Recently I discovered a Youtube Origamist - Origami Kankichi. I later found out that he does have a blog and various other social media sites, but I prefer the youtube channel. Well, on his channel, he regularly posts tutorials on folding and assembling origami modulars. Most of this models are 30-unit assembly and of these, I especially like the sonobe variations - I have a particular fondness for sonobes. So after much deliberation, I decided to try out one of the sonobe variations that he has designed - the Mt. Fuji Kusudama.

The kusudama is a representation of Mt. Fujiyama in Japan. Naturally, it works best with blue and white paper. But, for me, the first time I saw this kusudama, I was reminded of Tomoko Fuse's Chrysanthemum Globe kusudama. So I decided to use a dark pink and white paper, to resemble a chrysanthemum covered mountain, I guess. Anyway, any contrasting colours should work out well for this kusudama.

The modular is made from 15 squares of dark pink and 15 squares of white origami paper. Each of the 15 squares are cut into 2 rectangles of ratio 1:2. So finally, to make the model, we will be folding 60 modules. 30 of these modules will form the mountain shape and the other 30 will form the sonobe base. The mountain modules are slotted into the sonobe bases before starting the assembly. While the task seems quite daunting, the folding is not very difficult, though a little time consuming. Assembly is the usual sonobe assembly - 3 pyramids grouped in clusters of 5.

Model Details:

Model: Mt. Fuji Kusudama  

Creator: Origami Kankichi

Difficulty Level: Low Intermediate

Paper Ratio: 1:2

Paper Size: 3 inches by 1.5 inches

Model Size: ~4 inches in diameter

Modules: 60

Tutorial: Youtube