Kamikiri is said to have begun during the Edo period as a form of entertainment for a party, in which a performer cut a piece of paper in various shapes according to utai (the chanting of a Noh text) or with songs accompanied by shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese banjo).
江戸時代、宴席の余興に謡や音曲に合わせて、様々な形を切り抜く芸として始まったとされる。