Time seems to stand still in Takamatsu, Japan. Women sit quietly in a small circle, painstakingly stitching patterns on balls the size of oranges. At the centre of the circle is Eiko Araki, a master of the traditional Japanese craft of Sanuki kagari temari .
Temari , making handheld balls from embroidery, was historically practised all over Japan. But in Kagawa prefecture, formerly Sanuki province, on the southern island of Shikoku, this special brand of the craft – set apart by the use of gentle colours and threads made from the region’s soft, high-quality cotton – has been passed down for more than 1,000 years. Each ball is a work of art, with colourful geometric patterns carrying poetic names like “firefly flowers” and “layered stars”.
Balls take weeks, often even months, to finish, with the price for one sometimes reaching tens of thousands of yen (hundreds of US dollars). Some can be much cheaper..