Dedicated artists are keeping Japan's ancient craft of temari alive

KAWARAMACHI, Japan (AP) — Time seems to stop here.

Women sit in a small circle, quietly, painstakingly stitching patterns on balls the size of an orange, a stitch at a time.

At the center of the circle is Eiko Araki, a master of the Sanuki Kagari Temari, a Japanese traditional craft passed down for more than 1,000 years on the southwestern island of Shikoku.

Each ball, or “temari,” is a work of art, with colorful geometric patterns carrying poetic names like “firefly flowers” and “layered stars.” A temari ball takes weeks or months to finish. Some cost hundreds of dollars (tens of thousands of yen), although others are much cheaper.

These kaleidoscopic balls aren’t for throwing or kicking around. They’re destined to be heirlooms, carrying prayers for health and goodness. They might be treasured like a painting or piece of sculpture in a Western home.

The concept behind temari is an elegant otherworldliness, an impractical beauty that is also very labor-intensive to create.

“Out of nothing, something this beautiful is born, bringing joy," says Araki. "I want it to be remembered there are beautiful things in this world that can only be made by hand.”

The region where temari originated was good for growing cotton, warm with little rainfall, and the spherical creations continue to be made out of the humble material.

At Araki's studio, which also serves as head office for temari's preservation society, there are 140 hues of cotton thread, including delicate pinks and blues, as well as more vivid colors and all the subtle gradations in between.

The women dye them by hand, using plants, flowers and other natural ingredients, including cochineal, a bug living in cacti that produces a red dye. The deeper shade of indigo is dyed again and again to turn just about black. Yellow and blue are combined to form gorgeous greens. Soy juice is added to deepen the tints, a dash of organic protein.

Outside the studio, loops of cotton thread, in various tones of yellow today, hang outside in the shade to dry.

The arduous process starts with making the basic ball mold on which the stitching is done. Rice husks that are cooked and then dried are placed in a piece of cotton, then wound with thread, over and over, until, almost magically, a ball appears in your hands.

Then the stitching begins.

The balls are surprisingly hard, so each stitch requires a concentrated, almost painful, push. The motifs must be precise and even.

Each ball has lines to guide the stitching — one that goes around it like the equator, and others that zigzag to the top and bottom.

These days, temari is getting some new recognition, among Japanese and foreigners as well. Caroline Kennedy took lessons in the ball-making when she was United States ambassador to Japan a decade ago.

Yoshie Nakamura, who promotes Japanese handcrafted art in her duty-free shop at Tokyo's Haneda airport, says she features temari there because of its intricate and delicate designs.

“Temari that might have been everyday in a faraway era is now being used for interior decoration,” she said.

“I really feel each Sanuki Kagari Temari speaks of a special, one-and-only existence in the world."

Araki has come up with some newer designs that feel both modern and historical. She is trying to make the balls more accessible to everyday life — for instance, as Christmas tree ornaments. A strap with a dangling miniature ball, though quite hard to make because of its size, is affordable at about 1,500 yen ($10) each.

Another of Araki's inventions is a cluster of pastel balls that opens and shuts with tiny magnets. Fill it with sweet-smelling herbs for a kind of aromatic diffuser.

Araki, a graceful woman who talks very slowly, her head cocked to one side as though always in thought, often travels to Tokyo to teach. But mostly she works and gives lessons in her studio, an abandoned kindergarten with faded blue paint and big windows with tired wooden frames.

She started out as a metalwork artist. Her husband's parents were temari masters who worked hard to resurrect the artform when it was declining in the modern age, at risk of dying out.

They were stoic people, rarely bestowing praise and instead always scolding her, she remembers. It’s a tough-love approach that’s common in the handing down of many Japanese traditional arts, from Kabuki acting to hogaku music, that demand lifetimes of selfless devotion.

Today, only several dozen people, all women, can make the temari balls to traditional standards.

“The most challenging aspect is nurturing successors. It typically takes over 10 years to train them, so you need people who are willing to continue the craft for a very long time,” Araki said.

“When people start to feel joy along with the hardship that comes with making temari, they tend to keep going.”

AP journalist Ayaka McGill contributed to this report.

Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama

Two completed Sanuki Kagari Temari balls are on display in Eiko Araki's studio in Kawaramachi, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama)

The temari balls are displayed at Sanuki Kagari Temari in Kawaramachi, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

Sanuki Kagari Temari balls are in a gift box in Eiko Araki's studio in Kawaramachi, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama)

Eiko Araki, a master of the traditional Japanese craft of Sanuki Kagari Temari, shows several temari balls at her studio in Kawaramachi, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

Cotton thread used for making the Japanese traditional craft "tamari" hang to dry at Sanuki Kagari Temari in Kawaramachi, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

Various shades of cotton thread used for making the Japanese traditional craft of Sanuki Kagari Temari are stored in shelves in Kawaramachi, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama)

Staff work on the temari at Sanuki Kagari Temari in Kawaramachi, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

Several completed Sanuki Kagari Temari balls are on display in Eiko Araki's studio in Kawaramachi, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama)

Eiko Araki, a master of the traditional Japanese craft of Sanuki Kagari Temari, talks to The Associated Press at her studio in Kawaramachi, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

A staff member works on the temari at Sanuki Kagari Temari in Kawaramachi, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

The temari balls are displayed at Sanuki Kagari Temari in Kawaramachi, Kagawa prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)

PARIS (AP) — It took a huge blunder to gift Paris Saint-Germain victory in the first Champions League match of its post-galactico era.

PSG scraped a 1-0 home win over tournament newcomer Girona on Wednesday with a stoppage-time goal, which came when goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga let a left-wing cross from Nuno Mendes trickle under his hands and through his legs.

For the first time in more than a decade, PSG began its Champions League campaign without at least one star player, known in soccer as a “galactico.”

But after the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi came and went without winning Europe's elite club competition, PSG started this campaign with a new identity based on more French players and greater teamwork.

It was also PSG’s first Champions League game without Mbappé for seven years after France’s star joined Real Madrid, scoring for his new club on Tuesday.

Mbappé was reproached by his critics for not tracking back or closing down enough when he played up front for PSG.

Yet PSG coach Luis Enrique could he heard shouting when his players failed to close down properly and, at one point, Girona kept the ball for 2 1/2 minutes with PSG's ball-watching players chasing aimlessly.

“They defended well and we struggled to create clear-cut chances,” Enrique said.

After 34 minutes, whistles could be heard from the crowd at a subdued Parc des Princes. Aside from half-chances from midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery and Marco Asensio, who went off injured late in the first half with an apparent hamstring injury, there was scant attacking play.

“All the teams have things to improve," Zaïre-Emery said. “We have new players coming into the team who need to settle in."

Yet this was even more the case for a Girona team that lost several key players from last season, including striker Artem Dovbyk, winger Savinho and right back Yan Couto.

Girona defender Ladislav Krejčí made a brilliant tackle on Ousmane Dembélé after the PSG attacker went clean through on goal in the first half.

But with moments left, Gazzaniga's howler spared PSG.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

PSG's head coach Luis Enrique reacts during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Girona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PSG players leave the pitch after they won the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Girona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PSG players celebrate after a goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Girona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PSG players celebrate after a goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Girona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PSG players celebrate after a goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Girona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)