Pop Japan

Origami is not the only paper art in Japan. There's also the kirigami.

The word is composed of two Japanese words. The word kiri literally means, "to cut." The second word, gami, means "paper." When put together, kirigami literally means "cut paper." It is sometimes called kiri-e or "cut pictures."

The kirigami usually starts with folding the paper base. Cuts are then made on the paper, some parts removed, some parts are just flattened. Because of this, the designs are usually symmetrical such as flowers, snowflakes, stars and other nature shapes.

Photo by Bharath Kishore. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en)

Tags: tradition, origami, kirigami, cut, paper, kiri e, cut pictures, flowers, snowflakes, nature shapes