One of my goals in sharing Sashiko is to preserve the voice from Japanese people who practice(d) Sashiko. It is very challenging because the Japanese tend to keep their personal stories inside, especially when the stories are related to their ordinary. It took almost 20 years to start sharing my stories. This is another reason that we do not find a Japanese author in Sashiko/Boro in English much. In this big challenge, a live streaming sometimes gives me a great fortune to hear the actual voice. The comment from a Japanese viewer was: “I do not like the self-deprecating word [Boro]. I think Sashiko describes the Japanese culture of [appreciating what we have]. It isn’t [Boro], it is [treasure]”. As she/he states, Boro means differently to the Japanese – not do positive.
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Some may use the word “Boro” with positive phrases such as “Joyful” and “Fun”. I have seen a phrase, “Happy Boro Stitching”. You may see how far the word travels by itself. This is the fear I feel of “freedom” in interpretation. There are native Japanese who do not like the word “Boro”, yet some “teaches” us it is “joyful mending”? Some say, “Boro is the age old Japanese art of mending textiles”. The Japanese didn’t make Boro to enjoy it as the art of mending textile. It is someone else who defines the values in it and uses the word for their new trend. If these non Japanese people refuse to learn, then it is Cultural Appropriation, isn’t it?
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配信をしていると、時に宝物の様なお言葉を頂けることがあります。日本で刺し子をしていらっしゃる皆様の言葉を残すことが第一の目的なので、日本の方々の一般的な感覚でのお言葉が一番嬉しかったりします。「ボロという自虐的な表現はあまり好きじゃない」という一般的な感覚は、残念ながら米国では認識されてません。ボロは称賛されるべきアートだから……と。価値観すら塗り替えてしまうような言葉の一人歩きが嫌なだけです。何度も書いて恐縮ですが、襤褸の上で食事をすることを絶賛するような文化の残り方は嫌なのですよ。
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2021-02-27 10:32:22
Thank you for your dedication and patience in putting forth the truth of sashiko. I have long admired this form of cultural doing, and recognize its place of ownership to the Japanese people. Thank you for sharing. 👏
Thank you for finding ways of bringing your inner stories out so we can understand more. I have handled some old boro blankets. They told their own story without the need for words. The story is one of hardship, love and care. 🙏
Estimado Sashi.co, en toda traducción de una lengua a otra se pierde cierta identidad y se interpreta quizás otra que ciertamente no es tan precisa. Es mi humilde parecer. Te saludo y felicito por tu labor de dar a conocer el bordado sashiko 😘
Thank you for sharing! I have not heard the term boro before
thank you as always. today I learned a new-to-me perspective on boro from a native 😊 it’s rather ironic how a self-deprecating word is interpreted into something associated as “joyful” and “fun”.
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I agree with you about cultural appropriation. When I learned about Sashiko and boro, I definitely learned the history of boro. The “boro” piece I did in a class opened the world of Japanese culture and history to me. I hold that piece and think about how boro was a necessity. It helps me empathize. I use it to share information about Japanese history. Maybe I don’t have the right to do so. If I’m wrong, please say so. I will stop.
Perhaps it is a portal then to bring a higher conciousness to others in learning about a culture they don’t know as they share a skill they are learning. This would bring such value to both instead of shame and devaluing anyone.
Like sashiko and boro…thanks for your sharing…
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Wow!! This was interesting and I agree.
Thank you for this post. I appreciate your voice and work