So, people say Sashiko is the Art. They call us Artists. I don’t consider Sashiko as the Art (yet), therefore, we consider us more like artisans, not artists. Well, let’s say, Sashiko is the Art. Then, who defines the value of art? I assume the value of art is evaluated objectively, not subjectively. The artists themselves do not “price” the value of their pieces - the audiences(patrons) define how valuable their Art is. Then, how do I price what we make? ☆ In Japanese Folk Art, in which Sashiko is generally categorized at, anonymity of makers is one of key elements. In art, “who makes it” is more important than “what is made”. We make a lot of Sashiko items, but I literally don’t know how to price our Sashiko piece as the “Art”. Based on the hours of stitching (then it will be super expensive)? Based on the market needs? I don’t know any “Sashiko artist” who makes a decent living with only selling their end-Art (no supplies, books, and workshops). So again, let’s say, Sashiko is the Art. Then, who makes Sashiko Art? How do I price such a piece like this “Boro-To-Be fabric”? ☆ - - - ☆ 英語圏で良く、「刺し子は芸術（アート）だ」という言葉を聞くのですが、正直僕はこの表現が好きではありません。無責任だなぁと感じるのです。民藝運動の中で見いだされた刺し子は、柳宗悦氏が定義した民芸の中で輝くと思っています。用即美であり、また作り手の匿名性もその定義の一つです。芸術においては、「誰」が作ったかが相当な比重を占めるので、刺し子を芸術と定義するのであれば、民芸の本質を乗り越えるだけの馬力がいると思うのです。そして、その馬力は「作り手」ではなく、「刺し子は芸術だ」と唱える人たちの後押しからくるものです……。が、現実は、制作に11ヶ月かかる刺し子のジャケットに、「5万円くらい？」と一桁値段が違う問い合わせをする人が殆どです。失礼だし、無責任じゃない？アートって、そんな軽い言葉なのかなぁ（軽い言葉だから簡単に使われてるんだろうけれど） ☆ #Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #SashikoArtisan #Professional #SashikoArt #Boro #SashikoNeedle #JapaneseBoro #Unshin #LearnSashiko #刺し子 #運針 #日本人の刺し子 #刺し子針 https://www.instagram.com/p/CDEuUAspSIq/?igshid=16tysb7j6ah9p

Please do not undervalue yourself. You can make the great Sashiko pieces. It is just a matter of appropriate practice. Sashiko is simple, and anyone can acquire the masterful skill. However, please do not be arrogant. Please keep doubting what you know, and continue learning. “I know about Sashiko & I can do Sashiko well” is a dangerous phrase when you are not Japanese.  ☆ Keep admiring and disciplining yourself. Accept who you are. Celebrate you when you achieve, and encourage yourself when you face the challenges. Never judge who you are based on what you can do. Just keep trying & learning. Then… one day, you will find a “AhHa!” moment to realize what Sashiko really is to you. I am merely a navigator for you to get there.  ☆ I believe you have heard something similar to above. This is a phrase a parent often tells their child(ren). When do we forget to encourage ourselves although we tell the child to not to give up & respect others? You can do Sashiko as we do (if you want). Please do not ignore the fact, and twist it to your convenience. I am here to share... so that I can encourage you to call your stitching “Sashiko” with confidence.  ☆ - - - ☆ 子供の頃はあまり本を読みませんでした。中学時代の恩師に勧められた本で読書の面白さに目覚め、それからはずっと本の虫です。読書は書き手の物語を楽しむものなのですが、同時に書き手とのやり取りを楽しむものだと思っています。すでに書いてある文字列に突っ込みを入れたり、はたまた質問を投げ掛けたりして読み勧めていく。そんな時間が今の僕を作っていると言っても過言ではないように思います。刺し子も似ています。違いは文字列がないことで、つまりは情報量が少ないこと。布と糸と針を通して、少ない情報量の中で「無機質なもの」を通して自分と会話する。そんな面倒なことをやってるから、何年間も配信を続けたり、こうやって文章にし続けられるんだろうなと。まだまだ書き足らないというのが本音です。 ☆ #Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #JapaneseBoro #SashikoArtisan #刺し子 https://www.instagram.com/p/CIdmFJrJ1nL/?igshid=a8u4ybljf1dh

I had a very good, hitting the nail question. “What do you want AFTER sharing the Sashiko”. My goal is to share the Sashiko that someone will keep the heart of Sashiko even when we are gone. I do not want to mix “means” and “goal”, so the goal is to share the Sashiko. Means is…then... sharing? I have a dream to make Sashiko sustainable. However, that’s not the only destination after sharing. I will keep thinking about the question ☆ I am/used to be a calculating person. I was running a business with employees before - calculating on profit and loss was critical. However, I learned, the final destination of calculating profit and loss can be pricing someone’s life. The more I adapt myself into “logic”, the less I felt appreciation to an ability as human. Do I want to tell this to my child? No. I want them to be happy with who they are - not by what they can do. As you can easily imagine, Sashiko isn’t the best field to achieve “profit” in finance. In a discussion of productivity, Sashiko isn’t necessary in this society. However, I want us to be “valued” not only by productivity, but other human-like things. There is some “power” in human-like things. That’s another reason I keep sharing. The “reasons” won’t explain what I want AFTER sharing, but it’s a good start. I will keep thinking. ☆ Sashiko isn't a word for slow stitching. I do not encourage you to stitch Slowly. However, I encourage you to slow down by stitching (being mindful). Boro isn’t a technique to mend fabric. However, we can mend ourselves by stitching to make fabric a Boro. Boro may teach us how important human ability is. Technique, Design, Skill, Pattern, Results, How to… everything is important. However, what I want to share is more than that - and I would like to see what is there AFTER sharing Sashiko, with you. ☆ - - - ☆ とても核心を貫く質問を頂きました。「淳は刺し子を伝えた”後”、何がしたいの？」と。前々から書いていますが、僕には刺し子での野望がありません。昔はあったのですが、挫折して粉々になりました。なので、「今あるものを（必要以上に変えずに）残したい」という願いで刺し子を語っています。手段と目的がごっちゃになるのはいけないので、目的は刺し子を伝えて残すこと。手段は言葉と作品で伝えること。その後はあまり考えたことがありませんでした。ふむ。少し考えてみようと思います。とても大切なことなので、しっかり言葉にしてみようと思います。 ☆ #Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #JapaneseBoro #SashikoArtisan #刺し子 https://www.instagram.com/p/CIJUNKEpmYa/?igshid=e3jpvm12mdya

I don’t consider myself as a “skilled” Sashiko artisan. Yes, I am a professional, so I am as good as I should be. However, the Sashiko artisans I grew up with always make(made) me feel that it is far away to be the “skilled” one. At the same time, the artisans weren’t special people. They were just ordinary Japanese who happened to be masterful in Sashiko. I believe the same people exist(ed) all over Japan. So… I hesitate to say that I am a skilled Sashiko artisan. Similarly, there are many talented people in Sashiko. Some may be good at designing the pattern. Some are genius to combine vintage fabric & Sashiko. There are many others who are masterful Sashiko, which I do not practice. It took a lot of guts to offer Sashiko Class & share our Sashiko online. ☆ However, there is one field that I am very confident in. It is the field of “Thinking about What Sashiko is”. I hated Sashiko in my childhood. In order to hate, I had to know what Sashiko was. Since my childhood, I have been thinking, learning, and then thinking about Sashiko - why’s. Therefore I have so many words to share. Therefore, my stories are “comprehensive”. 30 years of my thinking as Sashiko is my life… Isn’t it natural for me to feel pain when someone minimizes my 30 years? I went through a lot. I am here to share everything. I am aware of the discomfort by writing occasional strong statements. If you disagree with what I say, please read what I write first. This account isn’t something I came up with out of ideas. This is a summary of my 30 years.  ☆ - - - ☆ 今日は米国では感謝祭です。入植時、アメリカ大陸の原住民の方々から教わった農耕で飢餓を乗り越え、その収穫に感謝をする日とされています。同時に、インディアン（原住民）の方にとっては、略奪の始まりの日とされていたりします。事実は一つなのですが、それをどのように伝え、見る角度を変えることによって、様々な解釈（意味づけ）ができます。僕は、この歴史を学んで以来、小売業のセールの一週間……という感謝祭だけではなく、想像力の大切さを思い出す一週間にしています。 ☆ #Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #SashikoArtisan #刺し子 https://www.instagram.com/p/CIDoO5BJVZp/?igshid=1gadelbb9epra

In my childhood, I always wanted to be someone else. I didn’t want to be just a (boring) stitcher. I wanted to be someone important to help this world. Well, after all, I am a Sashiko artisan today. I stitch the Sashiko I thought was boring. My mother Keiko has been the same from the beginning as long as I remember - she has been a happy person in stitching. ☆ We would like to inspire you with our Sashiko - not only by how Sashiko looks but also how we have been with Sashiko. We stitch Sashiko, and Sashiko helps us to be who we are today. It is easy to say “Accept & Love who you are”. This is a true statement. However, it isn’t so easy to realize/practice it. Thousands of hours in stitching. Just simple stitching. It took almost forever to realize what I can do for this world. What I would like to share is not only “how to”, but also who we (as a human) can be in this world. Sashiko doesn’t create any innovation. Sashiko don’t make our society more convenient. I may be “a loser” from someone’s perspective. However, I hope we can leave something behind us with our Sashiko & stories. Techniques, Technology, Design, Finance, Intelligence... all of them are important. What we can offer to be part of this great society may not be something in high-demand, but probably necessary for us to remember. It is (old) wisdom & (forgotten) possibility of our hands.  ☆ - - - ☆ 母親と話す中で思うのは、これまでの本当に摩訶不思議な人生のこと。僕は偉そうに刺し子を語っていますが、刺し子の技術そのものはまだまだ未熟です。見てきた職人さんの足元にも及ばない。幼少期から素直に、言われた通りに刺し子だけやってれば、今の時点でそれなりの職人になっていたんでしょうけれど、ひたすら刺し子から（現実から）逃げ続けた人生でした。でも、逃げ続けたおかげで、巡り巡った今、少しは深みが出たのかなと思います。逃げ続けたから、これだけ語れる。「手芸としての刺し子」で良いんです。「自由で楽しく」が主流で良い。ただ、「刺し子が人生（だった）」人がいることは、声として残したいのです。 ☆ 幼い頃から「誰かの力になれる人」に憧れてきました。そんな誰かの力になれる人は、相当能力が高くて頭の良い人で、壮絶な努力が必要だと思っていました。行き急いでいると揶揄される程、我武者羅でした。でも、ふと気がついたのは、その幼少期の求めていた「誰かの力になれる人」は、あるがままを認めてくれる人だったように思います。憧れと同時に、これから僕は、そんな人になりたいな、と。このアカウントの全ては、そこに帰結するように思います。僕と恵子さんが作り、そして伝える刺し子が、誰かの支えになれたら……なんて理想を描いています。 ☆ #Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #SashikoArtisan #SashikoStory #JapaneseBoro #日本の日常 #刺し子 https://www.instagram.com/p/CHlRWchpti7/?igshid=h73duqjjkd07

Thank you for the many comments on yesterday's post. There are no answers for my question yesterday. I am not looking for a quick answer as well. I am perfectly fine with someone calling me “Artist”. As long as I know who I am & what I am doing, the “label” is just a compliment. It is an honor to me. Being said, here is my insight of “Art”. ☆ The value (price) of Art is determined objectively, not subjectively. Anyone can make their own Art - and they can be an artist to express themselves. When one subjectively thinks they is an artist, then they is. However, “living as an artist (professional)” is a different story. I do not have any education in Art. So, “you” makes us the artists. “Customers” who purchase our Sashiko items (finished item) make us the (Professional) Artist… It happened before so we are here. I don’t know about the future. ☆ Yes, anyone can make an art… however, I feel a pain when someone uses the word “Art” as an excuse to not to learn something new. “Sashiko is an Art, so we can do whatever we want” is a very painful statement because it can repaint the original culture. They can surely do whatever they want, but then the word “Sashiko” doesn’t need to be in the context. Often, “Sashiko-Art / Boro-Art” that I see do not carry the spirit of Sashiko. I just want to share that I feel a pain when someone justify themselves by the word “Art” for their possible cultural repainting. The word “Art” is not a panacea in respecting the culture. ☆ If possible, please help me to be the “Sashiko Artist” - so one day, I can remove the pain. ☆ - - - ☆ 刺し子を紹介するアカウントなのですが、英語のコメントでは沢山の「西洋の考え方」が見受けられて、なかなかに文化的な議論ができているなぁと思います。日本人にとって、芸術は非日常です。日常の刺し子とは、そもそも論で相性が悪い。寄りかかる伝統が少ない（ない）文化圏では、「今」がとても大切なので、結果的に「個人の自由」が尊重されます。マスクしない自由も似たようなもの。極論を言えば、「人は痛くても自分が自由であればいい」という……あ、ちょっと待って、流石に議論が深すぎるので、せっかく作った個人の方で書きます（笑） ☆ #Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #SashikoArtisan #Professional #SashikoArt #Boro #SashikoNeedle #JapaneseBoro #Unshin #LearnSashiko #刺し子 #運針 #日本人の刺し子 #芸術 https://www.instagram.com/p/CDG-g20pnVZ/?igshid=ren2xnytvig7

A discovery after offering the Sashiko workshop to more than 300 people in last 3 years: The Sashiko needle-movement (Unshin) I practice is quite unique. So far, I have not met anyone who holds/moves the needle as I do. It was true that my family tried to keep it as secretive as possible. Now, I share this “secret” in the workshop. At the same time, I do not want to “filter” people by what they have (mainly money), so I also share how I stitch on Live Streaming without editing & hiding on Youtube, some are free tutorials. The class/workshop is beneficial because I will navigate them to learn without any detours and mistakes, but one can learn the core without the navigation, if they are willing. ☆ Before I decided to go online, some advised me that it is a bad idea to “share”. They worried for me that someone would copy it. They may make money out of the technique they (think they) learn without understanding the core, without even give the credit. They said, “ Isn’t it going to be your threat…? Aren’t you going to regret later?” ☆ Do I regret my decision? No. It wasn't a easy determination, it came with pain - after all, my goal is to Pass Down Sashiko. Over the Internet, anyone can be a teacher in anything. Therefore, I wanted to share the Sashiko I received - although there is a risk of me losing my livelihood. I do not own Sashiko. No one can claim the ownership of Sashiko. If someone wants to copy what we do, so be it. Only wish is that the world will understand that Sashiko is not only the technique but also the mindset (philosophy & stories). For that, I really hope they would read/listen to what I write/say, and keep learning. (Of course, credit would be appreciated). ☆ Before the Internet emerged, keeping the technique secretive was probably the best way to protect a tradition. I sincerely respect my family for doing that. Now, I gotta do what my father saw it in me - to surprise the world. ☆ - - - ☆ 暑い夜。手に滲む汗を扇風機で乾かしながら針を持っていると、親父を思い出します。ハイライトの匂いが微かに……。親父、夏好きだったからなぁ。 ☆ #Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #SashikoArtisan #刺し子 #運針 #日本人の刺し子 https://www.instagram.com/p/CC-DyU8pUEe/?igshid=v92z7j7pslx5

I hope I make myself clear. I do not exclude others. I simply encourage people to “Think/try” before they ask questions, complain, and “repaint” what Sashiko is. I sometimes receive negative feedback that the needle we recommend has very small needle eyes - the complaint is like “The product says ‘big-eye-straight’, why is the eye so small?” I understand the frustration because threading a needle can be a bothering process (although once the stitcher gets used to it, it is no challenge at all.) ☆ Here, I want you (them) to think about why our Sashiko needles (both Sashi.Co and Tulip Brand) have such small needle eyes. I believe I have talked about it on the Youtube & Patreon page. There are always reasons for what I share. There are multiple reasons to have the small-eye for the Sashiko needle. The product name “Big-Eye-Straight” is based on the fact it has the biggest eye for a good Sashiko needle - not in comparison to the other needles. (I do not consider the bigger eye needle as a “good Sashiko needle” because of the stories behind it). ☆ I plan to talk about the needle a little bit on Friday, in the Sashiko Live Streaming. Why is the needle eye for Sashiko small? It is probably an easy question for you if you follow this account for a long time (@UpcycleStitches may have provided the answer already). There are reasons for that. Try it & practice it. I can almost guarantee that this type of needle will be the necessary tool for a good Sashiko project. ☆ - - - ☆ 米国で仕事をしていて思うのは、現代は既に「顧客至上主義」の社会であって、昔ながらの職人気質の仕事は、相当に工夫をしないと、すぐに淘汰されてしまうな……ということです。刺し子針。針の目が小さいのには理由があります。でも、「お客様が全て」の市場では、「小さい針の目だから駄目な針」という文化も何もかもふっ飛ばして、個人の未熟さにて文化が塗り替えられてしまうこともあるんです。吃驚する程頻繁に、「糸が通せないから」という理由で返品（使用済みなので再販不可）です。どこまで足掻けるか。100個作って100個完璧にする美学の日本人が、「100個必要で、不良品率が10％なら、110個作ろうとする文化（不良品率は改善しない）」で、何を残せるか。まだまだ勉強が必要です。 ☆ #Sashiko #JapaneseSashiko #SashikoArtisan #Professional #SashikoArt #RhythmicalStitching #SashikoNeedle #Needle #Unshin #LearnSashiko #刺し子 #運針 #日本人の刺し子 #刺し子針 https://www.instagram.com/p/CC8shU6JNCV/?igshid=1qqx88njk18q5