I have a dream. One day, we would respect other’s preferences rather than insisting on one’s preference. The reason I teach Sashiko is to always come back there. There are so many rules, definitions, and information misled by those who think they know about words. They unfortunately result in excluding the most important element of Sashiko from its practice. I focus on the “most important element” first so that they can “reach to” their own rules and definitions, and therefore many find my workshop as “Eye-Opening” even if they have experience in teaching Sashiko for decades.
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I have another dream. One day, I would like to see a person/community where they can make a living by just doing Sashiko. This dream contradicts the origin of Sashiko as a part of the Ordinary, yet “someone making ends meet by (only) doing Sashiko” will be a great sign of Sashiko being Sustainable. At this point, I cannot make my ends meet when I only focus on stitching – so it is a big dream, but it isn’t impossible as I had been observing it every single day in my childhood.
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The Goal of my teaching, including me being so difficult on the Internet, is the Inclusion in the bigger picture. Some may think I am “excluding” non-Japanese. If you feel like that, please keep reading what I write & say as I am trying to Include you as well as other Japanese in the same boat. The Sashiko trend in English may exclude some Japanese… and it isn’t really the Inclusion even if the “leaders” invite people with comfortable words. I hope that, by achieving the goals above, I will include as many people as possible to create “Sustainable Sashiko”.
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相変わらず教える最中の写真は撮れておりませんが…私の刺し子と、見本として持参している @na.na_45 さんの風呂敷とを並べて写真に。回数を重ねる毎に教える技術は上がっているなと思うのは、生徒さんが何を考えていて、何をどう学ぼうかというのが、運針への取り組み方を見るだけでわかるようになってきたことです。取り組み方がわかれば、教え方も臨機応変に変えていけるのです。
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結果、運針会を含め私のクラスを受講して下さった方は、とても刺し子が上手になります。というか、上手になることは大前提の上で、「自分の刺し子のスタイル」ができてきます。それこそ十人十色で、私一人では絶対に拝めなかった風景なので、とんでもなく楽しいのです。英語圏でもそれは一緒で、今日刺し子をお伝えした人の中から、比類を見ない刺し子作家が出てくるんだろうと思います。
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「刺し子の答え」だけに拘ると、その答えの先にある風景に辿り着く難易度が上がります。答えが目的地になってしまうから。学びは出発地点であり、目的地は各々で、その都度変えていけるくらいの柔軟さがあると刺し子は（というか何でもですが）深みが出てきます。今後もそんな教え方を続けていけたらなぁと思うのです。
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2024-06-29 11:14:37
Keep on this. Be affirmed. Too much of the early teaching of sashiko in the us was not taught by Japanese teachers. It may have been taught with interest but it was not taught with attribution. Your words are needed.
I’m interested to hear your thoughts on this: I am an art and technology teacher in the UK and have just written a project for my students to make simple kimono style jackets. We will be exploring shibori dyeing and sashiko as part of it, to understand the cultural significance these both had/have in traditional Japanese culture. The point of the project is to see a product designed and made from inception to completion so rather than just ‘make a kimono’ it’s researching the history of the people and the kimono, looking at traditional symbolism in the imagery used, researching and practicing traditional shibori and sashiko, dyeing, cutting and sewing a kimono style jacket, applying sashiko embellishment to complement the shibori patterns. Now, I am not Japanese and this is all completely new to me. I have not practiced shibori or sashiko before but I want to be able to share these ancient techniques with my students to broaden their understanding of different cultures and textiles etc and to give them better understanding and respect for said cultures. How does this fit with your belief that sashiko has been appropriated and therefore diluted by non-Japanese and would this be something you are against? My point is that I want to expand my students’ understanding and experiences of life, not to insult a culture by suggesting I’m a professional at either shibori or sashiko, which I am very much not. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. Thank you.
Hello
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