Because of the last few posts, I received many comments & DM saying “Please do n

Because of the last few posts, I received many comments & DM saying “Please do not change what you do.” Thank you. Don’t worry – I will not. ☆
Sashiko is like my family. When someone disrespect it, I try to protect it. I can be aggressive if needed.
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We (I mean Sashi.Co) decided to open our house for strangers. When someone visit us and do not take shoes off, we would politely ask them to follow the Japanese custom. Some may disagree to take off shoes for their reasons. Then I would politely explain why we ask you to follow the custom. If they still disagree after the explanation, then I would ask them to leave. No need for the seeds of future trouble. We respect the other culture & condition. What if they decided to come into the house with shoes on regardless? Then, I would drag them outside of the house and refuse them to come in. I would be offended by them disrespecting the culture. ☆
However, the actual fear isn’t there. What if, my child in the house who is new to this culture of taking shoes off, start thinking that it is okay to keep the shoes on in the house? The child is so innocent that she could implement the easier option. (Please understand that I am talking about Sashi.Co, one ramification of big Sashiko tree. I do not want to speak on behalf of the other Sashiko that I do not practice.)
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I guess what I experienced may not be a case of Cultural Appropriation (Again, I really need to study on CA.) The fear is about navigating people in the unintended direction with the information we share. My goal is to share Sashiko as Japanese culture – therefore, I may consider the navigator, who speak about Sashiko focusing on only result in the House, as a kind of invader to the family. Well, I will try to be polite to the invaders at least 3 times. This is from Japanese proverb. So, no worries. I am stronger than I look.
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日本語とは、かくも便利な言語なのかと改めて。家に土足で踏み込まれたらやっぱり怒るよね、というのが上の英語。例え話なのでご了承下さい。「日本の家を見に行きたいとのこと。お願いなので土足では上がらないで下さい」というお願いに、「いや、靴脱ぐの面倒だし、私は気にしないから大丈夫。」と言われた感じがしています。文化は難しい。
☆

2019-05-16 17:13:11

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