1 / 12The traditional Japanese craft of Sanuki Kagari Temari has been passed down through generations for more than 1,000 years on the southwestern island of Shikoku. Each handmade ball is known as a temari, a work of art with colorful geometric patterns bearing poetic names like “firefly flowers” and “layered stars.” A temari ball takes weeks or even months to complete. Some cost hundreds of dollars, though others are much cheaper. These kaleidoscopic balls are not meant to be thrown or kicked. They are meant to be heirlooms, carrying prayers for health and goodness. They are treasured like paintings or sculptures in a Western home. (Shutterstock/With contributions from AP)
2 / 12The concept behind temari is an otherworldly elegance, an impractical beauty that also requires a lot of work to create. (Shutterstock/With contributions from AP)
3 / 12Temari’s home region was a warm, low-rainfall cotton-growing region, and spherical creations continued to be made from the humble material. (Shutterstock/With contributions from AP)
4 / 12Eiko Araki, a temari artist, is serving up this art form to treasure for future generations. (Shutterstock)
5 / 12“Out of nothing comes something so beautiful that it brings joy,” Araki says. “I want people to remember that there are beautiful things in this world that can only be made by hand.” (Shutterstock/With contributions from AP)
6 / 12At Araki’s studio, which is also the headquarters of the Temari preservation society, there are 140 shades of cotton thread, including delicate pinks and blues, as well as brighter colors and every subtle gradation in between. (Shutterstock/With contributions from AP)
7 / 12Women dye them by hand, using plants, flowers and other natural ingredients, including cochineal, an insect that lives on cacti and produces a red dye. The darkest shade of indigo is dyed over and over until it becomes almost black. Yellow and blue combine to form gorgeous greens. Soybean juice is added to deepen the hues, a dash of organic protein. (Shutterstock/With contributions from AP)
8 / 12The arduous process begins with making the basic mold of the ball on which the stitching is done. Cooked and then dried rice husks are placed on a piece of cotton, then the thread is wound around it again and again, until, almost like magic, a ball appears in the hands. (Shutterstock/With contributions from AP)
9 / 12The balls are surprisingly hard, so each stitch requires a concentrated, almost painful push. The patterns must be precise and uniform. (Shutterstock/With contributions from AP)
10 / 12Each ball has lines that guide the stitching: one that runs around it like the equator and others that zigzag up and down. (Shutterstock/With input from AP)
11 / 12Today, temari is gaining new recognition, both among Japanese and foreigners. Caroline Kennedy took ball-making lessons when she was U.S. ambassador to Japan a decade ago. (Shutterstock/With contributions from AP)
12 / 12They were stoic people who rarely praised her and instead always scolded her, she recalls. It’s a tough-love attitude that’s common in the transmission of many traditional Japanese arts, from kabuki acting to hogaku music, which demand lives of selfless devotion. Today, only a few dozen people — all women — can make temari balls to traditional standards. (Shutterstock/With inputs from AP)
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