby of mine for the past 22 years. I also remember folding traditional models such as the fortune teller as far back as grade school. My tastes in origami, and all things really, is best described as eclectic. There is a quote in Kasahara's Origami Omnibus that I really like. In describing models, and explaining the difference between the realistic and representational styles, he says,"I like them all". I highly recommend exposing yourself to as many styles, folders, and creators as possible.

I'd like to offer some encouragement and tips to beginners:

1. Always review the legend for folding symbols for each book, even minor differences can be confusing.

2. Look ahead to the next diagram while folding.

3. The more you fold, the more familiar you will become with what the paper is capable of doing.

4. It's never as hard as you think it is.

5. Check at your library for books. They will often have the only copy of older books that you will be able to find.

6. Beauty is in the eye of the folder.

Thanks for visiting! Domo Arigato!

Good luck and happy folding!

You can use these banners to link to my site: