Kintsugi

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by joining the pieces with lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver or platinum. The method treats damage and repair as part of the history of an object rather than something to disguise.

1. Origins
   The practice is usually traced to the late fifteenth century, when a shogun sent a damaged tea bowl to China for repair and received it back stapled together with metal. Japanese craftsmen looked for a more considered solution and developed the lacquer technique still used today.

2. Method
   The repair is slow and done in stages:

• Broken edges are cleaned and fitted

• Urushi lacquer is applied and left to cure

• Gaps are filled with a lacquer and flour mixture

• Metal powder is dusted onto the final layer

• The surface is polished once fully hardened
  A single bowl can take several weeks to finish because each lacquer layer must cure in a humid environment before the next one is added.

3. Related Ideas
   Kintsugi is often discussed alongside wabi sabi, the aesthetic that finds beauty in imperfection and impermanence, and mushin, the acceptance of change.