ObservanceWednesday, November 11, 2026
World Origami Day
- Date
- Recurs
- Every year on November 11
- Category
- Kids & Family
November 11 is Origami Day in Japan, a date the Nippon Origami Association settled on in 1980, and it is also the closing day of World Origami Days, the folding season OrigamiUSA runs from October 24. The date was chosen for its arithmetic: written 11/11, it is four ones, read as the four sides of a square sheet of paper.
History
The Japanese half of this day is the well-sourced half. The Nippon Origami Association, founded in October 1973, states on its own site that in 1980 this day was designated Origami Day, and gives two reasons for the date. The four ones in 11/11 stand for the four sides of a square sheet of origami paper. And November 11 is the anniversary of the 1918 armistice that ended the First World War, marked in Japan as World Peace Memorial Day. The association's sentence names no subject, so strictly it says the day was designated rather than who designated it; a Japanese government publication credits the association directly.
The American half grew out of a birthday. OrigamiUSA records that in September 2005 it floated October 24 as a special origami day, that being the birthday of Lillian Oppenheimer (1898-1992). Makoto Yamaguchi of Origami House pointed out that Japan already had one on November 11. Rather than choose between them, OrigamiUSA proposed treating the whole stretch from October 24 to November 11 as World Origami Days, which is how both OrigamiUSA and the Japan Origami Academic Society publish it now. A committee for the season followed, and in 2008 a second one was formed to build it a website.
Who Oppenheimer was is where the sources stop agreeing. OrigamiUSA's own article on the season calls her a co-founder of OrigamiUSA as well as of the British Origami Society. A Japanese government publication says she was charmed by paper folding around 1953, worked from an Origami Center she founded in 1958, and that OrigamiUSA was founded only after she died. OrigamiUSA's own history page gives no founding year for her center: it calls her the founder of organized origami in America, says Michael Shall and others founded The Friends of The Origami Center of America in the 1970s, that The Friends incorporated in 1980, bought her supplies business in 1987, and became OrigamiUSA effective July 1, 1994. On the organization's own dates this page follows the history page. The 1958 founding of her center rests on the government article alone.
Timeline
- 1898 — Lillian Oppenheimer is born. OrigamiUSA later calls her the founder of organized origami in America.
- October 1973 — The Nippon Origami Association is founded in Japan.
- 1980 — November 11 is designated Origami Day, per the Nippon Origami Association's own site. In the same year The Friends of The Origami Center of America incorporates in the United States.
- 1987 — The Friends buys Oppenheimer's origami supplies business. She dies in 1992.
- July 1, 1994 — The Friends of The Origami Center of America becomes OrigamiUSA.
- September 2005 — OrigamiUSA proposes October 24 as an origami day, learns Japan already observes November 11, and proposes the span between the two as World Origami Days.
How to observe
Fold somewhere public. OrigamiUSA's own suggestion for the season is as unglamorous as it is effective: fold on the bus, in line at the bank, at the library, and give the result away. A model handed to a stranger does more for the craft than a model photographed.
Enter something. The Japan Origami Academic Society runs an online exhibition across the season, judged for its Kawasaki Award; the 2026 edition took origami horses, with registration opening September 15 and submissions open from October 24 through November 11.
Learn one model from a printed diagram instead of a video. Diagrams are what origami is actually built on, and the symbol set is standard enough that a Japanese diagram works without a word of Japanese. If the armistice reading of the date appeals to you, that is the tradition the association itself cites, not a later gloss.
Frequently asked questions
Is World Origami Day on November 11 or October 24?
Both belong to the same season. OrigamiUSA runs World Origami Days from October 24, Lillian Oppenheimer's birthday, through November 11, which is Origami Day in Japan. November 11 is the closing day.
Why was November 11 chosen?
The Nippon Origami Association gives two reasons: the four ones in 11/11 represent the four sides of a square sheet of origami paper, and November 11 is the anniversary of the 1918 armistice.
Who designated Origami Day in Japan?
The 1980 designation appears on the Nippon Origami Association's own site, and a Japanese government publication credits the association by name. The association's own sentence does not identify who did it.
Did Lillian Oppenheimer found OrigamiUSA?
The sources disagree. One OrigamiUSA article calls her a co-founder, while OrigamiUSA's own history page describes the organization as the renamed Friends of The Origami Center of America, founded by Michael Shall and others, and a Japanese government publication says OrigamiUSA was founded after her death in 1992.
Is there anything organized to take part in?
Yes. The Japan Origami Academic Society runs an online exhibition and the Kawasaki Award across the season, and OrigamiUSA publishes a calendar of events and asks people to share photographs of what they fold.
When is World Origami Day?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | November 11 | Wednesday |
| 2027 | November 11 | Thursday |
| 2028 | November 11 | Saturday |
| 2029 | November 11 | Sunday |
| 2030 | November 11 | Monday |
Sources
- Nippon Origami Association, おりがみの日 (Origami Day) — https://www.origami-noa.jp/%E3%81%8A%E3%82%8A%E3%81%8C%E3%81%BF%E3%81%AB%E3%81%A4%E3%81%84%E3%81%A6/%E3%81%8A%E3%82%8A%E3%81%8C%E3%81%BF%E3%81%AE%E6%97%A5/ → the 1980 designation of November 11; the four ones as the four sides of a square sheet; the 1918 armistice and World Peace Memorial Day.
- Nippon Origami Association, home page — https://www.origami-noa.jp/ → the association's founding in October 1973; November 11 as Origami Day.
- OrigamiUSA, World Origami Days (The Fold) — https://origamiusa.org/thefold/article/world-origami-days → the September 2005 proposal of October 24; Oppenheimer's birth and death years; Makoto Yamaguchi of Origami House; the decision to treat the span as World Origami Days; the committee and the 2008 website committee; the co-founder description.
- OrigamiUSA, World Origami Days: Oct 24 - Nov 11 — https://origamiusa.org/news/world-origami-days-oct-24-nov-11 → the season's dates and the fold-in-public suggestions.
- OrigamiUSA, history — https://origamiusa.org/history → founder of organized origami in America; Michael Shall and The Friends of The Origami Center of America; the 1980 incorporation; the 1987 purchase of Oppenheimer's supplies business; the July 1, 1994 renaming.
- Japan Origami Academic Society, World Origami Days — https://origami.jp/en/world-origami-days/ → the 2005 account of the dates; the online exhibition, the Kawasaki Award, the 2026 horse theme, the September 15 registration and the October 24 to November 11 submission window.
- Government of Japan, Highlighting Japan, December 2021 — https://www.gov-online.go.jp/eng/publicity/book/hlj/html/202112/202112_08_en.html → Oppenheimer taking up folding around 1953 and founding the Origami Center in 1958; the attribution of the 1980 Origami Day designation to the Nippon Origami Association; the four ones and the armistice reasoning; OrigamiUSA founded after her death.
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