cochae origami

the name ‘cochae’ comes from a folk song in okayama called ‘kochae-bushi’.kochae is a slang term popularized in the 1830s-40s with multiple meanings, such as ‘come on over’ or ‘it’s great over here’. the name cochae also means, ‘first-timers welcome’.

japanese graphic design trio cochae designs origami paper and folding instructions. cochae was founded by yosuke jikuhara, miki takeda and yasuo mitsumori (all from japanese okayama prefecture) in 2003.orimato

the traditional russian matryoschka doll is available as an origami family. cochae has graphically designed origami paper in which you can fold-up the ‘doll’s’ faces and store all of the family members inside the mother.

collage clockwise from left: ‘bird’, ‘rabbit’, ‘ogre’, ‘king fisher’ and ‘naked’

this is an early series by cochae, where discarded magazines were collaged to make ‘paper golems’. it is an assemblage of origami, a highly geometrical medium, utilizing the raw quality of photographic images in their construction. just one sheet of paper will magically transform itself into a beautiful objet d’art.

koten ‘fukusuke doll’, ‘crane’ and ‘tortoise’ etc.

this is a brand-new ‘traditional’ origami that combines the ancient japanese art of origami with ukiyo-e patterns. it’s cochae’s homage to the illustrated origami of the taisho period, known as chieno origami. koten is a cochae origami.

funny face origami

merging the diverse nature of the paper folding art with the field of graphic design, this origami can be folded in different ways to make-up a variety of faces. there’s no wrong way to fold the paper, so the possibilities are endless. they also function as stationery, so you can send them to loved ones anywhere in the world.