"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”
– Khalil Gibran
Kintsugi
金継ぎ
Kin = golden
tsugi = joiner
tsugi = joiner
Kintsugi or "golden joinery", is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, a method similar to the maki-e technique.
When something appears to be broken what do you do? Do you throw it away and replace it with something new? Or do you try to mend it together to form something different and beautiful?
This is the underlying philosophy behind the Japanese pottery art of kintsugi. Instead of throwing away the broken pieces of a shattered jar or vase, the pieces are mended back together with gold lacquer. The pottery technique of kintsugi is centered around a philosophy of simplicity and bringing out the beauty that is already present in the world around us.
Kintsugi can relate to the Japanese philosophy of "no mind" (無心 mushin), which encompasses the concepts of non-attachment, acceptance of change, and fate as aspects of human life.
When something appears to be broken what do you do? Do you throw it away and replace it with something new? Or do you try to mend it together to form something different and beautiful?
This is the underlying philosophy behind the Japanese pottery art of kintsugi. Instead of throwing away the broken pieces of a shattered jar or vase, the pieces are mended back together with gold lacquer. The pottery technique of kintsugi is centered around a philosophy of simplicity and bringing out the beauty that is already present in the world around us.
Kintsugi can relate to the Japanese philosophy of "no mind" (無心 mushin), which encompasses the concepts of non-attachment, acceptance of change, and fate as aspects of human life.
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"Not only is there no attempt to hide the damage, but the repair is literally illuminated... a kind of physical expression of the spirit of mushin....Mushin is often literally translated as "no mind," but carries connotations of fully existing within the moment, of non-attachment, of equanimity amid changing conditions. ...The vicissitudes of existence over time, to which all humans are susceptible, could not be clearer than in the breaks, the knocks, and the shattering to which ceramic ware too is subject. This poignancy or aesthetic of existence has been known in Japan as mono no aware, a compassionate sensitivity, or perhaps identification with, [things] outside oneself.”
— Christy Bartlett, Flickwerk: The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics |
Kintsugi is a powerful metaphor for the human experience. We are the summary of our experiences, they allow us to grow. To make a mistake is to be human, to suffer damage is to be human, to wear our scars proudly, is to celebrate the person we have become throughout a journey that will be filled with both joy and sadness. Both should be appreciated for the lessons in which we learn from them.
Those who have scars only become more powerful because of them. None of us get through life unscathed and it is far less painful to display your scars than to continuously try to hide them. The Japanese art of Kintsugi is a powerful reminder to us that it does not matter if we are damaged. Once we have mended the pieces, we will be far more beautiful than ever before.
Those who have scars only become more powerful because of them. None of us get through life unscathed and it is far less painful to display your scars than to continuously try to hide them. The Japanese art of Kintsugi is a powerful reminder to us that it does not matter if we are damaged. Once we have mended the pieces, we will be far more beautiful than ever before.
Wabi-sabi
侘 寂
wabi-sabi (侘寂) is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete". It is a concept derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence (三法印 sanbōin), specifically impermanence (無常 mujō), suffering (苦 ku) and emptiness or absence of self-nature (空 kū).
Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, roughness, simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy, and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.
Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, roughness, simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy, and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.
The origins of Kintsugi are said to date to the Muromachi period, when the Shogun of Japan, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) broke his favorite tea bowl. He charged his craftsmen with devising solution to repair his tea cup. What they came up with was a method that didn’t disguise the damage, but made something properly artful out of it.
