Each year since 1990 Takeo Paper, a major Japanese paper manufacturer, has hosted a paper art exhibition to select awesomeness in paper. The most recent winner was paper craft artist Makoto Sasao, who wowed the judges with his prize winning entry titled “Togari Hiragana.” Meaning pointed hiragana, Sasao used a single piece of paper to create a 3D representation of each hiragana character that stands up in the shape of a pyramid or cone.
When viewed from the side the objects merely look like paper cut-outs. But when the vantage point is shifted to a birds-eye view, the characters are revealed. “I wanted to create a code,” Sasao said in an interview. “A secret code that looks like nothing but when you follow specific instructions the message is revealed.”
Check out other cool ways people have reinterpreted hiragana.
source: takeo paper
July 31, 2013 at 10:02 pm
Thanks for sharing this and for showing the different elevations. Gives a real appreciation for the technical awesomeness of the work.