“Kintsugi” (金継ぎ) means “golden joinery”. It is what Life and the Author of Life do with all of us — if we are paying attention. The story of failure is better than the story of success.
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with tree sap lacquer — dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Rather than disguising the breaks, kintsugi embraces the imperfections by filling the cracks with precious metals, making the repaired piece even more beautiful and valuable than the original unbroken vessel. Unique.
The philosophy behind kintsugi declares loudly that breakage and repair are part of the history and unique story of an object, rather than something to disguise or discard. Kintsugi celebrates flaws and imperfections as adding character, resilience and preciousness. The mended cracks are a mark of an object’s journey and survival, making it more authentic, resilient and valuable than if it had remained pristine and unbroken. Unbroken is easy. The Journey is more difficult and unique.
In essence, kintsugi is the Japanese art and philosophy of taking broken ceramics and repairing them with gold-dusted lacquer, transforming the imperfections into unique stories, actually enhancing the repaired piece’s beauty AND value.
We have all seen the art, and wondered why it looked like that. And we all have seen friends and family and others, and wondered how they could be so deep and rich.
