Sounds Japanese
Lucky guess
Well I was thinking Fuji, Muji and emoji
Very clever, so you tell me...
No, I bow to your superior knowledge
The Japanese have been doing kintsugi for 500 years — mending pottery with lacquer and highlighting the cracks with precious metals.
Broken arted?
Don’t start. Kintsugi is having a bit of a moment worldwide. Last month President Biden commissioned a US-made kintsugi vase and presented it to the Japanese PM.
Hold on, do people break pots simply to mend them again?
Yes, you’ve cracked it.
More like crackers
No, really. To be converted, browse Bonnie Kemske’s Kintsugi: The Poetic Mend. Or check out Miriam Greff, who uses “ancestral techniques” for her pots (from £400, kintsugi-shop.com)
Those prices are truly potty
Etsy shop KinBoru has Japanese stoneware with golden “mends” for around £80. And Jane Badu (wearenomads.co.uk) taught herself kintsugi and mends small broken pots which are £15 each. Watch out for break chancers who simply gouge a ceramic with a crack pattern and then fill in with a gold imitation.
Can I have a go?
Absolutely. How about a starter kit for £15 at sandyleaffarm.com? Or Iku Nishikawa’s is more authentic, with kits from £73 to £130 (kintsugioxford.com).
Is there a spiritual/moral side to all this ?
Ah yes. This is a metaphor for new life, healing, and re-birth, finding value in missing pieces, cracks and chips, and celebrating the beauty of imperfection.
