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Phoenix

The legendary phoenix with a long, slender tail: a traditional fold with two petal folds and a reverse-folded neck, head and tail.

  • DifficultyChallenging
  • PaperSquare, 15 × 15 cm
  • Steps21
  • About30 min

Why this level: Twenty-one steps, with two petal folds and a collapse that forms the neck, head and tail by reverse folds as the model closes. Many layers pile up, so every crease must be firm.

You need: 1 sheet of origami paper

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Story

The phoenix (hōō in Japanese) is a legendary bird from old Chinese stories. It was said to appear as a lucky sign of peace when a wise ruler came to the throne. In Japan, phoenix statues stand at both ends of the roof of the Phoenix Hall at Byōdō-in temple in Uji, the building shown on the 10-yen coin. This paper phoenix is listed as a traditional model, but nobody knows who first folded it.

Did you know? In the Chinese name, 鳳 (hō) meant the male bird and 凰 (ō) the female; together they make the word hōō.

Learn more (external sources)

Steps at a glance

  1. 1. Crease the centre line

    Coloured side up. Fold the left edge to the right edge and unfold.

  2. 2. Fold the top corners to the centre

    Fold the top edge on each side down to the centre line. The corners meet in the middle of the paper.

  3. 3. Turn over

    Turn the whole model over.

  4. 4. Fold the slanted edges to the centre

    Top layer only: from the top point, fold each slanted edge to the centre line. The triangle behind comes round to the front with it, without being creased.

  5. 5. Turn over

    Turn the whole model over.

  6. 6. Fold the edges to the centre

    From the top point, fold both long edges to the centre line. Leave the diamond behind as it is.

  7. 7. Again to the centre

    Fold the edges to the centre line once more. This makes the long, thin tail.

  8. 8. Turn over

    Turn the whole model over.

  9. 9. Fold the diamond into a triangle

    Fold the top corner of the diamond down to its bottom corner, along the horizontal diagonal.

  10. 10. Inside reverse fold both corners

    On 45° lines from the middle of the top edge, push each side corner in between the front and back layers. It becomes a small diamond (a square base).

  11. 11. Flip the left flap to the right

    Flip the top left flap over to the right along the centre line, like turning a page. The corner you pushed inside now shows as a diamond.

  12. 12. Crease the edges to the centre

    Fold the two lower edges of the top diamond to the centre line and unfold.

  13. 13. Petal fold

    Lift the bottom corner of the top layer upward. Let the sides fold in along the creases to meet at the centre, and flatten into a long diamond.

  14. 14. Narrow the flap

    On lines from the bottom point, fold both edges of the long diamond to the centre line. The flap becomes thin.

  15. 15. Flip the flaps

    Flip the layers you turned to the right back to the left along the centre line; the thin flap folds in half and lies on the left. Then flip the top right flap over to the left so the other diamond shows.

  16. 16. Crease the edges on this side

    Fold the two lower edges of the diamond to the centre line and unfold.

  17. 17. Petal fold this side

    Lift the bottom corner and petal fold, as before.

  18. 18. Narrow this flap too

    As before, fold both edges to the centre line from the bottom point, then flip the layers on the left back to the right. Two thin wings now point up side by side.

  19. 19. Fold the lower point up (neck)

    Fold the bottom point of the front layers up along the line where the wings begin. It lies over the wings and becomes the neck.

  20. 20. Fold in half; neck, head and tail form

    Fold the right half behind along the centre line. As it closes, the neck turns out on its marked lines to stand at a right angle to the folded edge, its tip bends down into the head, and the long tail swings back and down between the layers of the body.

  21. 21. Spread the wings — done

    On a line just above the neck, fold the front wing down toward you and the back wing away from you so they spread in a shallow V. Stand it up and your phoenix is done!

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