Origami is an art of paper-folding, which originated in Japan. This art form has been passed from generation to generation, transforming paper into birds, fish, puppets, and other geometric shapes.
Though, there is no specific person written in history to have invented origami, there is this one person whose name resonates in Japan when talking about this art. He has been so popular for raising the craft of origami into to a living art that Emperor Hirohito granted him the order of the “Knight of the Order of the Rising Sun” in 1983. This is the highest honor that can be presented to a Japanese citizen.
His name is Akira Yoshizawa.
The Beginnings of Knighthood
Akira Yoshizawa was born on March 14, 1911, on a family of dairy farmers. At the age of 13 years old, he moved to Tokyo and worked in a factory. At the age of 20, he was already promoted as a technical draftsman and became responsible for teaching new employees about basic geometry. He then used origami as his teaching tool to make it easier to understand.
After years of working in the factory, he decided to quit his job to practice origami full-time. For two decades, he sold tsukudani, a Japanese preserved condiment, for him to survive.
During World War II, he was sent to Hong Kong and served the military medical corp. In those days, he made origami to cheer up the patients. However, he himself developed an illness and was sent back to Japan because of his bad health condition.
The Knight’s Etiquette
For Yoshizawa, the process is the most important part of any art. He once said, “When you fold, the ritual and the act of creation is more important than the final result. When your hands are busy your heart is serene."
Even though he was known for a variety of origami techniques, his well-known specialty was the wet-folding style, which he invented..
The wet-folding technique involves dabbing the paper in a tiny amount of water to make it easy to manipulate. This technique can make the origami appearance more realistically, since the origami models will have a rounder and more sculpted look. The paper used in this kind of technique should be thicker than the normal paper used in origami because it may tearapart when damped with water.
The Emblems of the Knight
Yoshizawa’s works were first recognized in 1944 when it was featured in the book entitled “Origami Shuho” by Isao Honda. In 1951, Tadazu Iizawa, editor of the picture magazine, Asahi Graph, tracked down Yoshizawa and asked him to do origami zodiac symbols. The article was published in January 1952. This brought Yoshizawa to stardom.
In 1954, Yoshizawa published his first ever book entitled “Atarashi Origami Geijutsu” (New Origami Art). In the same year, he founded the International Origami Center in Tokyo, which started to publish an origami magazine.
Aside from the Atarashi Origami Geijutsu, he also published other books such as “Origami Dokuhan,” “Sosaku Origami.” and “Origami Reader.”
Moreover, because of his notable works, he began to achieve international recognition when his origami models were exhibited at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The event also attracted the Western countries towards the art of paper folding.
Yoshizawa died at the age of 94 due to pneumonia complications.
Yoshizawa proved that poverty is not the reason to give up on your passion. His legacy in making origami a noble art form will remain, and no one could ever replace him as the valiant knight of origami.
Sources:
Banner Photo by Lightversus. Licensed under Creative Commons.
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