TARO’S ORIGAMI STUDIO
TARO’S ORIGAMI STUDIO
Taro Yaguchi and Masao Donahue
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Table of Contents Welcome to the World of Origami A Brief History of Origami Origami Today Types of Paper Learning Origami Using Taro’s Philosophy Kyu System Instructions for Folding Symbols Basic Folds and Bases Book Fold Blintz Base Cabinet Fold (or Cabinet Base) Diagonal Fold Kite Fold (or Kite Base) Pleat Fold Rabbit-Ear Fold Square Base Squash Fold Waterbomb Base Bird Base and Petal Fold Inside Reverse Reverse Fold Flower Base Frog Base Outside Outsid e Reverse Reverse Fold Samurai Helmet Ninja Star Heart Pendant Butterfy Pinwheel and Flying Disc Crane Twisted Rose Chrysanthemum Iris Frog Peacock Turtle
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Welcome to the World of Origami Taro Yaguchi
Origami is the ancient art of folding paper— an art that has endured for hundreds of years in Japan. In Japanese, ori is is the root of the verb “to fold” and gami mean meanss “paper.”
Part of origami’s appeal lies in its apparent simplicity. To begin, all that is needed is a single sheet of paper. From there, however, the world of origami is as expansive expansi ve as your imagination can take you. As each fold and crease gradually transforms a seemingly ordinary sheet of paper into something more recognizable, origami inspires us all to take on new challenges to inch ever closer to beautiful owers, elegant birds, ancient weapons,
and more. A practice that for many may begin as a hobby, origami has applications that extend far beyond the creasing of paper. As new n ew,, young folders delve into this creative and limitless world, they will develop care, precision, and focus—
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alongside other key developmental skills—that can easily be applied to various aspects of their lives, including school. Origami’s benets do not end there nor are they limited to children. It’s other advantages
include nurturing the development development or maintaining of problem-solving skills, an understanding of spatial relationships, increased cultural awareness, memorization, discipline, hand-eye coordination, and imagination—just to name a few! In a group environment, origami has its advantage advantagess as well—aiding development development through cooperative learning. With origami’s surging international popularity—especially in recent years—people in everincreasing numbers are being hooked by this ancient art. At Taro’s Origami Studio, a space dedicated solely to teaching and promoting origami in Brooklyn, New York, it is our mission to make origami accessible to folders of all ages. Taro Yaguchi, the founder of the studio, has a clear vision—not only to help people discover discover the thrills of origami but also to help establish a strong fundamental foundation so that each student can become an independent learner. learner. This book contains 12 varied models—ones that utilize specic key folds and base forms
that will act as the foundation of strong origami skills. It is our sincere hope that that this wonderfully rich and rewarding tradition can continue to be passed down from generation to generation so that the next wave of folders may take origami to even greater heights.
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FOLDS USED
Cabinet Fold
Diagonal Fold
Book Fold
Ninja Star The ninja star, or shuriken in Japanese, Japan ese, is a razor-sharp weapon thrown in battle. Made from various types of bladed metal, the most iconic shape of the shuriken resembles a star. For maximum effect, you will want to prepare two sheets of contrasting colored paper.
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Begin with two sheets of paper. With the color side facing down, perform a Book Fold on both sheets. Unfold each afterwards.
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Perform a Cabinet Fold on both sheets of paper.
Learning Origami Using Taro’s Philosophy All origami begins with the same basic folds. They may seem simple but learning the precision and patience required to carefully complete them each and every time is an invaluable skill—one that is necessary for folders who wish to someday tackle the most complicated shapes and models. At Taro’s Origami Studio, we stress the fundamentals of origami so that everyone may develop his or her skills over time in a systematic manner. Presently, origami is taught hundreds of different ways, making it difcult and confusing for enthusiasts to advance.
This is i s where Taro Yaguchi’s Yaguchi’s Kyu System comes into play. Like martial arts, the Kyu System relies on progression through demonstration. Karate awards different colored belts that represent a student’s current level—or Kyu. Taro’s system relies on colored wristbands that are given when students demonstrate mastery of a specic set of techniques from
their current tier and those before it. (See pages 14-16.)
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Diagonal Fold the bottom ap,
tucking the point into the pocket.
Step 11 in progress.
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Repeat for the top to p ap. Turn Turn
over the model.
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Tuck the remaining two aps into the pockets.
Completed Comple ted Ninja Star! 39
FOLDS USED Book Fold Diagonal Fold Kite Fold Square Base Squash Fold Inside Reverse Fold Petal Fold Frog Base
Frog The origami frog will be a terrific indicator of the progress you have made up to this point. Its thin, elongated legs are highly intricate and delicate—offering a realistic depiction of these amphibians. The limbs alone require twelve Inside Reverse Folds. This provides a great opportunity to master these folds while making a model you’d almost expect to hop away when completed!
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With the color side facing up, perform two Diagonal Folds. Unfold between each fold.
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With the color side facing down, perform perform two Book Folds,. Unfold between each fold.
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Collapse downward, completing the Square Base.
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Inside Reverse Fold
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Inside Reverse Fold
arms again. Inside Reverse Fold
legs once more.
legs once more. Then blow air into model, inating like a balloon.
Blow air into this hole.
Completed Frog!
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FOLDS USED
Book Fold
Diagonal Fold Kite Fold Pleat Fold abbit-E ar Fold Outside Reverse Reverse Fold Rabbit-Ear
Peacock The peacock is another elegant bird but requires some trickier folds than the crane. These folds—the RabbitRabbitEar Fold, the Outside Reverse Fold, and the Pleat Fold—should become staples of your origami skills as you advance. advance . Patterned paper will mimic the bright colors and variation that the bird is so well known for.
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With the color side facing up, perform a Diagonal Fold and then unfold.
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Perform two Kite Folds.
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Repeat Rep eat Steps 10 and 11.
Step 11 completed.
Step 12 completed.
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Lightly spread the pluage and fold back top tip to smooth edge.
Completed Peacock! 75
A division of Book Sales, Inc. 276 Fifth Avenue Suite 206 New York, New York York 10001 10 001 RACE POINT PUBLISHING and the distinctive Race Point logo are trademarks of Book Sales, Inc. © 2014 by The Book Shop, Ltd. This 2014 edition published by Race Point Publishing Publishing by arrangement with The Book Shop, Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Taro’s Origami Studio would like to give special thanks to Frank Ling for his help with conceptualizing and editing models. Additional thanks to our staff—Kenichi Matsumoto, Tomomi Tachibana, Sumako Umezawa, and Justin West —for their involvement in helping to create this book. Taro’s Origami Studio interior designed by Makiko Miyamoto Photo credits: Sai Morikawa page 4, 5, and 11 COVER DESIGN Tim Palin BOOK AND PAPER DESIGNS Eleanor Kwei PHOTOGRAPHY Andrew Werner Photography ISBN 978-1-937994-52-5 Printed in China 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
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