October 14th, I shared photos of “a meal on Boro” expressing how “strange/wrong” they were. Did you notice that there were 2 photos? Today’s photo is the 2nd photo… the photo I didn’t use as the main because I thought I needed the explanation.
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A serving of meal on Boro. There are some issues in this photo from Japanese (old-fashioned) cultural perspective. Can you guess what is so strange/wrong about this photo? Some Japanese may feel uncomfortable, or even disgusted, by this photo. Can you guess why?
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I occasionally make strong statements about Sashiko/Boro when a person uses the word Sashiko/Boro without (or with little) respect to Japanese. It is because the word carries the image. The image carries the stories. The stories define who they were(are). I intentionally took this photo as a “wrong” one. It is perfectly fine to enjoy Sashiko/Boro without any knowledge. Only thing I am asking is a “willingness” to learn. However, in a situation of teaching, please learn first the culture – the word is more than “what we do”. It represents who we are. (The message/answer in this photo will be available for those who wish – first on Patreon in Dec.) By the way, it would be great if you could share the photo and it can be culturally wrong. For this topic, I would like to be a bigger stone. Food on Boro isn’t okay…
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10月14日にご紹介した、「襤褸と配膳」の写真。「淳、壊れちゃったのか？」という有り難いご心配を筆頭に沢山の反応を頂きました。ありがとうございます。あの投稿、2枚あったのお気づきになられましたでしょうか？2枚の写真、実は似ているようで、全く心の入り具合が違ったりしています。今回ご紹介するのは、意図を込めまくった写真の方です。気分を悪くさせてしまったら申し訳ないです。伝えたいことがあって。
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頂いたコメントへのお返事を書いたらとても長くなってしまって、また「なんで2枚あるの？」というご質問も頂いたので、僕が込めた思いをブログにしてみました。あの写真を見て、「なんか嫌だ」という感覚をできるだけ言語化し、その上で、「襤褸を楽しむ上で何が大切なのか」を少しでも残せたらと考えた写真です。僕を育ててくれた年配の刺し子職人さんで、襤褸が好きという人は記憶にありません。僕はどうなんだろう……？と考えると、やっぱり襤褸は好きなんです。この好きという感情と嫌悪感が同居していて、だからこそ嫌悪感を感じない方へ「なぜ」を説明する必要があるのかな……と。記事は、Sashico.comにて読めます。
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2020-12-02 09:50:56
Oh my! After studying with you I look at this and say “oh no, just icky”. I wish I could explain it to those who don’t get it. I’ll try to come up with an analogy
It would be like serving a meal with dirty underwear on the table.
I do have a question and I’m unsure how to ask. I would find eating on boro disrespectful and unclean, but what if it is a patched together (boro) piece you made yourself?
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I think even from just a practical perspective it is weird. There are too many textures so dishes would be unstable and crumbs might become stuck. But from a more social perspective, it seems that it would be nice to lay out a fresh tablecloth for your guests or family, and to allow the food and people to be the highlight. For me, boro shows a certain amount of labor, struggle even, and mealtime is a nice time to take a break from the reality of the difficulties of life. This is just my intuition of what would feel right to me.
Buen día esta foto es la segunda foto del 14 de octubre ya que la primera tenía un plato blanco que me parece no pertenecer a lo cotidiano pienso que solo bowl usan…gracias por ser este un espacio de aprendizaje. Desde 🇦🇷😊
Even if the material is “clean” I wouldnt serve someone food on my grandfather’s jacket. The boro, even if “shameful” to older generations, has its place- but that place is not at the table!
I believe it’s because clothes in the past. For poor family, clothes are more important than food!
I feel so many things wrong with it. On both sides of the coin as you put it. I think the first and most outstanding is the eating utensils directly on the boro. That will go into your mouth. At the very least they should be placed on top of a dinner napkin on top of the boro. I know in Japanese culture it is very rude to even leave the chop sticks standing upwards in a bowl of rice while you eat. I maybe wrong, but I would imagine that type of respect and etiquette would hold universally in general. Those who also know vintage/raw selvedge denim culture and boro know that frequent washing of the fabrics is avoided to conserve its life. Boro mainly has been repurposed many more times. The story behind it no one usually knows completely. It’s not the fact of it being boro in my opinion. It could have been a Samurai’s blood stained garments. You would not eat on that. As honorable as it is as a possession it is just out of place. I share my opinion in the most humble manner and do not pretend to know everything right and wrong about the use of boro or of proper traditional etiquette in Japanese culture. I respect both with the most upmost regard. Forgive me if anything I wrote maybe misunderstood in any context that may offend you or anyone else who reads it.
Beautiful ❤️
先日京都の北野天満宮の蚤の市で、佐渡ヶ島の流人が着ていたという襤褸を実際に手に取る機会がありました。ずっしりと重く、お世辞にも綺麗とは言い難いものでしたが、すごい存在感で、、、その後にこの写真を見たので、写真に強烈な違和感を感じました。こういった違和感は、日本人特有のものなのでしょうか？
I think it looks wrong and I do not know the cultural perspectives either.