Kantha and Sashiko— Needle Works From Bengal and Tohoku

Japan Folk-Craft Museum

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Kantha is a type of quilting from the Bengal region of India made with four or five pieces of soft, recycled saris and underskirts. Flowers, animals, and people are embroidered with colored thread, and the rest is sewn with ripple-like white thread. Sashiko, meanwhile, is an embroidery and indigo dyeing technique practiced in Tohoku and other regions of Japan. It features overlapping geometric patterns on cotton cloth, typically from work clothing and bags. Both kantha and sashiko are made by women who put their hearts into embroidering for their families. Around 70 examples of kantha from the Iwatate Textile Museum and some 60 works of Tohoku sashiko from the Japanese Folk Crafts Museum are on display.