Kirigami (切り紙) is a variation of origami, the Japanese art of folding paper. In, the paper is cut as well as being folded, resulting in a three-dimensional design that stands away from the page. typically does not use glue.

Overview

In the United States, the term was coined by Florence Temko from Japanese, cut, and , paper, in the title of her 1962 book, , the Creative Art of Paper cutting. The book achieved enough success that the word was accepted as the Western name for the art of paper cutting. Typically, starts with a folded base, which is then unfolded; cuts are then opened and flattened to make the finished design. Simple are usually symmetrical, such as snowflakes, pentagrams, or orchid blossoms. A difference between and the art of "full base", or 180-degree opening structures, is that is made out of a single piece of paper that has then been cut.

Notable artists