The day 2 of Sashiko workshop in NYC. I’m getting nervous as always 🙂 happy NYC pride parade !
2017-06-25 10:05:00
Our Sashiko Story to Your Sashiko Journey
Our Sashiko Archive is a collection of stories, reflections, and educational resources about Sashiko, Boro, and the cultural context surrounding Japanese hand-stitching traditions. While Sashiko is now often associated with visible mending, geometric patterns, sustainability, or slow fashion, these ideas are only one part of a much larger story.
This archive preserves more than eight years of writing, sharing, teaching, and conversation based on both research and lived experience. As someone born into a Sashiko family in Takayama, Japan, I have spent much of my life surrounded by the people, values, and stories that shaped the practice long before it became widely known overseas.
This archive is also closely connected to my book, Sashiko: The Untold Story, which explores the history, philosophy, memories, and cultural misunderstandings around Sashiko in greater depth. I hope this site becomes a place to begin, continue, or deepen your understanding of Sashiko beyond simple definitions.

What is Sashiko?
Discover the history, purpose, and cultural background of Sashiko beyond the common stereotypes of “visible mending” or “embracing imperfection.”
What is Sashiko?
Discover the history, purpose, and cultural background of Sashiko beyond the common stereotypes of “visible mending” or “embracing imperfection.”
What is Boro?
Explore the meaning of Boro, how it emerged through generations of use and repair, and why it is best understood as an outcome rather than a technique.
Learn Sashiko from Atsushi
Find information about workshops, online classes, lectures, and opportunities to study Sashiko directly from a Japanese artisan.
About Atsushi Futatsuya
Learn about the author of this archive, his family’s Sashiko heritage, and the ongoing work of sharing and preserving stories connected to Sashiko.
The day 2 of Sashiko workshop in NYC. I’m getting nervous as always 🙂 happy NYC pride parade !
2017-06-25 10:05:00
Thank you for watching the Reel. “Speed” isn’t everything in Sashiko. However, please understand that I am NOT trying to stitch extra fast. This is the comfortable speed, and therefore we can create many beautiful Sashiko pieces. It is more difficult to stitch slowly. The Sashiko introduced in English isn’t…
Sashiko is a form of hand-stitching (=process), and the Boro is an ultimate result of repeating Sashiko. The definition of each words, Sashiko and Boro, can be wide-interpreted, but Sashiko and Boro are not equal. In the Japanese language, Sashiko can be a verb, but Boro doesn’t work as the…
In the last 200 years, “Sashiko” has been developing its form by those who stitch Sashiko. Also today, Sashiko changes. I do not resist the change. I just hope that the change will be done by someone who is sincere to the culture, who cares about the upstream. ☆ Although…
