After many years of teaching, writing, and sharing Sashiko in English, I am pleased to announce the publication of my book:
Sashiko: The Untold Story – The History, Technique and Philosophy Behind Japanese Hand-Stitching
Published by Quadrille Publishing, an imprint of Penguin Random House, this book represents a project I have carried for many years—not as a manual for stitching, but as an exploration of the culture, history, and people behind Sashiko.
UK Release Date: May 14, 2026
US Release Date: May 19, 2026
Publisher: Quadrille Publishing / Penguin Random House
Format: Hardcover
Length: 176 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-1837835010
Contents
What Makes Sashiko: The Untold Story Different?
When people hear the word “Sashiko,” they often think of geometric patterns, visible mending, or decorative stitching. These are certainly parts of Sashiko today, but they do not tell the whole story.
For years, I was encouraged to write a traditional instructional book. However, I felt that another step-by-step guide would not address what I believe is often missing from discussions about Japanese Sashiko outside of Japan.
Before learning how people stitched, I wanted readers to understand why they stitched.
Sashiko: The Untold Story focuses on the context that shaped the practice: the lives of ordinary people, the realities of rural Japan, and the values that developed through generations of stitching.
Inside
Sashiko: The Untold Story
This book explores Sashiko from a perspective rarely available in English-language publications.
Readers will discover:
- The historical roots of Sashiko in Japan
- How Sashiko developed as part of everyday life
- The cultural values that influenced the practice
- The philosophy behind making, repairing, and caring for cloth
- The challenges of translating Japanese concepts into English
- Personal stories from my family, which has practiced Sashiko across generations
- Full-color photographs documenting both tradition and contemporary practice
Rather than offering a collection of patterns, the book provides a deeper understanding of the environment in which Sashiko emerged and evolved.
Why “The Untold Story”?
The title reflects a simple reality.
While many books introduce Sashiko techniques, very few discuss the experiences, perspectives, and memories of the people who lived with Sashiko as part of daily life.
As Sashiko has grown in popularity around the world, some of these stories have become difficult to find, and in some cases, have been overlooked entirely.
I wrote Sashiko: The Untold Story to help preserve those voices and to document a perspective inherited through my family and community.
A Book About More Than Stitching
Although technique is an important part of Sashiko, this book is ultimately about people—the people who stitched because cloth mattered in their everyday lives.
It is about individuals who strengthened fabric, extended the life of clothing, prepared for difficult winters, and made careful use of limited resources. Their stitching was not simply decoration. It was part of living, repairing, caring, and continuing. Through their hands, Sashiko became a way to work with what they had, to protect what they needed, and to add quiet beauty to ordinary cloth.
This book looks at the relationship between fabric and daily life, between necessity and creativity, and between personal practice and shared culture. It asks readers to see Sashiko not only as a design style, but as a cultural practice shaped by time, place, and human experience.
My hope is that this book serves as a bridge—connecting visual appreciation with cultural understanding, contemporary interest with historical experience, and today’s makers with the many unnamed people whose stitching helped shape Sashiko..
Appreciation to many who support us.
This book would not exist without the support of students, readers, workshop participants, and everyone who has engaged with my efforts to share Sashiko in English.
Thank you for making space for these stories.
Order
Sashiko: The Untold Story
The book is now available through major booksellers worldwide and directly through our website. If you purchase a copy from us, I would be happy to include my signature and a personalized inscription upon request.