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An abridged, 'popular', paperback edition, which omitted the colour plates at the front of the book (though they still appear on the cover) and by far the most interesting section of the original book from a historical perspective (from page 201 onwards), was published in 1976.

Some useful biographical information about Isao Honda was printed on the inside flaps of the dust jacket. This was also included in the abridged version.

The designs are made from several different shapes of paper, squares, other rectangles, equilateral triangles, right angle isosceles triangles, hexagons, pentagons etc. Some are made from bases divided into sections by slits.

Many of the designs make use of cuts, sometimes to allow the creation of the basic form of the design but in other cases simply to add detail. Some are also decorated to enhance their appearance.

The book contains no less than four designs for crabs (Michio Uchiyama's Crab from a slit square with additional cuts used to create the shape of the head / eyes, the Kan-no-mado Crab from four partially separated squares, an easier, modern, version of the same crab and another modern crab from two partly separated squares) and three for dragonflies (a version from a bird base in which a cut is used to separate the front and back wings, an uncut version from a hexagon and the Kan-no-mado Dragonfly from a partially slit octagon). A comparison of these designs is useful for illuminating the development of techniques for adding verisimilitude to representational designs in the Japanese tradition.

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Introduction

The structure of the work is:

Introductory chapters on 'The Origins of Origami' and 'The Origami Tradition'.

Chapters presenting instructions for making individual paperfolds differentiated by papershape and fundamental folds, first square paper, then rectangular paper, right triangular paper, triangular paper (equilateral paper), rhombic paper (diamond-shaped), pentagonal, hexagonal and octagonal paper, and finally other special shapes. The final section mostly explains heavily cut historical designs.

The book concludes with chapters on 'The Ideal Modern Origami' and 'Independent Creativity', and a bibliographical note.

In the Designs section below I have given the designs in the order in which they appear in the work. However, this is not necessarily the most useful order to use in understanding the nature of the work. A more useful analysis might be to divide the designs into:

Contemporary Designs - Single Sheet Designs - Designs of Western European Origin

At no point in the book does Honda acknowledge that these are Western European designs although, in at least some instances, he must surely have known that this was the case. The designs are: The Alphabet embossed on the front board, the Paper Cup, the Boat with Sail, the Double Boat, the Waterbomb, two Froebelian Forms of Beauty, the Double-Barrelled Banger, a version of the Workman's Hat, the Winnowing Box, the Blintz Box, and the Lotus. None of these designs uses cuts.

Contemporary Designs - Single Sheet Designs - Japanese adaptations of designs of Western European Origin

These are: The Basket from the Paper Cup (using cuts to create he handle), Hat, Work Cap and Bird-face Cap (also all from the Paper Cup), the Fox Mask (developed from the House), a Pencil Box (developed from one of the Froebelian Folds of Beauty), the Colour-Change Windmill and a Waste-paper Basket (developed from Le Bonne Carre). Only one of these uses cuts.

Contemporary Designs - Single Sheet Designs - Designs of Japanese Origin

These include designs from many different paper shapes. There are 83 designs in this category, 30 miscellaneous designs, many of which are traditional classics, and 53 designs that represent living creatures / flowers. None of the miscellaneous designs use cuts. Of the living creature / flower designs, 23 use cuts, presumably with the aim of making the designs more lifelike / adding verisimilitude to the design.

This category also includes two interesting designs, a Turtle and a Dragonfly, both of which are folded from hexagons, which allows the development of the requisite number of legs, heads, tails and wings with resorting to using cuts.

Contemporary Designs - Compound Designs

There are 38 designs in this category, though some are very similar to each other, all of which are folded in two parts and then glued together. This allows the creation of animals with four separate legs, a head and a tail, without the use of cuts. However, the vast majority of the designs, 30 out of the 38 still use cuts to create ears, horns etc and in some cases to create the basic body shaps. Here again the purpose of the cuts seems to be to add verisimilitude. Those designs which do not make use of cuts are the Rooster, the Monkey, the Camel and the Seal from squares and the Eagle and the Alligator from rhombuses.

Contemporary Designs - Other Multiple Sheet and Modular Designs

The designs in this category are: The Wallet (from three squares), the Tematebako and the Japanese Hexagon Puzzle Box, a modular Cube called the Mystery Box, a Hot Plate Holder (from 48 postcards), a Woven Mat (which looks very Froebelian) and a module from a rhombus attributed to Akira Yoshizawa.

Historical Designs

All the designs in this section are made using cuts, either from partially separtaed squares, slit bases or heavily slit rectangles.

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The book uses 'we' throughout to mean 'I'. As far as I know there is no suggestion of any joint authorship of the work although in many instances it is not clear whether the designs in the book are traditional ones or original designs by either Isao Honda or Akira Yoshizawa.

Only one design in the book, the module folded from a diamond which makes the 'Rhombus Constructions' (p218) is directly attributed to Yoshizawa, but it is highly likely that other designs were also his work. Several of the designs, including the Wild Goose (from an equilateral triangle, p124) had previously appeared in Yoshizawa's book 'Origami Dukuhon', published in 1957 and are normally taken to be his original work.

There are several places in which Honda claims to have originated the idea of folding compound figures and that certain compound designs, the peacock, horse, cat, monkey etc from two squares and the giraffe, alligator and three monkeys, from two equilateral triangles and rhombuses, are his own designs. The 'etc' presumably means that Honda is also claiming to be the designer of the other compound figures listed on page 130 as well.

(from the biographical notes on the dust jacket)

From p261

From p252

The date Honda gives for publication of 'Origami Shuko' is disputed as is the authorship of the compound designs it contains. I have not seen a copy of the work but I understand that it is dated 1944 and that the compound designs it contains are clearly attributed to Akira Yoshizawa.

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While Honda claims Yoshizawa as his pupil (from the biographical notes on the dust jacket)

and promotes Yoshizawa's book 'Origami Dokuhon', he also, on several occasions, denigrates Yoshizawa's creative work:

From p292

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At several points in the book the author discusses the ethics of using cuts. The chapter on 'The Ideal Modern Origami' includes a section 'The Yeas and Nays about Using Scissors'. in which Honda says:

and

The passage 'some origami experts insist that using scissors in origami is illegal and are most proud that they do not use them in their own works' is probably another reference to Yoshizawa.

In the bibliography, Honda lists Michio Uchiyama's 'Sosaku Origami' and also takes the opportunity to again comment on his frequent use of cuts.

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The Designs

(Some designs from the Independent Creativity chapter have been included with the sections to which they more properly belong)

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Folded letters that form the word 'Origami' are embossed on the outside of the front board.

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The Fat Sparrow

Illustrated but not diagrammed.

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Square Paper - Diagonal Fold

Sailboat (with stand) - The Yacht

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Butterfly

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Dove

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Carrier Pigeon

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Cup - The Paper Cup

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Basket (Cut)

Developed from the Paper Cup using a cut to create the handle.

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Hat

Developed from the Paper Cup

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Work Cap

Developed from the Paper Cup

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Bird-face Cap

Developed from the Paper Cup

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The Japanese Helmet - a version of the Kabuto

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Rabbit Hat

Developed from the Kabuto

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Badger Hat

Developed from the Kabuto

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Square Paper - Seagull Base

Sea Gull

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Mandarin Duck

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Cormorant

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Shrimp (Cut)

This design uses cuts to create the feelers.

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Swan

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Square Paper - Seal Base

Seal (Cut)

This design uses a cut to separate the back legs.

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Penguin

The version on the right has an improved head.

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Octagonal Ornament

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Flower Model - The Novelty Purse

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Square Paper - Book Fold

Boat - The Inside Out Boat

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Fishing Boat

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Motorboat - The Sampan

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Fox Mask

Developed from the House.

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Sailboat - Boat with Sail

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Double Boat

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Japanese Folding Picture Forms

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Two Photograph Frames

These are fundamentally Froebelian Forms of Beauty

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Pencil Box

Developed from the right hand of the two Photograph Frames above.

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House - The Japanese House

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Overseas Cap

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The Winnowing Box

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Box - the Blintz Box / Masu

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Snail (Cut)

A cut is used to create the horns.

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Square Paper - All-corner Fold

Lotus Blossom - The Lotus

The Independent Creativity chapter mentions that it is possible to create a 'Rose' by placing one Lotus blossom inside another, the inner blossom being folded from a smaller shert of paper.

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Pinwheel - The Bicolour Windmill

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Yakkosan

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Picture Forms - Fukusuke

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Flower-shaped Candy Cup

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Sambo - The Sanbo

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The Sambo on Legs - The Sanbo on Legs

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Cake Dish

A version of the Sanbo on Legs

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Square Paper - Crane Base

Crane - The Paper Crane

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Star-shaped Box

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Morning Glory (Cut)

A cut is used to shape the head of the flower.

The Independent Creativity chapter shows how a Carnation can be made by varying the shape of the cut.

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Cake Box

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Hibachi

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Christmas Tree Ornament - The Kikuzara

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Kago

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Dragonfly (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the front and back wings.

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Stork (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the legs.

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White Heron (Cut)

A cut is used to create the crest at the back of the head and another to separate the legs.

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Nesting Crane

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Hen

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Horned Owl (Cut)

A cut is used to create the horns and another to separate the feet.

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Crow - The Crow with Legs

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Japanese Nightingale (Cut)

Cuts are used to separate the tail from the wings.

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Canary (Cut)

Cuts are used to separate the tail from the wings.

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Sparrow (Cut)

Cuts are used to separate the tail from the wings.

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Standing Crane

The Independent Creativity chapter shows how the pose of this design can be varied.

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Dove (Cut)

Cuts are used to separate the tail from the wings.

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Goldfish (Cut)

Several cuts are used in this design.

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Fish (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the two halves of the tail.

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Pheasant

A Pheasant with an improved head is shown in a photograph.

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Peacock (Cut)

Two-piece design using string and glue. A cut is used to create the crest.

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Turkey (Cut)

Several cuts are used in this design.

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Balloon - The Waterbomb

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Frog - The Blow-up Frog

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Phantom (Cut)

A cut is used to reate the Phantom's hood.

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Lily

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Rectangular Paper

Paper Cracker - The Double-Barrelled Banger

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Paper Hat - a version of the Newspaper Hat

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Waste-paper Basket - a version of Le Bonnet Carre

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The Folding Box - The Collapsible Box (2 versions)

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Kimono

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Jacket

A version of the Kimono.

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Compound Figures (Square Paper)

There are two types of figures in this section, compound representational designs, which are made in two pieces and glued together, and the vast majority of which are made using cuts, in some cases just to add detail, such as separating the ears, but in others to help create the main shape of the design, and a miscellany of multiple sheet and modular designs tagged on at the end, not all of which are made from square paper.

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Rooster

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Horse (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the ears.

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Deer (Cut)

Several cuts are used to create the horns.

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Reindeer (Cut)

Several cuts are used to create the horns.

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Rabbit (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the ears.

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Pegasus (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the front legs from the wings and another to separate the ears.

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Pointer (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the ears.

The Independent Creativity chapter shows how this design can be varied by changing the configuration of the folds and by introducing a further cut to change the shape of the ears.

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Cat (Cut)

Cuts are used to create the ears.

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(Short-tailed) Monkey

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Dachsund (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the ears.

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Fox (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the ears.

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Coyote (Cut) (from the Independent Creativity chapter)

A cut is used to separate the ears.

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Seated Fox (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the ears.

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Badger (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the ears.

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Kangaroo (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the ears.

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Camel

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Goat (Cut)

Cuts are used to create the ears and horns.

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Kid (Cut)

Cuts are used to create the ears.

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Lion (Cut)

Cuts are used to create the mane and the ears.

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Tiger (Cut)

Cuts are used to create the ears.

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Squirrel (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the ears.

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Spitz (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the ears.

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Seal

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Bear (Cut)

Cuts are used to widen the rear half of the body and separate the ears.

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Fisherman Bear (Cut)

Cuts are used to widen the rear half of the body and separate the ears.

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Wolf (Cut)

A cut is used to separate the ears.

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Elephant (Cut)

Cuts are used to create the bulk of the body and to separate the ears.

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Polar Bear (Cut)

Cuts are used to widen the rear half of the body and separate the ears.

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Rhinocerous (Cut)

Cuts are used to create the bulk of the body and to separate the ears.

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Pig (Cut)

Cuts are used to create the bulk of the body and to separate the ears.

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Cow (Cut)

Cuts are used to create the bulk of the body and to create the horns.

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Water Buffalo (Cut)

Cuts are used to create the bulk of the body and to create the horns.

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Wallet

From three squares.

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Thread Container

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Cubical Box (Cut) - The Tematebako

From six cut Thread Containers

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Six-Sided Box (Cut and Glued) and Hanging Ornament - The Japanese Hexagon Puzzle Box

From six cut Thread Containers and plaited tassles

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The Mystery Box

From six 5x1 rectangles

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Hot Plate Holder - The Teapot Stand

From 48 postcards

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Woven Mat

From folded strips (in this case cut from postcards)

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Right Triangular Paper

Sea Gull (from a right angle isosceles triangle)

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Grasshopper (from a right angle isosceles triangle)

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Triangular Paper

Wild Goose (from an equilateral triangle)

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Wild Duck (from an equilateral triangle)

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Iris Blossom (from an equilateral triangle)

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Iris Blossom (Cut) (from an equilateral triangle)

Cuts are used to broaden the petals.

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Swallow (Cut) (from an equilateral triangle)

A cut is used to separate the two halves of the tail.

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Crayfish (Cut) (from an equilateral triangle)

Cuts are used to separate the two sets of claws.

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Duck (from an equilateral triangle)

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Goose (from an equilateral triangle)

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Compound Figures - Triangular Paper

Eagle (from two equilateral triangles)

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Dragon (Cut) (from two equilateral triangles)

Cuts are used to create the detail of the head.

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Rhombic Paper

Macaw (Cut) (from a 60 / 120 degree rhombus)

A cut is used to create the crest.

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Bat (Cut) (from a 60 / 120 degree rhombus)

Cuts are used to create the ears.

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Quacking Duck (from a 60 / 120 degree rhombus)

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Demon Mask (Cut) (from a 60 / 120 degree rhombus)

A cut is used to separate the fangs.

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Compound Figures - Rhombic Paper

Giraffe (Cut) (from two 60 / 120 degree rhombuses)

Cuts are used to separate the front and back legs and to create the horns.

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See-no-evil, Hear-no-evil, Speak-no-evil (each from two 60 / 120 degree rhombuses).

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Alligator (from two 60 / 120 degree rhombuses)

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Rhombus Constructions (modules from rhombuses)

Attributed to Akira Yoshizawa. Will make 3, 4 and 5 sided pyramids with open bases.

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Other Polygonal Paper

Chinese Bellflower (from a pentagon)

Attributed to Ryutaro Tsuchida.

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Azalea (from a pentagon)

Attributed to Ryutaro Tsuchida.

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Six-sided Ornament (from a hexagon)

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Turtle (from a hexagon)

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Dragonfly (from a hexagon)

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Octagonal Ornament (from an octagon)

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Specially Shaped Paper

Double Crane (Cut) (from two partially separated squares)

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Crab (Cut) (from two partially separated squares with additional cuts to separate the legs)

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(A version of) the Kan-no-mado Crab (from four partially separated squares)

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The Kan-no-mado Dragonfly (from a partially slit octagon)

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Gibbon (aka the Kan-no-mado Monkey) (from a partially slit irregular octagon)

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Octopus (from the Kan-no-mado) (from a slit eight pointed star)

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Costume Folds

Girl's Festival Dolls - The Prince (from four partially separated squares)

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Girl's Festival Dolls - The Princess (from four partially separated squares)

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Banzai-raku - Dancer (from a heavily slit rectangle)

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The Old Man (from a heavily slit rectangle)

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The Old Woman (from a heavily slit rectangle)

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The Ideal Modern Origami

Michio Uchiyama's Crab (Cut) (from a slit square with additional cuts to create the shape of the head / eyes)

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Independent Creativity

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Locust (a variation of the Preliminary Fold Cicada)

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Baby Chick

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