Sashiko is a traditional cloth reinforcement technique that has been developed throughout Japan since the Edo period. Especially in the Tohoku region, where it gets extremely cold during winter, people conceived a method for improving thermal retention by quilting many layers of fabric together using detailed stitching. This practical method also features beautiful geometric patterns. Over time, its rustic yet profound beauty began to be highly valued as a unique form of art.

Conceived as a way of keeping out the cold, sashiko became a part of Japan’s traditional culture.

Sashiko Gals has breathed new life into this traditional technique. Consisting of about 15 women between their 40s and 80s living in a town called Otsuchi in Iwate prefecture, the group launched the project in 2024 based on the Otsuchi Sashiko Project, which began as part of the reconstruction assistance efforts following the Great East Japan Earthquake that destroyed the Tohoku region in 2011. The group was named Sashiko Gals because the way the women were working together merrily looked like school-age “gals” hanging out in their after-school classroom.

The members of Sashiko Gals

The two main concepts of Sashiko Gals are 1) to establish the Otsuchi sashiko technique as a brand, and 2) to use the sashiko technique to refashion and transform things that are no longer in use. Under these concepts, the group has been transforming things such as used clothes, sneakers, and stuffed dolls into one-of-a-kind items with meticulous attention applied to every stitch. The most notable thing is their sneaker refashioning. Because they apply sashiko all by hand, it takes about 20 to 30 hours to finish one pair of shoes.

Sneakers are given a new lease of life with sashiko.

Last but not least, we would like you to check out a short movie featuring Sashiko Gals. The story behind every stitch and the compelling message that the women of Tohoku are trying to share with the world are truly inspiring.

The true value of their works is the unique individuality given by handiwork. As if challenging the modern way of mass production and consumption, Sashiko Gals embodies Japan’s age-old mentality of “using the same things for a long time by taking good care of them.”

■DATA Sashiko Gals Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sashiko_gals/ (Information as of April 2025)

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