Toshikazu Kawasaki

Toshikazu Kawasaki (川崎敏和, Kawasaki Toshikazu; November 26, 1955 – March 4, 2026) was a Japanese paperfolder and origami theorist who was known for his geometrically innovative models. He was particularly famous for his series of fourfold symmetry "roses", all based on a twisting maneuver that allows the petals to seem to curl out from the center of the flower. Kawasaki also taught mathematics at Sasebo Technical Junior College.

Kawasaki was born in Kurume, Fukuoka on November 26, 1955. He was the first to develop the technique of iso-area folding, which allows the folder to end up with each side of the paper displayed in equal amounts. It consists of building a mirror-symmetrical crease pattern and then collapsing it to find a finished form, usually a geometric shape such as a cube. He also discovered and proved that with any given flat point in an origami model, the sum of alternating angles is always equal to 180 degrees, a result now known as Kawasaki's theorem.

Kawasaki died in a house fire at his home, on March 4, 2026, at the age of 70.^[1]

• Origami^6, American Math Society, (2015)
• The Greatest Dream Origami, Asahi Press, (2009)

• Kunihiko Kasahara and Toshie Takahama, Origami for the Connoisseur. Japan Publications.

• Instructions for folding Toshikazu Kawasaki's Rose Archived 2012-09-02 at the Wayback Machine
• Origami rose models by Toshikazu Kawasaki Archived 2025-08-19 at the Wayback Machine