“Story” isn’t only for entertainment – it often comes with wisdom. Stories carry the reasons for what we continuously have today. In other words, something long-lasting always has a “Story” to share. I shared the importance of the needle on @UpcycleStitches . A story tells why I use our needles.
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I saw a discussion of “Good Needle for Sashiko” saying “I like this needle because it has a large eye”. Sure, easiness can be one reason to pick, but I want them to think why then not all the needles have large eyes. Sashiko was a form of stitchery for survival – stitching in harsh conditions with limited resources. The Japanese stitched to make fabric stronger & more durable. This philosophy continues even when we have more “choice” – so our Sashiko is based on the idea of making fabric stronger. See? This short summary already tells the reason for our needle with extremely small eyes (almost the same thickness of the threads). A needle with a large eye “could” end up with damaging the fabric more instead of making the fabric stronger. Therefore, the needle has the eye size of the thickness of the thread & needle body. “Easiness” is an important aspect to keep culture. However, it doesn’t explain the whole. There is a huge difference between “Can’t” and “Don’t”. I want you (them) to have choices rather than limiting their choices by focusing on easiness.
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Stories are important – and therefore, the name matters. There are people behind the words. Freedom of individual choice is very important. I agree. I just would like to ask, though. Is it really a choice among many stories behind the culture, or just the only choice we have? All I do is to offer “choices” so we do not need to suffer from “No more choices” in the future.
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刺し子の原点は「布の補強＆保温」だと思っています。布が簡単に手に入らなかった時代、限られた布を大切に使う為に発展してきた針仕事を刺し子という通り名で読んでいるんだろうと思っています。当時は布を手に入れることすら難しかったわけで、現代のように素敵で使いやすい道具が手に入らなかったと想像します。ただそれは、現代に生きる私達が「どんな材料でも道具でも良いや」というのはまた違います。選択肢がある私達だからこそ、その当時の人々の思いに想像を広げながら、改良改善を繰り返してきた道具や材料の「物語（とその理由）」を知ることが大切なんだろうなと思っています。「改善」は日本の文化であり、英語にすらなっています。KAIZENが当たり前の人達なんて、素晴らしいじゃないですか。
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#Sashiko #刺し子 #Japanesesashiko #日本人の刺し子
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