The Shishu Ladies of Hilo: Japanese Embroidery in Hawai'I (Extraordinary Lives)

The Shishu Ladies of Hilo: Japanese Embroidery in Hawai'I (Extraordinary Lives) by Nunes-Atabaki, Sara. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780824822354.

The Shishu Ladies of Hilo is in part a loving tribute to Ima and Yoshio Shinoda, written by their daughter, Shiho Shinoda Nunes, and granddaughter Sara Nunes-Atabaki. But what began as a family history and catalog of Yoshio Shinodas shishu designs evolved into a carefully documented and illustrated account of the stitching community created by the Shinodas and their pupils on the Big Island from the mid 1930s to the late 1960s. This book traces the teaching of shishu in Hawaii and describes in detail the modifications made to traditional motifs and materials. It is, however, much more than a historical record of a textile art form. It raises questions about the relationship between these women, their ethnicity, and their needlework--in short, the role of art in achieving ethnic identity.