Origami is a more modern word that covers a variety of paper folding practices. One older common word was orikata, or folded shapes.  Samurai from the Heian period and onward exchanged gifts decorated with noshi, folded strips of white and red paper containing dried abalone or meat as a good luck token.  In Shinto weddings, gifts of wine bottles decorated with paper butterflies were given to the bride and groom as gifts. By the eighteenth century, origami was an important enough part of the culture that the first manual on origami was published. Now you can be part of this ancient art with your own origami kit.