Fold, wrap, tie, give.

why700Why have we continued to fold, wrap, tie, and give as gifts for over 100 years? This book explores the roots of Japanese people and gift-giving through the activities of the Origata Design Institute, which is trying to bring back the forgotten traditions of origami, or folding paper, into various aspects of modern life.

The author, Nobuhiro Yamaguchi, is a graphic designer, haiku poet, amateur printer, antique collector, and Shinto priest. His first encounter with "origata" was at a secondhand bookstore in Jimbocho, where he happened to pick up "Hoshinoki," a book published in 1840 by Sadatake Ise.It dates back to around 1997.

Japanese/English translation.This book is bilingual in Japanese and English, as the author wants to make "ORIGATA" a global word. "ORIGATA" is a symbol of the "wrapping" culture that has been passed down in Japan since ancient times.
It represents the beautiful art of expressing one's feelings and respect for the recipient through the gift.

During the Heian period, the custom of wrapping poems and letters written on ganpishi paper and sending them as gifts was born, and it eventually became systematized as samurai etiquette. In the Edo period, the techniques and thoughtfulness of this custom spread to townspeople, and origata developed into a rich and profound culture that combined the formality of the samurai with the playfulness of the common people.

The beginning of spring, the coolness of summer, the harvest of autumn, and winter greetings.
Origami has taken on a variety of forms to accompany seasonal events and turning points in life. The signs of the seasons are subtly woven into the folded paper.

Carefully folding paper and wrapping a gift... this act embodies the aesthetic sense that has long been cherished by the Japanese.

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This book commemorates the activities of the Origata Design Institute, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2025, and introduces the results of the Institute's work to date, as well as traditional folding and tying techniques and contemporary design endeavors, along with seasonal events. The nameplate on the cover has faint crests and valleys, and although it cannot actually be folded as it is glued, folding the paper along the crests will create a prototype chopstick wrapper.


BONBOOK, which continues to publish books with the theme of rediscovering life, places great importance on identifying "things that can change" and "things that must not change." I was deeply sympathetic to the Origata Design Institute's approach of not simply preserving tradition, but of reexamining the beauty of Origata while facing modern sensibilities.


FRAGILE BOOKS has also published "Ogasawara Style Noshi-ori Form Specimen" I have also got a specimen of an Ise-style wedding origami. When held up to the sun, the shadows of the folded paper come out faintly, and the appearance is truly breathtaking.


We hope that this book will inspire you to regain a sense of beauty in your life through the small acts of careful wrapping and folding, even in the midst of busy days.


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Origata Design Institute

Founded in 2002 by four graphic designers, the group aims to reinterpret traditional "Orikata" from the perspective of modern design and incorporate it into modern life. They communicate the beauty and spirit of Orikata through a variety of activities, including holding exhibitions, workshops, classes, publishing books, and developing original products in collaboration with handmade washi paper artisans.


Nobuhiro Yamaguchi

Graphic designer / Born in 1948.
Dropped out of Kuwasawa Design School. After working at Cosmo PR, he went independent in 1979. In 2001, he established Yamaguchi Design Office, Ltd., and at the same time, Origata Design Institute. His main work includes the book design of all 100 volumes of the Sumai Gaku Taikei series published by the Library Publishing Bureau of Living, and art direction for Kajima Institute Publishing's SD. His publications include Shiro no Shisoku (Messages of White) (Rattles, 2006), Tsutsumi no Kotowari (Privately published, 2013), and the haiku collection Kanakana no Shichi-Nana-Yon-Kana (Privately published, 2017). In 2018, he won the Mainichi Design Award for "Folding Design."