World Origami Days Spends 19 Nights on Toshikazu Kawasaki, From His Rose to an SR-71
OrigamiUSA and the Japan Origami Academic Society run 19 online classes on Kawasaki's designs from 24 October, all recorded, for $40 in total.
World Origami Days 2026 is 19 nights of online classes built around the work of Toshikazu Kawasaki. OrigamiUSA and the Japan Origami Academic Society run it on Zoom from Saturday 24 October to Wednesday 11 November, and one registration covers every class: $40, or $35 for OrigamiUSA members.
Kawasaki, who died in March, is best known for the Kawasaki Rose, a realistic rose twist-folded from a single square. Anne LaVin teaches the classic version on the first night, and OrigamiUSA rates it complex. The series ends on 11 November with his One-Minute Rose. According to the class notes, it got the name because Kawasaki could fold one in about 60 seconds, and it was designed as an easier way into the spiral-centred rose.
In between come a frog that hops when you pinch and release its back legs, a six-piece modular ball with a lock strong enough for tabletop bowling, a penguin box, a one-piece hydrangea and an SR-71 Blackbird spy plane. The organisers say the plane first appeared in Top Origami, published by Sanrio in 1985. On 27 October, Tom Hull, a mathematics professor at Western New England University, explains Kawasaki's Theorem, the rule for when creases meeting at one point can fold flat.
Live classes start at 8pm US Eastern time, which is around midnight or 1am in the UK. Every class is recorded, and registered folders get the recording within 24 hours of it ending. Registration stays open until the last day. You need an OrigamiUSA website account to sign up, but not a membership, and each class listing gives the paper size you'll need.
The Japan Origami Academic Society is also running a Kawasaki Award during the 19 days, open to any age or nationality. One category is for folding his published designs, and the other is for new, unpublished designs in his spirit. Entries go in through the society's Facebook page, on X with #worldorigamidays2026, or through its online Origami Art Museum, and the winners are announced during the final class.
Paper Tree's $30 World Origami Days paper pack had to be ordered by 9 October to arrive before the first class, so anyone signing up now may be folding from whatever squares are already in the drawer.
