From my mother-in-law's chest of drawers After my mother-in-law passed away, I was sorting through her chest of drawers and found two of these! It's just like her to have been particular about good quality items, and I thought, "Wow, this is amazing! Isn't this a silk crepe de Chine (hieda shibori)!" Even though I'm a senior and not particularly knowledgeable, I could tell. My husband, her son, is already in his 70s. He lives in Europe, going back and forth... and has long lived in a place in Japan where he has no ties to the land or blood relatives, and is not involved in summer festivals. He's at an age where he needs to declutter his belongings. Inheriting such magnificent obi (sashes) has become a burden. My brother-in-law, who was always working away from home, passed away in his 60s, unmarried. The two crepe de Chine (heko obi) sashes were left carefully stored away. My father-in-law, I think, since it was a long time ago, wasn't a local, but he lived there for many years and served as an officer in the local neighborhood association, so he probably had opportunities to wear a yukata with a heko obi for his duties. If he had been closely involved in the local community and grown older there, he might have taken on roles in the Bon Festival and summer festivals in place of my father-in-law. However, I don't think these heko obi sashes will be used again. I am listing them, hoping that someone who plays a leading role in the community, such as at summer festivals or Bon Odori dances, will use them.