Taro Yaguchi, Origami Artist

Taro Yaguchi was born and raised in Kobe, Japan. He graduated from the Tokyo University of Science with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He currently divides his time between creating origami models and practicing as a Japanese patent lawyer. He is also president of a multinational patent law firm with offices in Japan and the U.S.

Like a typical child growing up in Japan, he started folding origami at a young age. But his interest in origami was sparked again in 2001 when he was to be an exhibitor at an inventor's convention. He needed an eye-catching novelty gift for his booth and came up with a simple paper airplane design with his firm's information on one side and an aircraft design on the other.

The idea was a hit and soon people were stopping by his booth grabbing 3,4 sheets of origami at a time. Word spread, and workers at the conference were also stopping by asking for his design. That's when he realized he may have hit on something exciting. If a simple paper airplane can generate so much interest, why not create his own design with more realism and detail?  He started experimenting with different folding techniques.

Part of being a multinational business man entails making several trips a year between Japan and the U.S. It is during these long transpacific flights that he came up with his first design of a commercial aircraft. Soon, other models followed. Taro's Origami Studio now has over a dozen original designs of trucks, cars and other modes of transportation with its uniquely pre-printed sheets of graphic origami. designs. And with many more business trips in the works,  one can expect to see many new designs appearing on this Web site in the future.