Distinct paperfolding traditions arose in Europe, China, and Japan which have been well-documented by historians. These seem to have been mostly separate traditions, until the 20th century.
Ceremonial origami (origata) By the 7th century, paper had been introduced to Japan from China via the Korean Peninsula, and the Japanese developed
washi by improving the method of making paper in the
Heian period. The papermaking technique developed in Japan around 805 to 809 was called
nagashi-suki (流し漉き), a method of adding
mucilage to the process of the conventional
tame-suki (溜め漉き) technique to form a stronger layer of paper fibers. With the development of Japanese papermaking technology and the widespread use of paper, folded paper began to be used for decorations and tools for religious ceremonies such as
gohei,
ōnusa (
:ja:大麻 (神道)) and
shide at
Shinto shrines. Religious decorations made of paper and the way gifts were wrapped in folded paper gradually became stylized and established as ceremonial origami. In the
Muromachi period from the 1300s to the 1400s, various forms of decorum were developed by the
Ogasawara clan and Ise clans (
:ja:伊勢氏), completing the prototype of Japanese folded-paper decorum that continues to this day. The Ise clan presided over the decorum of the inside of the palace of the
Ashikaga Shogunate, and in particular, Ise Sadachika (
:ja:伊勢貞親) during the reign of the eighth Shogun,
Ashikaga Yoshimasa (足利義政), greatly influenced the development of the decorum of the
daimyo and
samurai classes, leading to the development of various stylized forms of ceremonial origami. The shapes of ceremonial origami created in this period were geometric, and the shapes of
noshi to be attached to gifts at feasts and weddings, and origami that imitated butterflies to be displayed on
sake vessels, were quite different from those of later generations of recreational origami whose shapes captured the characteristics of real objects and living things. The "noshi" wrapping, and the folding of female and male butterflies, which are still used for weddings and celebrations, are a continuation and development of a tradition that began in the Muromachi period. A reference in a poem by
Ihara Saikaku from 1680 describes the origami butterflies used during
Shinto weddings to represent the bride and groom.
Recreational origami 1500s－1800s It is not certain when play-made paper models, now commonly known as origami, began in Japan. However, the
kozuka of a
Japanese sword made by Gotō Eijō (後藤栄乗) between the end of the 1500s and the beginning of the 1600s was decorated with a picture of a crane made of origami, and it is believed that origami for play existed by the
Sengoku period or the early Edo period. In 1747, during the
Edo period, a book titled
Ranma zushiki (欄間図式) was published, which contained various designs of the
ranma (
:ja:欄間), a decoration of
Japanese architecture. This included origami of various designs, including paper models of cranes, which are still well known today. It is thought that by this time, many people were familiar with origami for play, which modern people recognize as origami. During this period, origami was commonly called
orikata (折形) or
orisue (折据) and was often used as a pattern on
kimonos and decorations. From the late Edo period to the
Bakumatu period, origami that imitated the six legendary Japanese poets,
rokkasen (六歌仙) listed in the
Kokin Wakashū (古今和歌集) compiled in the 900s and the characters in
Chūshingura became popular, but today they are rarely used as subjects for origami. In Europe, there was a well-developed genre of
napkin folding, which flourished during the 17th and 18th centuries. After this period, this genre declined and was mostly forgotten; historian Joan Sallas attributes this to the introduction of porcelain, which replaced complex napkin folds as a dinner-table status symbol among nobility. However, some of the techniques and bases associated with this tradition continued to be a part of European culture; folding was a significant part of
Friedrich Fröbel's "Kindergarten" method, and the designs published in connection with his curriculum are stylistically similar to the napkin fold repertoire. Another example of early origami in Europe is the "pajarita," a stylized bird whose origins date from at least the nineteenth century.
Since 1800s When Japan opened its borders in the 1860s, as part of a modernization strategy, they imported Fröbel's Kindergarten system—and with it, German ideas about paperfolding. This included the ban on cuts, and the starting shape of a bicolored square. These ideas, and some of the European folding repertoire, were integrated into the Japanese tradition. Before this, traditional Japanese sources use a variety of starting shapes, often had cuts, and if they had color or markings, these were added after the model was folded. In Japan, the first kindergarten was established in 1875, and origami was promoted as part of early childhood education. The kindergarten's 1877 regulations listed 25 activities, including origami subjects.
Shōkokumin (小国民), a magazine for boys, frequently published articles on origami.
Origami Zusetsu (折紙図説), published in 1908, clearly distinguished ceremonial origami from recreational origami. These books and magazines carried both the traditional Japanese style of origami and the style inspired by Fröbel. In the early 1900s,
Akira Yoshizawa,
Kosho Uchiyama, and others began creating and recording original origami works. Akira Yoshizawa in particular was responsible for a number of innovations, such as
wet-folding and the
Yoshizawa–Randlett diagramming system, and his work inspired a renaissance of the art form. In 1974, origami was offered in the USSR as an additional activity for elementary school children. During the 1980s a number of folders started systematically studying the mathematical properties of folded forms, which led to a rapid increase in the complexity of origami models. Starting in the late 20th century, there has been a renewed interest in understanding the behavior of folding matter, both artistically and scientifically. The "new origami," which distinguishes it from old craft practices, has had a rapid evolution due to the contribution of computational mathematics and the development of techniques such as
box-pleating,
tessellations and
wet-folding. Artists like
Robert J. Lang,
Erik Demaine,
Sipho Mabona, Giang Dinh, Paul Jackson, and others, are frequently cited for advancing new applications of the art. The computational facet and the interchanges through social networks, where new techniques and designs are introduced, have raised the profile of origami in the 21st century. ==Techniques and materials==