Kintsugi: The Art of Golden Repair
Kintsugi, golden joinery, is the Japanese practice of repairing broken ceramics with lacquer and finishing the seams in powdered gold. Instead of hiding a break, it traces the line of damage in metal. In recent years it has become a worldwide symbol of resilience, but it began as a practical craft serving the tea ceremony, where favourite bowls were too precious to discard.
A legend about a bowl
A well-known story tells of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, who in the fifteenth century sent a cracked Chinese celadon tea bowl back to China for repair. It returned held together with metal staples. Dissatisfied, Japanese craftsmen looked for a more graceful method. A celadon bowl stapled in this way, called Bakōhan, survives in the Tokyo National Museum. Whatever the truth of the story, lacquer repair was well established by the time of the Momoyama tea masters.
How true kintsugi is done
Traditional kintsugi uses urushi, the sap of the lacquer tree, which hardens into a durable, waterproof film.
- Bonding. Broken pieces are joined with mugi-urushi, a paste of urushi and wheat flour.
- Filling. Gaps and chips are filled with sabi, urushi mixed with fine clay powder, built up in thin layers.
- Curing. Each layer is cured in a humid cabinet called a muro. Urushi hardens through moisture, not heat.
- Finishing. The seam is coated in fine red or black lacquer, and gold powder is sprinkled onto it before it sets, then polished.
The whole process takes weeks to months. Silver is also used, called gintsugi, and some repairs are finished in lacquer alone.
Kinds of repair
- Hibi. A crack traced in gold.
- Kake. A chip filled and gilded.
- Tomotsugi. Original fragments rejoined.
- Yobitsugi. Missing areas filled with shards from a different vessel, creating a patchwork of two wares.
Lacquer or epoxy
Many modern kintsugi kits use epoxy resin and mica or brass powder. They are quick and easy, but they are not the same craft, and they may not be suitable for food or drink. Properly cured urushi is stable and has been used on eating vessels for centuries. When buying a repaired piece to use, ask how it was repaired. Note that uncured urushi can cause a skin reaction similar to poison ivy.
What repair means to a collector
A kintsugi repair lowers the value of a piece compared with an undamaged example, but it also records that someone cared enough to save it. Old, well-made repairs on fine tea bowls are often admired in their own right, and some are noted on the box inscription. For honest collecting, repairs should always be disclosed in full, and we describe them clearly in every condition report.
Caring for a repaired piece
- Wash by hand in lukewarm water with a soft cloth. Do not soak.
- Never use a dishwasher, and never place gold-repaired pieces in a microwave.
- Keep out of strong sun, which weakens lacquer over time.