In 2017, when I first received an offer to teach Sashiko, I wasn’t sure what to teach. I thought all of what I could do was “normal” for many people. After teaching Sashiko for 4 years, I realize I have received a pile of treasure – a lot to share. More than the amount that I could keep sharing for 3 days, yet the students were a bit overwhelmed by the amount.
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For me 30+ years of listening to the stories, stitching (reluctantly), and watching top artisans. For Keiko, 40 years of enjoying Sashiko. I “can” offer “quick techniques”, but when one asks for “quickness”, they won’t get the core of what we do. What we do (Sashiko) cannot be summarized into a class or a book. If you do not understand Japanese as Language, please be careful when you assert a phrase in Sashiko / Boro. Sashiko may not be “Little Stabs”. Therefore, I keep sharing the stories. Boro isn’t only about visible mending, and Sashiko is more than just stitching. Anyone can enjoy Sashiko – but when it comes to “teaching”, understanding the Japanese culture becomes very fundamental to avoid unnecessary twists & filtering in culture. I do not want anyone to destroy the culture we cherish.
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僕の妻はユダヤ人です。大切な（義理の）家族は、イスラエルに住んでいます。日々のニュースで心を痛めていて、なんともできない無力感に苛まれています。政治的な話をするアカウントではないので深くは切り込みませんが、争いは一度始まってしまうと、「答え」を出すまでなかなか終わりません。争うのには理由があり、また理由がある限り争いは続きます。日本文化は……200年の争いなき江戸時代を通して、「争う理由を作らない」文化が形成されているように思うのです。現代ではそれが「優柔不断」だとか「スピードが遅い」という弊害が目立ってしまいますが、少なくとも刺し子において「これが刺し子で、それ以外は刺し子じゃない」という表面だった争いは僕は知りません。西洋の文化が入ることで懸念している一つが、この「争う理由を求められること」です。「違うならなんで正解を出さないの？」と突っ込まれる。なんとなく違いを受け入れる日本人は、「確かにそうだ」となってしまうかもしれない。悪い一例が明治維新後の軍国主義化だったと思っています。刺し子には「絶対的な答えがない」ままで居てほしいんです。
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2021-05-18 13:17:41
Keep sharing 👏 your work is amazing! 🔥😍
sometimes there is a disconnect between cultures. it must be difficult to convey the Japanese aesthetics to white Americans. sometimes very insensitive.
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Thank you for sharing this. I’ll keep listening.❤️
I don’t know sashiko and still have no clue. Just received care lovely package from Tokyo during last year’s NYC lock down, and it just looked like stitching stufff(can’t read Japanese!) and just kept stitching it. First it was to fight pandemic lock down boredom, but later it became my sanctuary. Just keeping myself calm with every stitch. Meditation. Would love to visit Japan when 🦠 calms down and get a real learning, the culture and meaning behind it. Thank you.
とても興味深い考察のお話ですね❤️
腑に落ちる部分がたくさんありました😊
なんとなく違いを受け入れる日本人とは…。たしかにそのとおりですね。外から入ってきたものを上手くいつの間にやら日本風に消化して文化に取り入れてきた古い歴史がありますよね。でも、最近は優柔不断だと感じる人が日本の中にも多くなったような気がしますね。和を尊ぶ心は残してゆきたいですね。