A Butterfly for Mr. Makoto Yamaguchi

“The Makoto Cho”

This butterfly is named for Mr. Makoto Yamaguchi, “Gallery Origami House” founder, author, origami designer and publisher. Mr. Yamaguchi is the beloved mentor and chief organizer of publications by wonderfully advanced, “supercomplex” origami designers and folders in Japan and throughout the world.

my youngest folders
are quite talented indeed!
how far will they go?

This design will introduce staggered flaps and an Aztec wing. It also features a special hindwing detail obtained by folding a Rabbit’s Ear, and so we call it a Rabbit Spot!

1. (A) Valley-fold in half, bottom edge to top. Unfold. (B) Move the bottom edge to the center crease and make a short pinch mark. Unfold. (C) Move the bottom edge to the pinch mark and make a short pinch mark. Unfold.

2. Lay the lower pinch mark on top of the upper pinch mark and valley-fold all the way across the paper.

3. Valley-fold the indicated edges to align with the bottom folded edge.

4. Use the horizontal crease to valley-fold the top edge down.

5. Valley-fold the bottom edge up, flush to the folded edge, behind.

6. Open the paper and rotate 90 degrees.

7. Your paper should look like this. Valley-fold the bottom edge to the top.

8. Squash-fold the right half. Look ahead to see results.

9. Your paper should look like this. Turn over, left to right.

10. Pull out and flatten flaps “a” and “b.”

11. Squash-fold.

12. Valley-fold the bottom corner to the top of the split. Unfold.

13. One at a time, squash-fold the right and left halves of the model to form the wings. Look ahead at step 14 to see the results.

14. Form a crimped overlap at the middle of each wing, by rolling the top edges and the bottom edges of each wing towards the center. (The excess paper pushes up the center mountain crease to form an edge.) Fold the forewing paper down over the hind-wing, creating the forewing overlap.

15. Your paper should look like this.

16. Valley-fold the square corner of each forewing so that the top edge runs parallel to the crease.

17. Mountain- and valley-fold the triangle flap into thirds of each forewing. Inside-reverse fold the lower corner of each forewing.

18. Your paper should look like this.

19. Mountain-fold the outside edge behind for both hindwings. Valley-fold the triangle flap over each hindwing.

20. One at a time, valley-fold and unfold the free edges of the triangle to the bottom, folded edge.

21. Valley-fold the corner to the intersection of creases.

22. Form a “Rabbit Ear” and the “Rabbit Ear Spot”: Use the creases to collapse the flap on top of each hindwing. Look ahead for the shape. Notice that the colored triangle will be folded in half.

23. Mountain-fold the wing corner in half, and fold flat to the back side, pointing away from the body.

24. Open. Look ahead for the shape.

25. The completed hindwing.

26. Mountain- and valley-fold the abdomen over the right wing.

27. Valley-fold the left wing to match the right wing. Unfold.

28. (A) Squash-fold paper for the head. (B) Mountain-fold the corner behind. (C) Your paper should look like this. (D) Fold the wings together.

29. (A) Mountain-fold the abdomen edges inside. (B) Valley-fold the wings down on each side.

A Butterfly for Mr. Makoto Yamaguchi.