I appreciate many people learning “What is Sashiko for us (for Japanese)” throughout my platform & classes. Similar to other cultures & cultural practice, Sashiko has become something different (not wrong, but not sufficient) in English. I accept, or even encourage, the change. I just want the change to be mindful, fair, and willful – not by someone for their profit & convenience. I started this journey from zero in 2014 after 30 years of Sashiko life. I strongly believe that we as humans are decent. Once we “know” it, we would respect it. The last 10 years of my activities prove that they would care & respect when they knew it. Cultural Appropriation happens when they intentionally “ignore” the voice of the people from origin – “not knowing” can be fixed together.
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Sashiko may be a new trend for this society. “Sashiko” may be a fancy word for them. Some may consider themselves as experts as they found Sashiko a few years/decades ago before it became a trend… but the Japanese who practice Sashiko have been here and there for centuries. Just looking at my upstream, it can go to 100+ years. It is probably more years. I just cannot find the documents to follow. I do not want it to be “over-painted” by someone who does not even speak the language they spoke. When the purpose & goal is just to enjoy, welcome & I am here to share & teach. It won’t damage the culture or people behind it. I guess it is this simple. How can one define “being a master” without even speaking to the people there? There is no such a thing as “one stop for all (you need to know)” in a culture – the more we know, the less we will be confident in “mastering”.
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先月に引き続き、今月も「刺し子運針会」を開催できることになりました。こうして継続してご縁を頂けること、本当に嬉しく思っています。できるだけ早く日常に戻して、運針会にご参加頂いた方とも継続して刺し子を一緒に楽しんで行けるように準備を進めなきゃと思う次第です。オンラインでの講習、4時間という長丁場（これまで皆様あっという間と仰ってくださっています）、フォロワーの数（？）や刺し子の作品の数々で、「身構えてしまうー」とか「怖いんじゃないか」とか思われることもあるみたいなのですが、誰でも気楽にご参加頂ける会です。配信で苛々を語ることはあっても運針会で感情的になったことは一度もありません（笑）日本の方であれば現段階で刺し子をお教えしている人でも勿論大丈夫です。目的は「（上流がある程度わかる）運針を残すこと」なので、日本人としての当たり前が身についている人であれば（日本語で意思疎通ができれば）、全く問題ないです。刺し子仲間の輪も広がると思います。みんな上手なので…6月30日（金）朝9時からの開始です。ぜひご検討くださいー！
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2023-06-10 21:54:18
Thank you for all the work you put into these insightful and important posts. I learn so much from your perspective.
コワクナイヨ😂タノシイヨ😊
The more you learn, the more there is to learn. It is a beautiful thing and a journey. I am working my way slowly through your Domestika class and learning to stitch in the rhythm, and am already noticing improvement. Thank you for the work you are doing. It is important to preserve the authenticity of Sashiko. As humans, if we lose these connections to our past we lose part of our humanity.
It’s indeed not easy to find any historical information of sashiko albeit its being so popular in the visible mending circles. Thank you for providing that insight.
私も怖い思ってました。最初にメールで連絡するのびびってました。