Sashiko is not the word for the Japanese mending technique itself. Mending is indeed a great part of Sashiko, but what we often would use for “mending” is just “hand-stitching for mending”, not so much Sashiko. People who use the word Sashiko as the mending technique is twisting the word & meaning of it. Sashiko is more than that.
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Many cultures have “mending” as their ordinary practice. I am pretty sure that your culture does as well. With name or without the name, your ancestors probably used the needle to mend fabric. So, mending itself isn’t anyone’s invention. There is nothing special in mending “itself”. However, it doe NOT mean that “Sashiko” existed in all of the culture. It existed in ordinary Japanese culture, and therefore it carries a significant amount of “Japaneseness”.
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I see some “artists” who sell items saying “with a Japanese Mending Technique called Sashiko”. They aren’t wrong, but their description is insufficient. Often, a “business (being professional)” comes with responsibility, and I believe they are responsible for sharing the stories. I feel as if they share the message of “Cheddar Cheese is the (only) Cheese” without explaining about the other kinds of Cheeses. Isn’t it sad that we live in a world where we only enjoy Cheddar Cheese? I love Cheddar, but also I really would like to have some Camembert, and more. While “appreciating” the foreign culture, I really hope that they don’t “limit” the culture they are just visiting. I shared a video of “Mending” on Youtube. I am not sure if I would call it “Sashiko Mending” yet.
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(https://youtu.be/_TyNPXqSLCQ)
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上記Youtubeにて、今年の夏に活躍してくれた半ズボンの補修の解説を行いました（英語での解説ですが、少しだけ日本語のキャプションもいれました）。穴が空いたズボンに当て布をしただけなので刺し子なのかなと我ながら疑問です。衣類の修復をされているプロの方々からみたら、とんでもない仕事だと思います。ただ、英語圏では「これ」が刺し子であり、襤褸だと理解されるようになりました。間違ってないのよ。でも、足りてないんですよね。出汁を感じない味噌汁。チーズが乗ってないピザ。美味しい所がもっとあるのに。
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#Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #Mending #刺し子
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