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The origins of the term "origami"
If you are interested in some of the more detailed information that David Lister, one of the foremost Western historians in the field of origami history,can provide on the history of origami, a good place to start might be with the very first use of the word "origami". David Lister explains that the first use of the word "origami" in Japan did not refer to what we now think of as paperfolding but instead to paper certificates. Mr. Lister's email is provided here, again with his cautions that there may be errors and omissions:
...it is a fact that the first use of the word "Origami" in Japan was not for our familiar recreational paperfolding, but for certificates. I have several references, including the following from an article by Yoshizawa translated in The Origamian in autumn 1963:
We have an expression in my country, "Origami Tsuki" meaning "certified or "guaranteed". The phrase stems from our ancient custom of folding certain special documents - such as diplomas for Tea Ceremony masters, or masters of swordsmanship - in such a way as to prevent unauthorized copies from being made.
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