I often receive an Interview Request regarding Mending & Sashiko. Nowadays, the interviewer studies my message about Sashiko prior to the first contact, and they ask me the question with the understanding of me saying “Sashiko is NOT the word for Mending itself”.
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Mending is a very important part of the Sashiko – but the word Sashiko itself is NOT about mending. In fact, the principal exists in the opposite direction. [They Stitched Sashiko so that They would Avoid Mending]. Sashiko existed to avoid mending – which is completely opposite of celebrating the Mending.
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Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy Mending for myself, both Visible & Invisible Mending. I understand that many associate Sashiko to their Mending – and some may teach it or publish a book about it. Is it Cultural Appropriation? No, it is just a lack of both “learning (from non-Japanese)” and “sharing (from Japanese)”. It is quite alright when they try to keep learning it – using the word itself isn’t going to cause the pain – ignoring the voice when a person from that culture speak-up is the issue. I really appreciate those who follow this account while telling/calling/teaching/publishing about Sashiko. My message can be quite uncomfortable – but they listen to it. Unfortunately, the trend sometimes/often ignores the voices – and I am just trying to be a stone in the big trend of “Cerebration with Ignorance”.
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「刺し子 x デニム」。まだ私が刺し子の職人さんと一緒に仕事をしていた頃に、小言を言われながらも固いデニムに針を通すようになりました。サステナビリティの流行からか、今では刺し子とデニムの組み合わせを探すと、穴の空いたデニムの補修だったり、はたまたツギハギだらけの衣類を作ったりと、様々な解釈がみてとれます。なかなか見つけられないのが、既存の衣類に「穴が開かないようにする為の刺し子」です。弱くなった＆破れたから針を持つのではなく、「補修は恥ずかしいから」と針を持つこともあった当時の刺し子をした方々の気持ちも置いてけぼりにはしたくないのです。刺し子をどれだけしても、どう頑張っても布は弱くなるし破れます。今のサステナビリティ信仰では「補修を喜ぶ（楽しむ）」ことが主軸になっていて、もちろんそれが正しいと思うのですが、同時に「補修しか方法が無かった（から補修しないように刺し子をした）」日本人にも思いをはせて欲しいなと思うのです。
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#Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #SashikoDenim #刺し子 #日本人の刺し子
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