In the Sashiko Live Streaming last night, I made a silly Freudian slip, which may sound contradicting to what I am doing now. Although I try to speak up loudly the importance of understanding “something missing in Sashiko” in today’s Sashiko trend, I feel that I have achieved my goal already. The goal is to “pass down” the Sashiko we have been practicing. I will keep sharing the stories, techniques, and mindset that consist of our Sashiko… but unlike 2019 when I first learned the concept of “Cultural Appropriation”, I feel very “content” in what I do. I have a LOT to do & share, but I am not devastated like before. We still need support in many forms, but I have hopes, which I thought I would never have.
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Thanks to many people who learned Sashiko from us in the last 6 years, and those who have been enjoying Sashiko in the way we try to pass down, the Sashiko we practice will be “preserved” even if I disappear tomorrow. The gathering in Japan, with both Japanese & Non-Japanese students I have shared Sashiko, clarified that the Sashiko we practice exist in their hands, minds, and ordinary. So, I slipped my tongue yesterday that I am already “satisfied”.
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It doesn’t mean that I will stop sharing the Sashiko Stories though. I learned more and more stories around Sashiko, and the other “Sashiko” which aren’t introduced in English. I learned how “filtered” and “selected” Sashiko in English by non-Japanese who benefit from this cultural simplification. My time from now on will be used for their Sashiko as well. For that, I am satisfied with “my own goal” for now, yet I build up more dreams on me. As I promise, I will never stop stitching Sashiko.
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10年前に一度諦めた刺し子。15年前には「未来なんてない」と思った刺し子。20年前には「俺が終わらせる」と言う程に嫌いだった刺し子。この場合の「刺し子」は、私が今お伝えしている刺し子に限定している訳ですが、時間が経って様々ながご縁を頂いた今抱えているのは、「刺し子は残る」という確信に似た希望です。正直、幼少期にみた刺し子と同系列の刺し子が全く別の場所で、しかも両手では数えきれない程に再現されるとは思ってみなかったのです。
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日本には刺し子を続けていらっしゃる方々が沢山いらっしゃいます。もし40年も50年も刺し子を続けていらっしゃる方が近くにいたら、是非お話を伺ってください。そこに刺し子の本質と真実があります。「だらだら時間を積み重ねれば良いってもんじゃない」という声もあるかもしれませんが、その「だらだら」こそ刺し子の核心を付くものだったりするので、そんな刺し子に携わる方々の声を聞いて欲しいなと思うのです。それを世界に伝えるのは私が請け負うので。まだまだ間に合う気がしてきました。ギリギリだけども。
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