December 28, 2021 at 09:24PM

While I see photos of people going on vacation, I stay at home & stitch (My wife needs to work on-call so we cannot travel at these times). Stitch & Read. Think & Learn. As much as I would like to take my daughter to “theme park & beach” in winter, I want her to see what her father does. I am making a book-mark with fabric scrap and clipped thread. We need to work to our ends meet, and I believe it is a good thing to be “wanted” in this crazy world.

Sashiko in English, unfortunately, the main focus is “How they look (as a result)”. Therefore, they care for the rules and how good they can stitch. Traditional vs modern patterns are their concerns. However, the core of Sashiko is more than the technique & result. If their goal is to “mimic” how Sashiko looks, any information is good: however, they shouldn’t teach Sashiko as their speciality. If they are serious in learning enough to teach others, they need to learn more.

There aren’t many good books translated into English. More accurately, some books are translated but I feel something is “missing” or “filtered”. One book, however, “The Unknown Craftsman” by Yanagi is very well written by a great artist/potter, Bernard Leach. It isn’t about Sashiko specifically, but it is more educational than any other books talking about “how to”. If you are looking for a book for this winter, this is my recommendation.





はぎれとあまり糸で簡単な栞を作るようにしています。少し溜まってきたのでご紹介を兼ねて本棚に目を走らせて、ふと、柳宗悦氏の本の英語版「The Unknown Craftsman」が目に入ったので、少し読み返してみました。

基本的に翻訳というのは、その翻訳者の能力に依存すると思っています。どれだけ素晴らしい本でも、翻訳者が意図を汲み取れないと、なかなかにキツイ読み物になってしまうのです。その点、この本は素晴らしい英語での説明です。それもそのはず、民藝運動の中にいたバーナード・リーチ氏が”Adapt”をしている本なのです。

日本の当たり前を英語にすることは、本当に本当に難しいです。それが文化的なものであれば尚更。刺し子をしたことがない人に刺し子についての本を翻訳してもらうのは大変です。だからこそ……なんでしょうね。伝えたいのは生活の中にある美という当たり前なのですが。

#Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #刺し子 #日本人の刺し子


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