The Japanese kusudama (薬玉; lit. medicine ball) is a paper model that is usually (although not always) created by sewing multiple identical pyramidal units together using underlying geometric principles of polyhedra to form a spherical shape. Alternately the individual components may be glued together. (e.g. the kusudama in the lower photo is not threaded together) Occasionally, a tassel is attached to the bottom for decoration.[1] The term kusudama originates from ancient Japanese culture, where they were used for incense and potpourri; possibly originally being actual bunches of flowers or herbs.[2] The word itself is a combination of two Japanese words kusuri ("medicine") and tama ("ball"). They are now typically used as decorations, or as gifts.[3]