Use Of Cuts In Origami
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Some people argue that cutting was more prevalent in origami in the past than it is today. The claim is difficult to verify, since the practice of Origami is very old. However, there have been references in the past by origami masters about the use of various kinds of cuts in olden times.
In the ancient times, people were generally more open to the idea of “paper crafts”, accommodating both uncut origami and cutting techniques. Origami was largely used in religious ceremonies but people also used it for recreational purposes. The old models were mainly classic figures of cranes, boats, containers and simple human figures that involved the least amount of cutting.
The first document recording recreational origami is Sembazuro Orikata, a printed book dating back to 1797. It is a special book in which paper is cut into smaller squares linked at the corners and small and large cranes are made out of them and linked together. However, the making a square shaped paper involves cutting, but this is merely a preliminary cut and the craft involves no cutting. The Kayaragusa is another manuscript on origami. The Kayaragusa origami is heavily cut.
Use of Cuts In The Recent Times
Akiraa Yoshizawa, also called the grandmaster of origami of modern times, rarely used cuts. When he did, it was limited to once or twice, that too for complex shapes like a prawn’s feelers. In 1956, Robert Harbin wrote “Paper Magic” much before origami became popular in the West. In this book, he laid down certain rules that limited the use of cutting. Since then origami has greatly excluded cutting. Still people frequently feel compelled to use cutting and there is a popular debate among origami enthusiasts on whether cutting is permissible.
Most of the classic folds in Japan do not use cutting. However, it should be recalled that books of origami for very young children often contain shapes and models that are extensively cut to shape, such as birds, animals and flowers. Though cutting is less frequent in the West, it cannot be denied that it is not used. Today, the situation is no different among paper folders of Japan. There has been a lot of debate on whether cutting is permissible or not. It is more important that we make the practice of origami fun and entertaining, which in turn will help us appreciate its beauty.
In the end, like all crafts, there are no fixed rules for origami. if you feel that cutting within permissible limits will best express your creativity, then it can be used to craft your origami piece.
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