Hari kuyo, The Festival of Broken Needles is taking place today in Shinto shrines & Buddhist temples in Japan. Embroiderers, seamstresses and needlepointers take a day of rest from their stitching and bring their used, bent and broken needles and pins to the temple or shrine. It is to honor the needles for their hard work and give thanks for their service. An old Shinto belief is that inanimate objects, as well as living beings, have a soul and a spirit. To simply discard the needles that have served you well is disrespectful and would anger the object’s soul.
The needles and pins are laid to rest in another colorful ceremony in a respectful way for their hard work. Just a few of my needles that have served me well over the last year. By showing respect and offering prayers it is my hope that the power and the energy of the needle will pass to me and make me a better stitcher.
In a class with Meredith, I remember so well how she spoke about the importance of changing your needles often. Of all the things that we buy to stitch…think about it, the needles are the least expensive. So why do we hang onto a single needle forever? I have seen beautiful work completely ruined by using an old needle that has left streaks of color in the stitching.
I will honor the tradition of disposing of my needles in a respectful way today, but I will definately spend some of the day stitching away. Too many canvases and not enough time!
My favorite blog Plays with Needles gave us permission to share her poem written by Lane Jennings. Susan’s blog is usually my first stop every day as she inspires me so with her talent and creativity…and seeing her pictures especially of her wonderful nieces and of course Jack who is growing up right before our eyes!
Happy Harikuyo Vicky! Thx for being first to link…I wasn’t sure if it would work since I’ve never done it before. I too hope you retain all the energy in your needles and become a better stitcher. From the looks of this blog, you are well on your way! I am having so much fun getting to know you and your work. Thanks for playing and may your needles stay blessed.
Thank you Susan! I admire your creativity and work so much…you are so talented. I am going to try to recreate your money tree for a wedding gift this year. Thank you for inspiring all of us!
Snowy day here in CT. Perfect for stitching some Fab Firs with new needles. Time for a new Beading needle
It is raining here! good stitching weather!
A great post about the Hari-Kuyo tradition, Vicky.
Happy stitching today.
Love your cat!!! 🙂
Thank you Miriam!
Your photographs are wonderful and do honour to our humble little tool – this is such a beautiful post! I wonder sometimes about how long I stubbornly will use the same needle – some glide through the fabrics better, or just seem easier to thread…. when the needle blackens from use I am always sad, but soon I find a new “best friend” and am stitching happily again!
Thank you Jillayne! where would be without our needles?