À la recherche du temps perdu/To alter, or not to alter — a matter of judgmen

Once undone, the work of those who came before disappears.

A brown mawata tsumugi.An everyday garment, sewn by a seamstress of the Fushimi household for her own son.It is not a fine or luxurious piece. Yet the care embedded in ordinary handwork from the past is immediately apparent. More than anything, it carries the trace of a woman’s hands—hands shaped by years of service within the Imperial Household. That alone makes it a rare garment.

It was given to me by a friend of my mother, for my own son.Her mother was the seamstress herself.

Receiving something so close to a keepsake felt almost intrusive.And yet, the desire to see the handwork with my own eyes—its quiet precision, its decisions—was irresistible. I accepted it with gratitude.

Ah, even here, a stitch was placed.Here, the thread was tied firmly.So this is where she chose to secure it.

I could alter it and remake it for my son to wear.It is entirely possible.

But instead, I chose to keep it as my textbook.Because once it is undone, the work of those who came before disappears.

Each garment carries the memory of its previous life, and the possibility of another future. Reconstruction is not restoration, but continuation.

You may never wear a kimono.

But you can wear the art of Wasai.

View the reconstructed pieces →