Late 19th century fishermen wearing donza (long work coats) heavily sashiko stitched for warmth and wear.
FROM WONDERS OF JAPAN, 1904
Moyōzashi (pattern sashiko) has curved or straight lines of running stitch which change direction to make larger patterns but the stitches do not cross. The threads are not counted, although the stitches may be. Continuous lines and doubled thread give sashiko strength and warmth.
Hitomezashi (one stitch sashiko)
This is typical of Shōnai in Yamagata Prefecture and is worked as a grid of straight lines, where stitches meet or cross to make the design. Some of the patterns resemble blackwork embroidery or Indian kantha quilting. Very dense hitomezashi patterns may use only one thread.
Regional sashiko traditions
Sashiko may have evolved independently in various parts of Japan or it may have originated in one area and spread from there. Design similarities between different regions suggest sashiko was spread by trade. It is associated with the Japan Sea coast and the north, where it was used as farmer’s clothing. In the south it was worn by fishermen only. Edo era Shōnai sashiko survives and there are 19th-century examples from many other areas along the Japan Sea trade route.
The map opposite shows the Kitamaebune coastal trading route, which during the Edo era linked the Kansai region (around Kyoto) with the north-western coast of Tohoku via the Inland Sea and the Sea of Japan. Ships travelled the route yearly, leaving Osaka and trading all along the coast, up to Hokkaido. The trade brought cotton to the far north, as raw fibre, thread and fabric (old and new). It played an important role in the distribution of ideas, which must have included sashiko designs.
Shōnai sashiko has a vast range of patterns, mostly hitomezashi. This prosperous agricultural region was a meeting point of Edo, Kamigata and Tohoku cultures and design. Kakurezashi (hidden sashiko), over-dyed with indigo so the pattern is revealed as it fades, and chirimenzashi (crêpe sashiko), where straight stitch lines were deliberately puckered up to resemble crêpe, were also made.
Fishing boats on the Inland Sea, Awaji Island. Stylized wave, mist and net patterns on sashiko clothes reflected the environment and the importance of the sea’s bounty for coastal communities.
EARLY 20TH-CENTURY POSTCARD, AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
Peasant woman weaving checked cotton at home. The takabata (high loom) replaced the ancient izaribata back strap looms in rural homes during the 19th century. Cloth woven on the izaribata is only as wide as the weaver’s body, hence the narrow width of traditional Japanese cloth.
STEREO-VIEW PHOTOGRAPH 1904, AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
Three generations of women hand spinning on the veranda. Note the kagome bamboo baskets in the foreground (see pages 83 and 100 for kagome sashiko patterns).
EARLY 20TH-CENTURY POSTCARD, AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
Blue and white, white and blue
Traditional sashiko was usually indigo and white. This characteristic look was a response to Edo era sumptuary laws which prohibited the lower classes from wearing brightly coloured clothing and large patterns. Commoners could use indigo, so old indigo cloth was available in the home. The colour is still appreciated for its beauty. Polygonum tinctorium, Japanese indigo, can be grown to make an affordable dye. Fabric woven at home and recycled fabrics were sent to skilled professionals for dyeing. Synthetic indigo was introduced in the late 19th century and consequently there are few traditional dye shops in Japan today.
Indigo and white kogin (from koginu or work wear) and multicoloured Nanbu hishizashi (Nanbu diamond stitch) are two counted embroidery techniques from Aomori Prefecture which evolved from hitomezashi stitches, like the example from Shonai, Yamagata Prefecture (third picture above). As kogin and Nanbu hishizashi are like pattern darning, they are stitched on very coarsely woven cloth and cannot easily be combined with other sashiko. Patterns are not, therefore, included in this book, although a similar embroidered effect could be obtained by stitching hitomezashi on Aida or evenweave embroidery fabric (see pictures top of page 18).
CHIEKO HORI
Late Meiji Era Shōnai sashiko sorihikihappi (sled-hauling waistcoat), with protective shoulder patch in hishizashi (diamond stitch, page 105) and mukaichiyōzashi (facing butterfly stitch, page 108). Many Shōnai patterns have horizontal stitches only, with more thread on the back of the work than the front, giving extra insulation for winter wear. Some women used the thick warp threads to help align their stitches.
COLLECTION OF CHIE IKEDA, YONESHIMA, SAKATA-SHI
Some unusual pieces of Shōnai sashiko show the influence of textiles made by the Ainu (the indigenous people of Hokkaido), with curved border patterns in chain stitch (see the cushions on page 36). Like Ainu clothing, sashiko on clothes was symmetrical, with more decorative or dense patterns at shoulders, the front openings or cuffs. The Ainu believed these areas needed special protection because they were vulnerable to evil spirits entering the body.
AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
Indigo and white colour combinations give sashiko a strong tonal contrast. Migration of indigo from fabric to thread often tinted old sashiko stitching pale ice blue. Blue on blue was also common. Indigo strengthens fibres and the residual smell of fermented indigo and ammonia in the dye was believed to repel snakes and insects.
Cotton has been grown commercially in Japan since the 1600s, first as a luxury fibre, and by the early 19th century it was widely cultivated south of the Aizu region. Patterned cotton fabrics were used for sashiko in some areas. Kasuri (ikat), katazome (stencilled) or shibori (tie-dyed) cloth were popular in Aomori Prefecture, while shima (striped) cotton was used for fishermen’s coats in Iwate