In 1937 he left factory work to pursue origami full-time. During the next 20 years, he lived in total poverty, earning his living by door-to-door selling of tsukudani (a Japanese preserved condiment that is usually made of seaweed). During World War II, Akira Yoshizawa served in the army medical corps in Hong Kong. He made origami models to cheer up the sick patients, but eventually fell ill himself and was sent back to Japan. His origami work was creative enough to be included in the 1944 book "Origami Shuko", by Isao Honda (本多 功). However, it was his work for a 1952 issue of the magazine "Asahi Graph" that launched his career, which included the 12 zodiac signs commissioned by a magazine.