#Ashigara embroidery

[ayanos-pl]

足柄刺繍「上田菊明展」＠小田原三の丸ホール

最終日に拝見。すばらしかった。刺繍と言われて思い浮かぶような自然をモチーフにした意匠だけでなく、幾何学文様やメタリックな質感など、他では見たことのない途轍もなく精緻で存在感のある表現でした。

足柄刺繍は縫箔を使った上田菊明さん独自の刺繍。縫箔とは、布地に色糸や金糸を縫い付ける刺繍と、生地に型紙で糊を置いて金箔や銀箔を貼り付ける摺箔を併用する技法。糸や布の染めもご自分でなさる。技術はもちろん、植物を意匠化する斬新なアイデアに脱帽。筍に『孟想』とつける作品名もすばらしい。

[summonerscenarios]

If the hand holding prompts are still valid, could you perhaps bless me with a shy MC5 x Wakan Tanka with prompt #2? Just the idea of wanting to hold your s/o close but too shy to admit it openly makes me giddy. (And I honestly thought Wakan Tanka needed more fluff after the other hand holding prompt.)

Taking a tiny break from sin night to refill my sin meter so here’s some other stuff in the meantime~! Given the 4th anniversary event going on right now I thought it was fitting to write this around it~!  -------------- 2. Holding hands under the table

The party’s in full swing, with the earlier celebrations settling into everyone merging and moving around to talk, eat, drink, and enjoy the atmosphere; and you couldn’t be happier to be a part of the festivities.

It makes your heart swell to see so many happy faces, glancing between the exchanged smiles and bright eyes as everyone takes advantage of the day to take a break and just focus on enjoying the festivities. You’ve slipped in and out of more conversations that you can count, dancing between friends to make sure you get the chance to talk to everybody and spend some time with them. By the time you slide back over to the tables your feet are sore and you’re in desperate need of something to drink but you’re sure everyone can see you’re beaming when you sit down and reach for one of the drink glasses placed on the table. 

The first sip tastes amazing after so long of talking, and you let out a pleased breath by the time you’ve polished the drink off and dropped the empty cup back onto the table. Leaning back, you take a moment to let your eyes wander around the venue, scanning the room and admiring the sight that you see before you. 

Most of the Yoyogi students have grouped together, and even from here you can see Durga’s hands fly up into the air as she talks - you have no idea what she’s saying, but it’s enough to attract a crowd of people excited to hear her story, including Ashigara who in turn just about veers Kyuma and Yasuyori to join in the conversation by their shoulders once the story gets good. The teachers are watching this scene play out from the sidelines, and Avarga laughs at the sudden uproar that tears through the group mid-conversation; you even catch Mineaki smiling into his glass when Durga all but drags Gunzo back into the group when she spots him attempting to make a not-so-subtle exit to the snack table. It seems like someone was able to get away though, as you spot Wakan approaching your table, dropping back into the seat beside you with a huff as he stretches his arms above his head.

“I have to say” you say, breaking the ice “You guys sure outdid yourselves with this one - you clean up pretty good too!”

You gesture to Wakan’s suit and he preens at the compliment, chuckling somewhat bashfully as he fiddles momentarily with the boutonnière on his lapel, head tilting to face you.

“I’m glad you like it! Everyone worked hard to get everything finished before you arrived” he responds, and at that you have to chuckle, motioning back in the direction of the others with a smile.

“Well it definitely payed off - I almost don’t want it to end”

At your words his expression falters for but a moment - it’s almost enough to miss if you’re weren’t looking directly at him, but you catch it as he turns his gaze back to the crowd.

“Yeah…” 

For a moment, Wakan trails off, as though he’s debating whether to speak or now

“It’s nice” he finally admits  “Seeing everyone smile - making good memories...I hope they carry this day with them even once it’s over…”

You get a feeling he’s not just talking about the party anymore - he’s staring at the crowd of familiar faces, gazing at his friends with an almost bittersweet smile that betrays the usual bright energy that follows Wakan around. Watching his face, your brows furrow, taking in his expression; you want to say something, maybe ask him what’s wrong, but you feel in your chest that it’s better not to. Instead, your eyes trail down to look at his hands, both of them resting atop his thighs; your gaze flickers a few times between his hands and his face before you finally reach out.

His hand’s warm when you slip your hand to cover his, and in the split second he turns to you you snap your focus to the table, hoping that if you look long enough at the embroidery on the tablecloth you won’t have to explain why you suddenly decided to grab his hand. A few seconds pass, and then Wakan chuckles softly, shifting his hand so that his fingers can interlock with yours, holding it close. He shuffles further along the booth until his thigh nudges yours, and as he brings your interlocked hands to rest in his lap Wakan’s other hand comes to cover them, rubbing gentle circles. 

Eventually, slowly, you move your attention down to look at where he’s holding you, just barely out of your sight thanks to the table right before you - honestly, you’re thankful that no-one else can see, because you’d just about die of shyness if they noticed such a wholesome gesture. Even so you still find yourself grinning meekly, squeezing his hand and braving a glance at him only to find that the previous melancholy expression has melted away into a bright smile, warmth and affection radiating off of him and directed right at you in return. 

Your cheeks are starting to turn pink, so you hurriedly turn your attention back to the main floor of the room, right in time to watch Gunzo make a break for the snack table, Durga hot on his heels racing to get there first. The two of them just about send the table spinning thanks to the polished flooring, and there’s a small frenzy as the two clamp onto either side and thankfully stop the food going tumbling. You have to bite back a laugh, snorting into the back of your free hand hoping that it goes unnoticed; Wakan on the other hand laughs at the scene, shaking his head as he leans into you, shoulder pressing up against yours as you watch the scene unfold, hands still intertwined.

[thekimonogallery]

Location:Japan

Date:Early to mid Meiji (1868-1900)

Description:A plain-weave silk ceremonial kimono featuring yuzen and hand-painted images of the legendary super-boy Kintaro riding a carp. One old Japanese folktale involves the story of Kintaro, a baby abandoned by his parents at birth near Mount Fuji. He was raised by Yamauba, half-woman, half-spirit who lived in the Ashigara mountains near Mt Fuji where he was abandoned. The brave and superstrong Kintaro riding the persevering carp is imagery that expresses the wish that the boy would grow up with such admirable attributes. The mon (family crests) on this kimono are unusually large. Metallic embroidery highlights. 34” from sleeve-end to sleeve-end x 39” height.