Paper was invented by the Chinese in the first or second century. Origami was made around the same time, but it was not called origami. Buddhist monks brought paper into Japan when they wanted to a material that they could write their scriptures on. From that day, paper has been in Japan's daily life. China started to make Origami and from there it migrated to Japan where it was mostly used. Japan then spread origami to western countrys. After the 1860s America was introducd to origami by the Japanese. In the west it was known as "Paper Magic" and the intrest in origami began outside of Japan.

There were different types of paper that are used to make origami. There was Tesuki washi, Kikaizuki washi, and Yoshi. Tesuki washi was handmade Japanese paper, Kikaizuki washi was machine-made paper, and Yoshi was machine-made western paper. Washi was a very delicate art that was usally manmade. It was the inner part of the bark of certain trees that was peeled off. The fibers are then rd and shred into paper. They would use different materials to make finer types of paper like neri, kozo, and kajinoki. Neri is a kind of paste obtained from the root of "tororo-aoi" (hibiscus manihot), a plant resembling "aoi" (hollyhock), kozo and kajinoki are defoliated shrubs of the mulberry family. Tamesuki and nagashisuki are two different methods of making washi. The diffrence between paper and washi is that it can not be made by a machine. Washi must be handmade by skilled experts, but it has more strength and duability then paper. Paper has the advantage of making a lot of paper at one time since it is made with a machine. Washi is hard to get because it takes a long time to make and it is expensive. Backcoating and wet fold are two different styles of making origami. Backcoating uses paste, brush, and washi to make the paper glossy. Wet fold is needs the same materials, but it is used to make the origami. It is a eaiser way because it is more flexible. Washi can also be used to make fabic. Origami usally uses paper, but fabric is durable where it can be embellished with beads and different things. It is quicker and more forgiving than paper. It is another way to fold origami.

Different types and forms of origami were used. There is kirikomi, oshi-e, kasaneori, and kiritsunagi origami. Kirikomi origami is the basic style of making origami except when someone cuts it. Oshi-e is a paper doll which is cut a special way. When different color paper are laryerd and folded properly it is called kasanerori. Kiritsunagi is when a number of cranes are made from a square piece of paper and is cut into smaller squares that are connected.

Today Washi can still be found in the town of Ogawa-machi. This town started making washi over a 1,000 years ago. The town was known as a paper producing center and was highly recemended after the shogunate. It was established in Edo and since it was so close to the capital of the shogun it had to meet the demand of about 1,200,000. Today the town still is in production of making hand-made paper. Wrapping paper, and tissue foil are mostly used now in schools because they are cheaper.

There are many different kinds of paper, types, and styles of making origami. Washi was the main type of paper that was used throughout Japan, but it was very hard to make because it was handmade. There are different ways to make washi, but the main thing is that they all use these things to make the animals of origami.

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