Every year on 8th December (in the eastern part of Japan) or 8th February (western part of the country) artisans who rely on needles for their livelihood, including embroiderers, seamstresses, tailors and weavers, as well as those who are seriously engaged in sewing, come together to hold needle memorial services. Sometimes needle makers, such as Misuya Chubei (Kyoto), also hold their own hari kuyo. This is a way of expressing their thanks to the needles for their long hard work, and also to pray for the improvement of the artisan’s own sewing skills.
These were the days when people should refrain from all work, as 8th February was the day to start working and 8th December was the day to stop working according to the traditional agricultural calendar. The artisans bring bent or broken needles to shrines or temples and stick them into soft beds made from tofu or konnyaku (yam jelly) in order for the needles to rest in peace. Then special prayers are recited. At the end of the ritual, everything is wrapped in paper and placed into the local river where the small packages float away, often down to the sea. In some area the needles are buried in the ground.
The ritual of hari kuyo started in the Edo period (seventeenth-nineteenth centuries), when sewing was one of the most important skills for women.
Sources:
- ASAI, Hiro (2014). 'Needle mass: Hari-kuyo. Beauty of Kimono in New York' at http://blog1.kimonohiro.com/2009/02/needle-mass-hari-kuyo.html (retrieved at 16th September 2014).
- BATES, Debbie. 'Hari-kuyo: Festival of Broken Needles,' Stitchtress.com at http://stitchtress.com/2010/02/08/hari-kuyo/ (retrieved at 16th September 2014).
- http://www.jcrafts.com/eg/shop/special.asp?id=jc0906misuyahari (retrieved 16th September 2014).
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 4th July 2016).
NK