People live today as if tomorrow will come no matter what, and I believe they should. However, because of my unique experience, I don’t share the same “ordinary”. I live as if tomorrow will not come, and I feel a lot natural with that. It isn’t a matter of good or bad, but I just want to leave a note that Sashiko was a stitching practice for those Japanese who lived in harsh conditions with limited resources, which they weren’t sure about their tomorrow.
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Neither they nor I give up living. It is merely a different angle of how to view our lives. Since “the end” is so nearby, they prayed. Animism, believing in spirits, and praying for something more than what we are is part of the significance of Sashiko Stitching. Sashiko is a form of stitching and in a bigger picture, it may be a form of praying, at least for me, and for them. I hope this explains how shallow (or even insulting) someone’s “freedom” in Sashiko can be. I am NOT judging anyone’s choice. I am just asking them to learn more so that their choice will not offend anyone. Who do you have in your mind when you stitch? My Sashiko is not about “how accurate” the stitch is, it is more like “whom” I can stitch & pray for.
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これまでの僕と、そして恵子さんの刺し子を振り返るご縁を頂きました。刺し子は単純な針仕事です。誰にでもできます。手芸として発展しているし、多くの人が刺し子の楽しさと共に時間を過ごせることは、とても素敵なことだと思っています。ふと、振り返る中で、「刺し子の本質とは」と考えることがあります。今回のご縁でも同様に。刺し子は針仕事です。ただ、同時に刺し子の本質は「祈り」なのではないかとも思うのです。「誰かを思い、針を動かし、思いを（布と糸に）込めること」。日本人には当たり前の針仕事の姿かもしれませんが、それをしっかりと日本国外にも、そして未来にも繋げていきたいと願っています。
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