Asakusa, known as a town of crafts, is lined with facilities where you can enjoy exhibits and experiences that reflect Japanese culture. One of the most unusual is Taro's Origami Studio, a facility where you can experience origami, something that everyone has played with at least once as a child. You can see origami works that are so beautiful, elegant, and cool that it's hard to believe they were made from just one piece of paper.


To protect the origami culture itself

Taro's Origami Studio is run by Taro Yaguchi, an origami artist based in the United States. Yaguchi is also an internationally active patent attorney who handles patents and intellectual property. As a patent attorney, he has dealt with assets that do not have a clear form, and that is why he has a strong desire to preserve origami, an intangible part of Japanese culture.

"Origami is a culture that remains in people's experiences, and is one of Japan's intangible cultural assets. It is still an asset that must be protected, but there are no industries or small businesses that originated from origami, and compared to other traditional crafts, there is not as much movement to protect it. In order to properly preserve origami culture in the future, I decided to turn origami into a business and began my activities."

Yaguchi runs an origami business and is working to spread origami culture overseas. Specifically, he opened an origami studio in Brooklyn, New York, which he continues to operate to this day, and in addition to producing his own works, he also creates origami for events for large companies. His goal is not to leave origami works and folding methods for future generations, but to preserve the culture of folding origami as a whole. In order to create a place where tourists visiting Japan and Japanese children can enjoy origami, he opened Taro's Origami Studio Asakusa in 2023.

"In some countries overseas, origami is incorporated into school classes. I would like origami to become so commonplace that it spreads all over the world, to the point where there are people who don't even know it is a part of Japanese culture. My ideal would be for the word origami to become as widely known as sushi or judo."

Origami works that combine power and delicacy

Taro's Origami Studio displays a variety of origami creations, including beautiful Japanese landscapes, dynamic eagles, and impressive whales, all of which make you wonder if they were really made from a single piece of paper.

If you look closely at the large, impressive cherry blossom tree, you'll see that each flower is made of origami. Looking closely, you can feel the elegance of their delicacy. There are also a variety of other motifs, such as cute monsters, dragons, and dinosaurs, all of which are made up of overlapping, fine folds. Some of the pieces were made by Yaguchi, while others were by artists who learned origami at the studio.

"Some people have studied at Taro's Origami Studio and gone on to work as Taro's Origami Studio artists. The texture of the work changes depending on the origami paper used, so I hope you enjoy that as well."


Origami experience that focuses on your fingertips

At Taro's Origami Studio, anyone can easily experience origami while watching the unfolded diagram and video on a tablet. Easy ones include animals such as dogs, and slightly more difficult ones include roses. You can choose your favorite origami paper and freely enjoy making your favorite motif.

As I carefully folded the paper, concentrating only on the sensation of my fingertips and the paper, memories of my childhood when I enjoyed origami came back to me, and I felt a sense of nostalgia. Trying it again, I realized that the time I spent concentrating on origami was such a luxury, and I felt a strange sense of accomplishment as the piece slowly took shape.

"The origami experience is very popular with visitors from overseas and children. Even if you like origami, it's hard to find a place where you can learn about it in detail. I hope to create a space where anyone interested in origami, both adults and children, can enjoy themselves to their heart's content."

Origami culture was born in the Muromachi period and developed greatly during the Edo period. The beautiful appearance of the works on display at Taro's Origami Studio and the delicate technical skills that support them allow you to feel the traditional Japanese dedication to careful handiwork. This is a place where you can learn about the charm and possibilities of Japan's proud origami culture.

Taro's Origami Studio
電話番号：050-1807-2536
住所：東京都台東区浅草7丁目1−12
アクセス：東京メトロ銀座線浅草駅から徒歩8分
HP：https://www.tarosorigami.com/ja/
※営業時間や定休日についての詳細は上記のリンク先にてご確認ください。