I love “words”. But, I don’t trust “words” so much. I feel there is something between “imagination (image in our brain)” and “words”. I share stories to outline “it” – something we cannot define or describe comprehensively in words.
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Let’s say, I have “a” needle now. Can you imagine “the” needle I have accurately? Probably not. You can imagine “a” needle I have, but not “the” needle – since we have all different filters. Unfortunately, I do not have HDMI output to connect my head to project what I have in my brain. Therefore, we have to trust the mutual understanding of the word, not the word itself. When we bring the word “Needle” to non-English community, it may mean nothing but “symbol”. Now, if you are not Japanese, I want you to try to learn “our (Japanese) mutual understanding”, not only the definition of the word and techniques.
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I did my best to write my intention in English above. However, it is incomplete – sort of “wrong English” because I am still learning. Please laugh and let it go if you are professional in English as Language. Somehow, I need to share this “something in between” in English to protect Sashiko – so I chose to share stories, not just “how to” and “what it is”, with the hope that they read between the lines.
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I receive many messages like this: “I cannot explain/understand why and how, but your writing for some reasons resonates with me.” That is exactly the outcome of reading between lines – remembering your own (indirect) stories while using my story as a trigger.
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What I share through Sashiko isn’t something extraordinary. Regardless of cultural differences, as being human, I believe that we all had something similar as the ordinary. Without that belief, I won’t spend this much time sharing. I fight back against those who force the image of “the” Sashiko. Then, we can appreciate the scenery of “a” Sashiko, and that’s how we can pass down Sashiko.
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