Before I knew it, it was September...

Before I knew it, it was September...

The main season for indigo dyeing is coming to an end.

The second indigo harvest is over, and all that remains is to wait for the seeds to be collected.

The chestnuts in the village have started to fall in some places, so it's time to start thinking about chestnut dyeing. The freezer is full of marigolds that we have been picking as they bloom, so I'm excited to think about how much and what I will be able to dye with them.

In Itoshiro, the seasons change clearly.

Summer is hot and you can comfortably swim in the cool river water, the red dragonflies announce the arrival of autumn, and the clear blue sky is awe-inspiring.

In winter, the area is covered in more than 2 meters of snow, creating a silvery world. On mornings when temperatures drop below minus 10 degrees, the beauty of the frost-covered trees is simply mind-blowing.

The new season finally arrives, and only those who have survived the long, freezing winter can understand the long-awaited spring. The heart that appreciates colorful flowers is born naturally. Even in the busy season when all the work starts, I spend every day outside busily, as if to make up for the time I was unable to move until then.

It seems that the temperament of the people of Itoshiro is to keep moving quickly so as not to be left behind by the ever-changing seasons, and many people work really hard except in winter.

I am always in awe of the way he is always busy doing something, so much so that it seems he never has time to do nothing, especially in the winter.

For me personally, it all starts with preparing indigo in the spring, sowing the seeds, then dyeing, preparing the fields, harvesting the indigo, and then preparing sukumo in the autumn...until the outside is covered in white snow, it's such a busy time that I feel relieved when winter arrives.

September marks the end of summer and the beginning of autumn and winter, and while we are excited about the new season (autumn is the season of harvest!), we also have some time to reflect on the year as a whole.

"You must be busy," people say to me as I work on indigo dyeing in the fields, but I truly feel like I'm "alive" every day, and I find my cycle of being as active as possible during the day and sleeping deeply at night to be very comfortable, just like children.

I am grateful to be able to work in this way, and although it is no easy task to create work using the blessings of nature, I believe that because I am constantly learning something new, my days will never get boring and will continue for a long time to come.

Well, our brick-and-mortar store in Itoshiro will only be open for two months this year.

This year marked our 10th anniversary, and a lot has happened so I haven't really had time to look back properly (I'm always living in the "now"...), but I think it's about time I took the time to reflect on what has happened so far and make some space to think about the future.

This has gotten quite long, but thank you for reading this rambling article!