My “ordinary” is someone’s “extra-ordinary”. The difference in culture, in how we grow up, is quite significant. Therefore, I ask to try to respect the Japanese culture behind Sashiko.
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In my culture, “teaching” is something special. The famous word, “Sensei”, is often referred to a teacher. The word itself indicates someone “respected” not only someone “teach” something. So, I have not defined myself as a teacher yet. I humbly accept other’s calling me a good teacher, but for me, it is a long way to go. I do not mind others teaching Sashiko. I hope they will respect the Japanese culture somehow. However… It was shocking to see a person asking to random people in a SNS for what to teach in Sashiko. If one doesn’t know, then don’t teach. At least, try to learn it before teaching… Lean from an expert or a book instead of asking in SNS… Am I expecting too much? Is my expectation an extraordinary thing in the Western Culture?
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日本人に良くみられる謙虚さは、日本国内では普通でも、国外では異常に見えてしまうことがあります。逆もしかり。日本の非常識は世界の常識だったりします。
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刺し子を教えている方は日本国内外に沢山いらっしゃって、個人的には問題も疑問もないのですが、先日とても驚くことがありました。「今度刺し子を教えるんだけど、何を教えたら良いの？」という恥ずかしげもない投稿を見かけてしまったんです。一瞬、頭が「ん？」となりました。「（刺し子を）教えることを教えて欲しい。でも教える「未来」は決まっている。だから教えて。」と読める投稿。もう、教える前に学ぼうよ……と思うのですが、これが現代なのかなぁと思い、少し寂しくなりました。日本の謙虚さの真逆にある何かです。英語が読めると、時々怖くなります。日本文化はどのように解釈され、どのように変容していくのか。
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2020-03-08 16:52:11
Definitely not asking too much. I do think there is an impact of social media in it….I’ve seen it similarly in teaching other topics/things where someone asks the “crowd”, but I find it problematic as it suggests someone is at the very least not doing the research and asking others to be their research or at worst, it suggests the person doesn’t have a sufficient foundation and are not ready to teach anyone.
I like your point of view. it brings so many questions to me too. Sashiko has brought so many questions of this kind to me.while doing it and while reading about it,in different contexts. What is it and how is it in your culture and what it means to me in my daily life and in my place. To do it mainly and to learn aboutthe culture where sashiko comes from.I hope in the way that I can and do,to be being respectful,because it has not only taught me a lot mainly about me but also when sharing what I humly learned form sashiko to others. Thanks for sharing,once again.❤️
just yesterday somebody said to me.. that what i was stitching looked beautiful and the idea came to my mind that it isnt MINE,that beautifulness comes from somewhere else and I am just bringing it to me and to my place by doing it daily.
Yet again so true. I often wonder if people who ask what to teach really understand what they trying to teach.
何回読んでも頭の中が❓です🤣
I totally get what you’re saying. There are so many people that are into “teaching” for the $$$. They share wrong information. They talk like they are a sensei, but they are not. They speak so convincingly, and then you find out the information that was shared is incorrect. This bothers me a lot. And they are not afraid to charge a lot of $$. SMH
If you put the thimble I the picture, that means something.
I think this is the beauty about learning about other cultures. There are many different ways of learning something, anything. Not just one way. Not talking just about Sashiko. There is a lot of merit in learning from someone who has truly become a master in something, or we can learn for ourselves through observation, experimentation, research. Or we can learn from someone who knows more than us, but is still early on their learning journey too. Learning to become a teacher sometimes means we have to ask our pupils what they want to learn. No point teaching a group of people something they already know. Also I think, we never stop learning, even when we are teaching. We learn from our students…. learning and teaching is never only one way, in one direction. We might find one way that works best for us… and that is ok, but other people might learn better in a different way. But I think it is unhelpful to judge the teacher or the student because they are learning or teaching in a way that suits them, even if it does not suit us. I think it is wonderful that we live in a world where there is the Japanese way, as well as so many others. I think it makes the world richer, more nuanced. I think one does not take away from the other. I have lived in many different countries, including some time in Japan. Comparing cultures never ends well. I had to learn to say: “Not right, not wrong, different!” This allowed me to open up and experience the benefits of different cultures, rather than constantly trying to think if it was better or worse than my own.
As a professor, I humbly disagree. If we don’t ask for advice from experts in the field, then we may teach something incorrectly or inappropriately. Those who ask advice and question, can be the best and most effective teachers.
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It is Alway very important to honour the heritage and culture in any craft…there is history in every stitch …🙏💙🧡💜
I do not think your expectations are misplaced. Thank you for giving us all a glimpse into this traditional practice.
You have my absolute respect.
I am a teacher and have learnt from many good and many bad teachers. For me, it is not OK to portray oneself as a teacher, without at the very least, a substantial understanding of and/or experience in that which we wish to teach. I am not suggesting teachers know or need to know everything about their subject. I am constantly learning and reflect and adjust every day, but these lessons contribute to a strong foundation of knowledge and experience. I believe that the key to being teaching well is to have been through the learning process yourself and that this should be experienced first hand.
I also believe that the art of teaching is a skill and that being good at or experienced in something does not make a good teacher. There is a lot to consider in order to successfully impart knowledge. We have all had teachers who are experts in their field but crap communicators or unable to organise materials and teachings in a way to support learning. In my mind to call oneself a teacher is a big call to make. From my understanding, Japanese culture takes this further in distinguishing kyoushi and sensei.
On top of all of this there is cultural appropriation to consider. It upsets me that people think it is ok learn a creative technique that belongs to another culture and to then assume they can call why they produce by this cultural name. To assume that they can then call themselves a teacher of a creative technique with deeply embedded culture is just ignorant and disrespectful. It seems that many aspects of Japanese culture have become popular recently and while it is wonderful to have the opportunity to share in this rich and beautiful and intricate culture it is not OK to take ownership of it by calling our work and our teachings by cultural names that do not belong to us and that we do not fully understand. Why not “sashiko inspired stitching” rather than “this is sashiko”. As I start @ecosophysustainablearts I am carefully considering what I can rightfully and respectfully teach. I consider “how well do I know this” “what have I learnt from this based on my own practise” and “how well can I share my knowledge”.