What is
Kintsugi?
Kin: Golden, Tsugi: Joinery
Kintsugi is an old Japanese craft of restoring ceramics, in which chips, cracks or breaks are repaired using natural materials such as wheat flour and wood fibres mixed with raw (Ki) Urushi followed by further layers of black (Kuro) or red (Bengara) Urushi lacquer, applied repeatedly over a period of days. This is then finished with powdered gold or silver (Gintsugi), leaving a unique pattern on the surface that highlights the repair. Kintsugi adheres to the concept that something broken doesn’t have to be discarded but can be transformed into something beautiful, unique and often stronger than before.
It is a craft that is assumed to date back to the late 15th century, the popular myth being that a Japanese Shogun (Ashikaga Yoshimasa) sent away his favourite broken tea bowl to be repaired and, unhappy with how it was returned, set out to find a more aesthetically pleasing method of repair and this resulted in the birth of Kintsugi. The bowl that features in this story is the treasured Bakohan bowl, a significant piece of Japanese ceramic history that features the clamp repair method, a skill that is still revered artistically today and the true story behind the mythical roots of Kintsugi.
The reality is that Japan has a long history of ceramic restoration and decorative lacquerware, often featuring the delicate Maki-e technique and therefore it is entirely possible that the art of Kintsugi repair dates back thousands of years. It is known that the use of Urushi lacquer as an adhesive or protective coating dates dates back over 9,000 years.
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Kintsugi and Japanese lacquerware is strongly associated with tea-ware and Chanoyu (Japanese tea ceremony) and is closely connected to the philosophies of Zen Buddhism:
The spirit of mushin, a lack of attachment to anything, being present, existing in the moment and accepting change. The moment something shatters it will never be the same again but by clearing your mind and concentrating at that moment in time on the intricate repair, a transformation can appear.
Wabi-Sabi, recognising beauty in simplicity, embracing flaws and imperfections, and accepting the passage of time.
Whatever it means for you….Kintsugi can be for everyone.
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