Kunihiko Kasahara

Kunihiko Kasahara (born 1941 in Okaya, Japan) is a pioneering origami artist whose work bridges elegance, geometry, and clarity. Inspired early on by Akira Yoshizawa’s book New Origami Art, Kasahara developed his passion for folding, later influenced by Japanese cultural figures such as Zen master Kosho Uchiyama, who also wrote about origami as a practice.

Over his lifetime, Kasahara produced hundreds of models ranging from charming lion masks to mathematically inspired modular designs like the small stellated dodecahedron. Rather than chasing sheer complexity, he favored simple, graceful forms and playful polyhedra. A prolific author, his best-known titles include Creative Origami (1967), Origami Omnibus (1988), Origami for the Connoisseur (co‑written with Toshie Takahama), Extreme Origami, and The Art and Wonder of Origami—all blending artistic vision with clear, creative instruction.