Each envelope measures 200 x 138 mm. when folded. [Japan]: late Edo.

The Japanese learned how to use bark fiber from shrubs like kozo and gampi to make a thin but strong paper, useful in the house for sliding doors and screens. This washi paper was also suitable for folding. In the 14th to 16th centuries, the custom of formal decorative paper folding developed, called origata. This is the foundation of what we know today as origami.

The art of origata was first developed amongst Buddhist priests and aristocrats. Later, the higher class of samurai, who stressed formal manners and... More