Sanuki Temari by Eiko Araki
978-4-14-031173-8 published in 2010 by NHK. 96 pages. 2200 yen.
Araki-san's web site is one of my favorites. I love the colors of her temari. She dyes her thread using natural ingredients so her temari have a lovely, soft and warm appearance. This is a beautifully published hard cover book with very detailed instructions on making and marking the temari from simple divisions to C6, C8, and C10. If you are a very experienced temari maker and have been collecting books from Japan, you probably will not find much new here other than being inspired by the natural look of these folk art beauties. However, if you are a beginner or if you can read the Japanese text, I would say buy this book right now! The step by step photos and the large photos of finished temari are excellent. As a writer of temari patterns, I really appreciate seeing how she stepped out the instructions with so much detail using a combination of photos and diagrams. The directions are well organized in the book, giving a very good variety of beginner through C10 patterns. What a lovely, feel-good overview of the art of temari!
Other links to her work:
Blog post by David (Sanuki Temari history)
Another blog post by David (How to make Sanuki Temari)
