07/09/2026
Say hello to my one personal project I make a year 😅. I started this Japan Fest tshirt quilt back in October when I was inspired right after the Kansas City Japan Festival in 2025 and finished it a few weeks ago!
More than just a collection of tshirts, this quilt is infused with memories of my performances with threetrailstaiko , my dad and Aya's heartfelt J-country sets, my mom's traditional dance, tea ceremony, and kimono demonstrations, selling sauce with my sisters for the family business, and marching around with Christopher Befort and our kids in the children's parade.
This is a representation of the bridges I have built over the years, finally making the connections between my own identity and the cultural background that was always at my fingertips, but never close enough to grasp. Now I realize that I don't have to grasp the version of a culture that's presented to the world at large, just the version of it that fits into my own life as my own person with my own experiences. It isn't about fitting into a box of what I should be, but more about appreciating and connecting to my origins in the ways that come naturally to me while also just being my own weird self. ✌️