There are many Sashiko artisans in Japan. I don’t consider myself as one of the

There are many Sashiko artisans in Japan. I don’t consider myself as one of the masters. As much as I appreciate your admiration of my & Keiko’s work, we are still learning. However, there is one thing that can differentiate me from the other Sashiko artisans – I believe I am the one who has “hated” the Sashiko the most in this world.
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It is easy to “like” something. Also, it is easy to “dislike” something and move on. I had to be with Sashiko regardless of my preference. It was only less than 10 years ago when I started liking Sashiko. Before, Sashiko was merely a disgust to me. Sashiko is a form of “hobby” now in today’s trend. I have no problem with that. However, for me, it has been my life – including both joy and hatred. Therefore, I can continue sharing the stories every day. The full history of my Sashiko is going to be very long – so I share them in Patreon little by little. I am still on this writing project. ☆
People will move on – especially if they do not wish to learn the core. Most of the people who are using the word “Sashiko” in the trend will not be doing the same stitching in 2030. At the same time, there are people who decided to stay still. There are people behind the words. ☆
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幼少期から「職人さん」に囲まれてきたので、自分の技術が未熟なのは承知の上。だから、「プロですね！」と言われると、少し不思議な気持ちになるんです。勿論、お金頂く以上、プロとしてしっかりと胸を張ってお仕事を頂くわけですが、同時に「静かな職人」が多い日本の文化の中で、声を上げることの恥ずかしさも感じてしまうわけです。
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ただ、一つだけ、「きっと僕が世界一だろう」と思うことがあります。これがあるからこそ、多少の恥は忍んでも文章にしています。それは、「僕ほど刺し子を憎み、そして嫌いになったことがある人は（現代には）いない」ということ。20年近い間、ずっと刺し子が大嫌いだったからこそ表現できる言葉があると思うのです。人生は本当に不思議です。
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2020-05-16 08:01:11

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