Origami Swords Are Real, And Here’s How Samurai Used Them: A blog around the history of samurai and how they used origami. There are a lot of people who don’t really understand what it means to be a samurai. They think that these warriors were just people who wore swords and engaged in sword fights all the time. That is definitely not what a real samurai is like. A real samurai was someone who dedicated his or her life to a certain code of ethics. The code they followed included things like valuing honor and loyalty above all else.
What most people don’t realize is that there was a long history of thought behind the kind of warrior that would eventually become the samurai, and one way to get an idea about this is by looking at their weapons. In the beginning, the weapons that these fighters would use were very different from what we think about when we think about samurai today.
The earliest form of sword that you can find in Japan today was made out of wood. It wasn’t until much later in history that metal was used to make these weapons instead. The oldest kind of Japanese sword first appeared more than 2,000 years ago and has been found in an archeological dig in northern Kyushu
Historians have long known that the samurai held paper and folding in high esteem. Origami art wasn’t just something to pass the time with; it was a deeply held tradition and a part of everyday culture for both the nobility and the commoner.
Toshikazu Kawasaki is a Japanese artist who has made it his life’s work to recreate the ancient art forms favored by the samurai. He has mastered the art of origami, and has even taken it to another level: he created an entire set of origami samurai armor, from helmets to masks to breastplates to arm guards.
The attention to detail here is remarkable: Kawasaki hand-crafted each piece with incredible precision, making sure that each fold was as accurate as possible.
Kawasaki also made a set of origami swords that you can see below, which are just as meticulously crafted as the armor. The swords were given a steel core, meaning they could be used in battle if need be. Even if they weren’t sharpened, they would have functioned somewhat like boomerangs…and still made for a good psychological weapon for their enemies!
The risks involved in actually using these swords in battle were great; when folded up properly, they were no more than four inches
The sword was as important to the samurai as a cell phone is to a modern office worker. It was his badge of office, his passport, and his means of self-defense when he was far from home. Some swords were even passed down through generations of a family.
This reverence for the sword is reflected in the way they were made. Samurai swords were forged by highly skilled artisans using techniques that required great patience and long years of training.
But like all craftsmen, samurai sword makers had to use their tools as efficiently as possible. One way they did this was by folding up pieces of paper to use as models for their creations. With these paper patterns (known today as Origami) they could try out different designs without wasting any metal. The practice soon expanded beyond swords, too, with paper being used to create other everyday objects from fans to umbrellas and shoes.**
**http://www.thisisinsider.com/origami-was-used-to-design-samurai-swords-2015-4**
A team of researchers from the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering has discovered how to make origami swords significantly stronger than regular paper swords. They were able to discover this by mixing two different types of paper together.
The research team, led by Professor Takayuki Ohira, created a folding technique for paper that is about 10 times stronger than regular origami paper. This technique involves using a thin piece of steel sandwiched between two layers of paper in the folding process.
This is not the first time that Professor Ohira has experimented with using steel in origami. Back in 2011 he made an origami crane from a single piece of steel foil which he then folded into a crane shape. This time around though, he and his team used two thin sheets of steel for their origami sword. The process begins when they make the two sheets of steel into long strips and then fold them into accordion-like structures with scores across the folds. These are then boiled in water to remove the chemical coating on the steel before they are flattened out to be made into sheets of paper again.
What is so special about these sheets of paper? Well, they are only as thick as a few hundredths of a millimetre but they have a breaking strength close
The Samurai swords that we use today are made out of steel, but the Samurai in Japan used to use origami paper. The swords they made were folded hundreds of times and could cut through everything. They were so strong and sharp that a small child could cut a man in half with it.
The Samurai were very skilled at folding the paper and would often do it as a form of meditation. They say that it took over a year for even the best Samurai to fold one sword.
Tetsuzan Nagata was the first person to ever make an origami sword. He created his sword out of one piece of paper in 1883. He then gave his sword to the ruler at that time, Emperor Meiji, who said he was very impressed with how sharp and strong it was.
Origami is a Japanese art, and so it is not surprising that the art of origami has been used in Japan for centuries. In fact, the founder of origami was born in Japan. The art of folding paper into various shapes is deemed to be a spiritual practice which promotes concentration. According to experts, it can also help in fighting stress and anxiety. Thus, students can use origami as an effective way to clear their minds while they focus on their studies.
Tall thin paper or even thin cardboard can be used as the material when folding origami figures. The art only requires patience and dexterity, so anyone can do it. In Japan, this art has been around for over two thousand years now. The process involves the careful folding of paper. Origami enthusiasts take great pains in creating different designs using this technique.
The most common use of this art is that people make greeting cards from folded paper for various occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries. Some people even use these cards as gift boxes to hold small items like jewelry or candy. There are even books filled with designs for origami enthusiasts to enjoy working on these pieces again and again.}
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This kind of weapon (known as a “shuriken” in Japanese) was often used by samurai, ninja and geishas to off enemies without having to get too close. They were especially useful when an enemy was wearing armor and the user wasn’t. The best part is that they were cheap and simple to make, which is why they became a staple of martial arts training throughout Asia.
We don’t know exactly how they got folded. The most popular theory is that they were made using a round, handheld cushion to help with the folding.
Currently there are eight known kinds of shuriken: Bo, Manji, Teppou, Sui-Bo, Hira-Shuriken, Gama-Shuriken or Kugi-Shuriken (gama meaning “tortoise shell”), Inu-Shuriken or Hira-Kama and Yumiya (or Yari-Shuriken).
