Kintsugi – Scars of Gold
Kintsugi 金継ぎ is the Japanese art of putting broken things back together.
It literally means "putting together in gold." Kintsugi is an intricate repair technique in which ceramic pieces are put back together to form a new whole - the "scars" are then covered with real gold. Behind this is the idea that all things are unique - and breakage is not the end.
If this is done artfully with much love and attention, a much stronger, new work of art can be created from the broken and imperfect. In this, we can discover a masterful skill, dedication, accuracy and patience.
Here is a short-film documentary by Motoki Tonn about a Kintsugi master from Tokyo.
Kintsugi Philosophy
In the Kintsugi philosophy lies a rejection of perfectionism and supposed external beauty, and at the same time an acceptance and demonstration of courage to face brokenness. Kintsugi also means engaging in a longer process - because repair takes weeks and months and involves longer periods of rest, which is often overlooked; more on this later.
The Kintsugi philosophy requires an attitude of patience, attention and care for the process - then something unique and new can emerge from broken. We see the emergence of a new creation, a new work of art in a new form.
Kintsugi enables new perspectives
Kintsugi can be a life-changing metaphor for our lives. When we apply the teachings of Kintsugi philosophy to our lives, this craft can unleash the power to make a situation appear in a new light. Life experiences that we remember as "broken" or "lost" can be given a new twist.
Our lives are not always linear, and not everything always goes our way. How we view our fragments and how we make connections from individual life events is our choice. Kintsugi philosophy opens up the opportunity for us to discover a coherent story in our fragments. Kintsugi enables us to understand fragmentation experiences in a larger, coherent narrative.
Kintsugi enables new contexts of meaning
How can individual puzzle pieces of our lives that seem incoherent make a picture?
Kintsugi has the power to give our story a context of meaning. The vessel is transformed into a new shape. The new shape is in turn unique in itself, and at the same time the old shape remains in basic features. We can recognize both the old and the new - with scars of gold.
Appreciate fractures
We can recognize: Each break, each individual part is unique. Instead of repairing an object as if it were new, the centuries-old technique highlights the "scars" as parts of the new shape, it makes them shine. The scars are not concealed but emphasized. They are not suppressed but given appreciation.
Even when things break, we can discover new treasures that were hidden inside.
Kintsugi as a metaphor for our lives
Even when things break, we can discover new treasures that are hidden inside.
When we turn to our fragments, we can not only gain new perspectives, but we can also discover new things that have remained hidden from us until now. In a figurative sense, "light falls on our shadows". As a result, new riches can emerge from supposed mistakes, as a participant impressively reported at one of our seminars.
“Kintsugi art asks us to become still, to practice patience - to wait and observe. It shows us that scars heal only slowly. At the same time, we can gain new perspectives in the process. Kintsugi can also teach us to understand beauty in a new way.”
