The Art of Kintsugi

Embrace your cracks.

Special thanks to: Alexa Altman

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MUSIC
String Theory_Main
Licensed via Warner Chappell Production Music Inc.
Attention To Detail_Full
Licensed via Warner Chappell Production Music Inc.
Twinkling World_Full
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Factual Marimba Motion_Main
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Factual Clockwork Minimal_Main
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Driving Factual Minimal_Main
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Mysterious Marimba Minimal_Main
Licensed via Warner Chappell Production Music Inc.

STILLS
Repair of crack pottery tea cup with a hand
riya-takahashi/Getty Images
A handmade broken vase repaired using kintsugi.
photoBeard/Getty Images
Small tea cup with kintsugi repair.
photoBeard/Getty Images
A wine bottle with kintsugi repair.
photoBeard/Getty Images
Small Green Kintsugi Pitcher
photoBeard/Getty Images

EXTERNAL CREDITS
Alexa Altman

[坂本花-te]

I am Japanese and happy someone from other race appreciate Japanese culture but this is incorrect practice of kintsugi. It is not about breaking on purpose. Just wanted to clarify ^__^

[MGJ]

The excess symbolism is so American here, and unsurprisingly, wrong in how it translates Japanese culture. The tableware is not supposed to be broken intentionally (the hammer is basically redundant), but since it adds the "dramatic factor" to the practice of her field, she wrongfully undermines the tradition of Kintsugi as a means of not just art (which is what this person believes) but also of repair in times of need, not times of selfish want. The veined beauty is a product of time, not of... hammer abuse.

[dangeldoll]

well this is not really Kintsugi, just call it DIY Kintsugi

[てーしろ]

わかるよ、金継ぎって綺麗だからどんどんやりたくなるよな


I understand, Kintsugi is beautiful, so we want to do it again and again.
But it's something you do to broken pottery, in other words, it's a "repair". It's not something you do to something you've intentionally broken...

[TNBCJck]

Kintsugi is supposed to be the way to fix the accidental damage to make it look like art, not being used for intentional breakage...
Please don't mess up the tradition.

[peterkoeppl]

Thank you for this little gem. I have been using the art of Kintsugi with folks participating in drug and alcohol rehab and it really gives them a different (sensory) approach to understanding the brokenness within their lives and how their past remains a part of them but the reconstruction during recovery creates a more beautiful creation.

[sizumax]

I am Japanese, born and raised, and I am of a generation that enjoys Japan's current culture, for better or worse.
I am happy for non-Japanese to open a Japanese restaurant, or to have bonsai or karesansui in my garden.
The wearing of kimonos by non-Japanese, which people sensitively react to as cultural theft, is also received rather favorably by the majority of Japanese people.
However, that does not mean that everything is acceptable.
Japanese people value civility and the soul.
There are traditions that are not explicitly stated, such as not throwing garbage on the street or not talking loudly in public places, and they call them manners and value them.
Kintsugi is both a technique and an art, but before that, it is a soul.
I believe that people are impressed by kintsugi in Japanese culture because they feel the soul in "beautifully repairing a broken object, leaving the scars intact, and making it into something unique.
Therefore, it is human folly to "prepare broken things" for kintsugi, even if it is for practice.
In other words, it is a clear cultural theft as far as your act is concerned.

[littlebitbritish]

So I actually think this is one of those moments of cultural appropriation which though not malicious is not right. So Kintsugi is about fixing something that broke and not wasting it and giving it a new life after misfortune.. She is not doing that. She is breaking something on purpose then remaking it, then I am assuming selling it for a profit higher that its original value. This totally going against the original philosophy.

[laurapepe]

I had a ceramic tea cup which I treasured greatly (because it was so pretty and I was broke college student, so that tea cup made drinking tea an experience for me as I couldnt afford many).
My roommate while putting dishes away accidentally knocked it over and it shattered into three pieces.
To say I was heart broken was an understatement. My roommate was so apologetic cause she knew I would use that cup at least 3 times a day. Sounds silly but it was just something I associated simple joy with.
Long story short I couldnt part with it. Googled ways to fix it and happened upon Kintsugi. I unfortunately couldnt find the correct materials to make it usable again but with some gold paint and resin I put it back together.
Its now a tiny green and gold planter for a tiny succulent I was given for a holiday party.
I am not Japanese so I could 100 percent wrong, but I feel like purposely breaking good pottery to practice this art form is sort of strange. The process feels 100 percent different when you have to do unexpectedly.
Again, Im not Japanese and I am no expert- perhaps Im still broke to ever justify breaking good things on purpose for art. I just feel this sort of takes away from the original idea.
*Also*
This isnt meant to hate on the lady. I think you have insight and its sort of therapeutic.

[vijaytgeorge]

I really don't think that this represents Kintsugi accurately at all.

[czbaterka]

This is kinda sad? She use some cheap glue not resin lacquer, and i think that is not even a real gold. This craftsmanship is used on pieces who are very rare or special for our heart. Its kinda tacky. And there are even more amazing repair techniques.

[ZaxorVonSkyler]

" When you're holding a hammer, everything around you looks like a nail."

[sandollor]

When cultural appropriation manifests as a derivative-esque analogy. Dr., you make psychology and western culture look bad.

[rebeccamaracle]

The end result is beautiful, but it's nothing like authentic kintsugi. And I muted it halfway through so I didn't have to hear the lame, obvious, over-simplified mental health buzzword catchphrases she was using.

[AllLitUp]

Bish please. You just super glued a bowl back together.

[damagplan]

I don't think she understands Kintsugi

[amethyst.mp]

"Healing is about connection, not perfection" As someone whose struggled with mental health my whole life, this quote was really cool.

[STARgazer]

Ridiculous.
As Japanese, I am convinced that you will NEVER understand what kind of mind kintsugi came from.
You would go to the trouble of breaking a vessel to do this?
If you want to do FAKE "ART", that's fine, but please don't call itself Kintsugi.
This is NOT kintsugi. This is nothing more than a superficial imitation.
No one goes out of their way to self harm for reason of "they are more beautiful with scars"
It is the same with vessels.
Kintsugi is the act of sparing a vessel that is accidentally chipped or broken, and by restoring it, loving the history of its previous use, even the history of them once broken history.
Your "art" is empty.

[deadyouth]

Japan : This is our traditional art with showing philosophy of our accepting damage of object and while repair damage showing respecting history of being...


This Artist : HAMMER

[TheOneCleanHippy]

Nothing screams "pretentious" more than a white woman teaching people about ancient Japanese arts and the deeper meaning she personally assigned to them.