In recent years, sashiko, a Japanese needlework tradition, has gained a new cultural cache among international fashionistas and craft hobbyists. Most notably, the Iwate Prefecture-based Sashiko Gals project has helped rural artisans insert their needlework into New Balance sneakers, North Face jackets, New Era caps and more.
Hardly a day goes by without my social media feeds featuring overseas creators claiming to be sashiko experts. However, in “Sashiko: The Untold Story,” a new book by third-generation sashiko artisan Atsushi Futatsuya, the Gifu Prefecture native lobbies for a more conscientious treatment of the craft and its long history as a tool of Japan’s commonfolk.
The infinitely browsable book, full of lush photographs of sashiko pieces shot against the backdrop of preserved farmhouses of Hida, Gifu Prefecture, will be released on May 14 by British publisher Quadrille. Despite its glossy appeal, the book is not meant to be a primer or how-to guide. Instead, “Sashiko” is a full-throated philosophical argument for the soul of the craft amid a boom in international popularity — one that Futatsuya feels sometimes crosses the line into cultural appropriation.
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