Akira Yoshizawa
Encyclopedia
Akira Yoshizawa was considered to be the grandmaster of origami
. He is credited with raising origami from a craft to a living art. According to his own estimation made in 1989, he created more than 50,000 models, of which only a few hundred designs were diagrammed in his 18 books.
Yoshizawa acted as an international cultural ambassador for Japan throughout his career.
In 1983, Japanese emperor
Hirohito
named him to the Order of the Rising Sun
, one of highest honors that can be given to a Japanese citizen.
, Japan, to the family of a dairy farmer. When a child, he took pleasure in teaching himself origami. He moved into a factory job in Tokyo
when he was 13 years old. His passion for it was rekindled in his early 20’s, when he was promoted from factory worker to technical draftsman. His new job was to teach junior employees geometry. Yoshizawa used the traditional art of origami to understand and communicate geometrical problems.
In 1937 he left factory work to pursue origami full-time. During the next 20 years, he lived in total poverty, earning his living by door-to-door selling of tsukudani
(a Japanese preserved condiment that is usually made of seaweed). His origami work was creative enough to be included in the 1944 book Origami Shuko, by Isao Honda (本多 功). However it was his work for a 1951 issue of the magazine Asahi Graph that launched his career (according to another account, his first step on the professional road was a set of 12 zodiac signs commissioned by a magazine in 1954). In 1954 his first published monograph, Atarashi Origami Geijutsu (New Origami Art) was published. In this work he established the Yoshizawa-Randlett system
of notation for origami folds which has become the standard for most paperfolders. The publishing of this book helped Yoshizawa out of his poverty. It was followed closely by his founding of the International Origami Centre in Tokyo (1954, when he was 43 years of age).
His first overseas exhibition was organised in 1955 by Felix Tikotin
, a Dutch architect and art collector of German Jewish origin, in the Stedelijk Museum
. Yoshizawa lent many of his own origami models to other exhibitions around the world. He would never sell his origami figures, but rather gave them away as gifts to people, and let other groups and organizations borrow them for exhibiting. In 1956, he married a woman named Kiyo, who acted as his manager and taught origami alongside him. It was around this time that he became famous worldwide.
. In this technique the paper is dampened before folding, letting the folder create a much more rounded and sculpted look. This was considered by many to be the paradigm shift of sorts that allowed origami to become an art form, as opposed to a quaint oddity of folk craft.
museum. He did it so joyfully, and was not at all opposed to having his photo taken with other competing origami artists, whom he used to detest in his earlier years; many of his patterns were diagrammed by his professional rivals, which angered Yoshizawa when he was younger. However, he found that he was no longer so repulsed by rival origami folders, and that, in fact, he now enjoyed their company.
Akira Yoshizawa died on March 14, 2005 in hospital in Ogikubo, of complications of pneumonia, on his 94th birthday.
Origami
is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside Japan in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form...
. He is credited with raising origami from a craft to a living art. According to his own estimation made in 1989, he created more than 50,000 models, of which only a few hundred designs were diagrammed in his 18 books.
Yoshizawa acted as an international cultural ambassador for Japan throughout his career.
In 1983, Japanese emperor
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
Hirohito
Hirohito
, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...
named him to the Order of the Rising Sun
Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...
, one of highest honors that can be given to a Japanese citizen.
Early life and career
Born on March 14, 1911, in Kaminokawa, Tochigi PrefectureTochigi Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kantō region on the island of Honshū, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya.Nikkō, whose ancient Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples UNESCO has recognized by naming them a World Heritage Site, is in this prefecture...
, Japan, to the family of a dairy farmer. When a child, he took pleasure in teaching himself origami. He moved into a factory job in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
when he was 13 years old. His passion for it was rekindled in his early 20’s, when he was promoted from factory worker to technical draftsman. His new job was to teach junior employees geometry. Yoshizawa used the traditional art of origami to understand and communicate geometrical problems.
In 1937 he left factory work to pursue origami full-time. During the next 20 years, he lived in total poverty, earning his living by door-to-door selling of tsukudani
Tsukudani
is small seafood, meat or seaweed that has been simmered in soy sauce and mirin. High osmotic pressure preserves the ingredients. Its name originates from Tsukudajima, the island where it was first made in the Edo period. Many kinds of tsukudani are sold...
(a Japanese preserved condiment that is usually made of seaweed). His origami work was creative enough to be included in the 1944 book Origami Shuko, by Isao Honda (本多 功). However it was his work for a 1951 issue of the magazine Asahi Graph that launched his career (according to another account, his first step on the professional road was a set of 12 zodiac signs commissioned by a magazine in 1954). In 1954 his first published monograph, Atarashi Origami Geijutsu (New Origami Art) was published. In this work he established the Yoshizawa-Randlett system
Origami techniques
The Yoshizawa-Randlett system is a diagramming system used to describe the folds of origami models. Many origami books begin with a description of basic origami techniques which are used to construct the models. There are also a number of standard bases which are commonly used as a first step in...
of notation for origami folds which has become the standard for most paperfolders. The publishing of this book helped Yoshizawa out of his poverty. It was followed closely by his founding of the International Origami Centre in Tokyo (1954, when he was 43 years of age).
His first overseas exhibition was organised in 1955 by Felix Tikotin
Felix Tikotin
Felix Tikotin was an architect, art collector, and founder of the first Museum of Japanese Art in the Middle East.Born in Glogau, Germany, to a Jewish family, his ancestors had returned with Napoleon from Russia from a town called Tikocyn. Tikotin grew up in Dresden and became involved with the...
, a Dutch architect and art collector of German Jewish origin, in the Stedelijk Museum
Stedelijk Museum
Founded in 1874, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is a museum for classic modern and contemporary art in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It has been housed on the Paulus Potterstraat, next to Museum Square Museumplein and to the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and the Concertgebouw, in Amsterdam Zuid...
. Yoshizawa lent many of his own origami models to other exhibitions around the world. He would never sell his origami figures, but rather gave them away as gifts to people, and let other groups and organizations borrow them for exhibiting. In 1956, he married a woman named Kiyo, who acted as his manager and taught origami alongside him. It was around this time that he became famous worldwide.
Technique
Yoshizawa pioneered many techniques, including wet-foldingWet-folding
Wet-folding is an origami technique developed by Akira Yoshizawa that employs water to dampen the paper so that it can be manipulated more easily. This process adds an element of sculpture to origami, which is otherwise purely geometric. Wet-folding is used very often by professional folders for...
. In this technique the paper is dampened before folding, letting the folder create a much more rounded and sculpted look. This was considered by many to be the paradigm shift of sorts that allowed origami to become an art form, as opposed to a quaint oddity of folk craft.
Later years
In March 1998, Yoshizawa was invited to exhibit his origami, in what still remains the greatest origami exhibition ever staged, in the LouvreLouvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
museum. He did it so joyfully, and was not at all opposed to having his photo taken with other competing origami artists, whom he used to detest in his earlier years; many of his patterns were diagrammed by his professional rivals, which angered Yoshizawa when he was younger. However, he found that he was no longer so repulsed by rival origami folders, and that, in fact, he now enjoyed their company.
Akira Yoshizawa died on March 14, 2005 in hospital in Ogikubo, of complications of pneumonia, on his 94th birthday.