[Please Read the Caption Before Unfollowing this account. This can be insightful for you especially if this photo makes you uncomfortable. I believe I have the same feeling as you do]
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I have an interesting suggestion to learn how our preconceptions overwrite the message. This example may help you to understand what I am going through as “challenges/pain” in sharing what Sashiko really is. Please go to my Youtube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/sashico), then find the video titled [Sashiko and Cultural Appropriation]. Please watch the video first, and then read 100+ comments on the video. We can find 2 extremely opposite comments there: (1) sharing their Appreciation to my view & (2) attacking the concept of Cultural Appropriation (C/A). My goal is to be a bridge between Appropriation to Appreciation. However, it is so difficult to navigate those who ignore the message itself & get aggressive by just finding the word C/A.
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The video says “Please don’t worry about C/A in Sashiko Too much”. Isn’t it interesting to have so many angry comments? This explains 2 of my experiences. (1) Some People read only what they want to read instead of what is really written & (2) Don’t worry about C/A in Sashiko if you worry about it. Please worry about C/A if you think the C/A is nonsense.
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All I ask is “to acknowledge the upstream”. However, unfortunately, there are quite many who “react” to the word itself and be defensive. My mission is completed when Sashiko is introduced to people like you here – as Sashiko will keep its form with your continuous learning. Again, unfortunately, the majority of people try to change the shape of culture (let’s say Circle) to fit their comfortable form (Square).
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英語圏では毎日色々あり、書きたいことが溜まってきたので、英語でのウダウダを間に挟みます。運針会の紹介は今後も続けていきます。 というタグで見られるようにするので、見逃した方はそちらを参照下さい。
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日々思いを発信していると、様々な反応を頂きます。全ての人に賛同して頂けるとは思ってないし、議論も、その結果の不一致も全然ありです。それを否定すると文化じゃないし。ただ、文句を言うなら書いてあることを読む、動画は最後まで見る…っていう当たり前をしっかりして欲しいのです。その当たり前をしていない人がどれだけ多いことか。「お味噌汁は出汁が大事」と言う動画に対して、「出汁の重要性を語らないとは何事だ！」と言われてる感じ。いや、語ってますやん…。動画のタイトルが「お味噌汁に出汁は必要？」という疑問系だからといって結論を勝手に推測して自分の正義を押し付ける人が多いこと。厳密に言えば、みんな同じ角度から物事を見ているのにね…（笑）それを自分で気がつけないから問題になる。
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2024-04-08 22:12:17
I’ve been reading your posts and it’s made me see this art form with a new eye and reverence. I must confess that I practiced it like another craft that I picked up on YouTube and didn’t really understand the philosophy behind it or it’s cultural significance. I am originally from India and I’ve seen how yoga has been completely changed in the West to the point where it’s done with complete irreverence to its roots. And I can see what can happen to any art form or craft that’s practiced without understanding it’s roots. I hope to take your class in the near future.
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It is important to acknowledge the upstream in any “craft” and whenever I sit down to stitch Sashiko or knit or anything else, I like to think about what came before. The history is not only interesting, but it enriches what I do now. Appreciation is important.
I may be mistaken, but the YouTube link you shared didn’t seem to work. I looked up your channel (ShashikoStory) instead and searched and found the video. Looking forward to watching it, thank you for sharing!
Can we just get over the idea of cultural appropriation? It is a joke on us. Travel the world. Observe the art everywhere since the beginning. Or, just go to Rome. Nothing is exclusive to any group. You see the same designs in just about every context and culture. We must stop this insanity. Educate yourself.
I am sometimes a little unsure how is best to acknowledge it… I consider the upstream in my own work and if people see me stitching and ask about it, I try to pass on the context I have learnt from you (as a living tradition and its roots in practicality and care), talk about unshin and encourage them to seek out Japanese sources to learn more and to get materials from, but I do wonder if there are other things I should be doing or saying?
Thank you ❣️
Respect for all forms of art and expression belonging to a culture is key. I love seeing the roots – and sometimes also the interpretation. I would love the same delicate approach to be applied to gastronomy…
Enjoying, appreciating and even practicing elements of other cultures isn’t the problem. It’s cultural cosplaying that is the problem. People need to remember -as an example – that for centuries Western Europe quite literally stole and absorbed “Oriental” elements into their cultures, effectively claiming them as their own, while simultaneously referring to the people from the cultures themselves as backward, diseased and vermin. As an Asian person, especially one who was born in a country that continues to see me as a foreigner, it is upsetting to see non Asian people profiting off Asian culture or “trophy collecting” Asian cultural elements while having no interest or respect for the actual lives experiences of actual Asians. This is cultural appropriation. This is a perspective a lot of people of color feel about the appreciation vs appropriation thing. That non people of color e
Just admiring 😍
I always appreciate your posts. I have never tried sashiko but I see it referenced in so many craft spaces or as the central feature for workshops: temari and bogaji (sp?) are also often being featured. It’s good for people to explore crafting traditions but I wish there was more acknowledgment of the learning process for instructors. It’s similar to yoga and how it has been massively appropriated, IMO
If I like something I’ll wear it/use it!!! that in itself shows an appreciation & no I’ve not read the article! End of!
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You know, it’s just like with knitting. There are the really super cultural and traditional gansey sweaters that were worn by fisherman, and then there are sweaters that take pieces of ganseys, and incorporate them into modern adaptations, and they may end up in sweaters that have other cultural adaptations in The as well, so you end up with more than one culture in one sweater. But it never takes away from the fact that there is the still the original Sashiko or the original gansey sweater. In fact, it makes those sweaters all the more important because they teach us where the craft came from.
As a wife of Japanese and mother of Japanese, I aim to always learn the true history behind any new craft I learn! The sashiko is so unique and I love mending my children’s clothes with it rather than typical English or Irish stitches 🙌