To my two wonderful ex-husbands,
without whom this book would’ve never existed.
Kintsugi: Finding Strength in Imperfection
This edition © 2019 by Andrews McMeel Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without writtenpermission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.
Published in French under the title Kintsugi: L’art de la résilience
© 2018 by Éditions First, an imprint of Édi8, 12, Avenue d’Italie, 75013 Paris, France
Andrews McMeel Publishing
a division of Andrews McMeel Universal
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ISBN: 978-1-5248-5500-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018961304
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Photography: Myriam Greff, except for p. 45 Adrien Daste; pp. 189, 190 Céline Santini
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CONTENTS
Introduction: Discover
Explore
Experiment
Execute
Stage 1: Break
Experience
Accept
Decide
Choose
Imagine
Visualize
Stage 2: Assemble
Prepare
ReconstituTe
Transform
Gather
Fill
Associate
Stage 3: Wait
Remove
Maintain
Breathe
Pause
Clean
Rest
Stage 4: Repair
Polish
Touch
Apply
Concentrate
Add
Reanimate
Stage 5: Reveal
Illuminate
Collect
EMERGE
Protect
Personalize
Dazzle
Stage 6 Sublimate
Observe
Admire
Contemplate
Feel
Welcome
Share
Conclusion: Open
Glossary
Introduction
Discover
kura yakete / sawaru mono naki / tsukimi kana
My storehouse burnt down,
there is nothing to obstruct
the moon view.
Mizuta Masahide
(1657–1723)
Explore
Blessed are the cracked, for they will let the light through.
—Michel Audiard
This book invites you to discover and explore the art of kintsugi in all its facets. This ancestral technique, developed in Japan during the fifteenth century, consists of repairing a broken object by accentuating its cracks with gold—instead of hiding them. But the philosophy behind it goes much deeper than a simple artistic practice. It has to do with the symbolism of healing and resilience. First taken care of and then honored, the broken object accepts its past and paradoxically becomes more robust, more beautiful, and more precious than before it was broken. This metaphor can provide insight into all stages of healing, whether the ailment is physical or emotional.
The word kintsugi comes from the Japanese kin (gold) and tsugi (joint), literally meaning “golden joint.” The art of kintsugi is named kintsukuroi, which means “mending with gold.” It is a long and extremely detailed process, executed in numerous stages, lasting several weeks—even months. In some cases, it might even take a year to achieve the best kintsugi.
The shards of the broken object are first gathered one by one and then gently cleaned. Then they are glued back together using a traditional lacquer from the Japanese lacquer tree. The object is left to dry, and then it’s carefully sanded. Next, the cracks are accentuated with multiple coats of lacquer. Finally, the scars are covered with a metallic powder. Gold powder, or any other powdered metal (silver [gintsugi technique], bronze, brass, copper), is dusted on the moist lacquer and melds into it, giving the illusion of streams of flowing metal. After polishing, the object can finally reveal its full brilliance.
Legend has it that the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1435–1490) always used his favorite tea bowl (chawan) for tea ceremony. One day, unfortunately, the bowl broke. Since it had originally come from China, he sent the bowl back there to be repaired. He was, however, extremely disappointed by the result. After waiting many months, the bowl was returned held together with ugly metal clasps that not only disfigured it but also failed to make it watertight. So he asked his Japanese artisans to find a more functional and more aesthetically pleasing solution: The art of kintsugi was born . . .
What an elegant, creative, and simple solution, all in one! Most people who discover the art of kintsugi have an epiphany and fall in love with it at first sight.
The skill is therefore very much in demand. The art of kintsugi is so valued that some connoisseurs have even been known to intentionally break their precious vases or bowls in order to transform them . . . Without going through the trouble of smashing all your valuables, you can be inspired by the kintsugi philosophy through all the different stages of your personal healing process until you rediscover your wholeness and radiance. Like a living kintsugi, you too can be transformed and strengthened by hardship.
Embrace a life of golden beauty. Discover the spirit of kintsugi.
Wabi-Sabi, Another Idea of Beauty . . .
Kintsugi also fits into the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi (wabi: humility in the face of natural events; sabi: what one feels about the work of time or humanity), inviting you to recognize the beauty of simple, imperfect, and atypical things.
By opening yourself to wabi-sabi, you swim against the tide of standardized and artificial modern ideals. Wabi-sabi invites contemplation and detachment, rather than perfection. It emphasizes the irreversibility of time and the ephemeral nature of all. It reminds us to appreciate the humble beauty of simple things, patinated by time and the trials of life.
EXPERIMENT
Art helps with living.
—Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Kintsugi is the art of exalting past injuries. The Way of Kintsugi can be understood as a kind of art therapy, inviting you to transcend your struggles and transform your personal hardships into gold. It reminds you that your scars, visible or invisible, are proof that you’ve overcome your difficulties. By marking your history, they demonstrate you’ve survived, and they enrich your soul.
Even more beautiful,
Even more resilient,
Even more precious,
Even more . . . present!
We all have our own flaws, our own wounds. We’ve all suffered and lived through difficult times. My own journey, which I’m about to share with you, is filled with joys, pains, accidents, and traumas, as well as bursts of happiness. It’s a path like all others, unique in the world and at the same time so universal . .
. With its strong symbolism, resolutely based on resilience and optimism, kintsugi has helped me to heal, strengthen myself, and rediscover my breath and my radiance. This is what I want to share with you throughout this book.
No matter what your injury is, physical (car accident, mastectomy, illness, amputation, disability, old age, burns, assault) or emotional (splitting from a friend or lover, divorce, mourning, depression, unemployment, abandonment, rumors, painful childhood), kintsugi’s energy can support and accompany you along your healing process. Think of it as an initiatory journey, with your injury as the starting point. As you move through the healing process, you will slowly become stronger and eventually turn into gold, as if by alchemy.
For you, this is the beginning of a new cycle. It’s finally your turn to shine . . .
Discover your true self, and uncover a new expression of beauty and perfection. Explore, experiment, execute: This book invites you to get to know this ancestral art and connect with the healing energy of kintsugi.
Heal your wounds. Transform your fault lines into lines of force, and turn life’s bursts into bursts of laughter.
The Legend of the Broken Vase
As legend has it, a famous tea master of the Japanese emperor, Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591), was once invited to dinner. To honor Rikyū, his host offered him a very old and precious Chinese vase. The tea master wouldn’t even look at the gift but instead commented on the beauty of the countryside and admired a tree branch that was gently moving in the wind. After his guest had left, the host shattered the vase in anger and frustration. His friends, a bit wiser than he, collected all the pieces of the broken vase and repaired it using the art of kintsugi. During his next visit, Sen no Rikyū saw the vase with its brilliant golden lines and cried out, “Now it is magnificent!”
EXECUTE
It’s the methods we use that determine the value of a cause.
—Michel Houellebecq
The art of kintsugi follows a slow and detailed procedure, requiring patience and concentration. Day after day, week after week, step by step, the object is cleaned, reassembled, taken care of, healed, and finally exalted. Here are the detailed steps of the different stages of traditional kintsugi. You might come to like it: It’s an opportunity to discover the pleasure of slow and precise actions, an invitation to enthusiastically submerge yourself into total awareness of the present moment.
The kintsugi method: step-by-step repair
Stage 1: break
Experience: Something unforeseen happens, a wrong move, a shock, and everything falls apart . . .
Accept: Clear your mind and pick up the pieces.
Decide: Make the choice to give the object a second chance, rather than throwing it away.
Choose: Consider the different methods of repair and choose the one that suits you best: the illusionist method (invisible repair), staples (metal clamps along the cracks), or kintsugi (golden joints).
Imagine: Be creative and dare to think differently!
Visualize: Concentrate and imagine the repaired object in all its splendor.
Stage 2: Assemble
Prepare: Clean the pieces of the object, gather all the tools (palette knife, palette, lacquer, paintbrush, gold powder, drying box, wooden sticks, turpentine, sandpaper, silk cotton ball), and protect yourself by wearing gloves.
Reconstitute: Examine and assemble the pieces of the “puzzle” to get ready for repair.
Transform: Turn the poison into an antidote! Utilize the natural lacquer (urushi) to glue the pieces together. It comes directly from the resin of the lacquer tree, and it’s highly toxic, so you must protect yourself while applying it. However, while it dries, it hardens and loses its toxic nature.
Gather: Prepare and apply the glue (mugi-urushi, a blend of flour and urushi lacquer) to both sides of the fissure with a palette knife, and glue the two pieces together to reconstitute the object.
Fill: If you’re missing a piece, prepare a paste (sabi-urushi), blending the lacquer (urushi) with powdered stone (tonoko), and patiently re-create the missing piece with this paste.
Associate: If it inspires you, you can even choose a piece from another object to replace the missing piece (yobi-tsugi).
Stage 3: Wait
Remove: Scrape off the extra matter with a utensil (razor blade, toothpick, palette knife), and clean using turpentine.
Maintain: Make sure the pieces stay in place by wrapping the object with masking tape or rubber bands.
Breathe: The lacquer (urushi) is alive and needs to breathe to dry and to harden. Prepare a covered cardboard box (muro), and place a damp towel in the bottom. Using a number of wooden sticks, create a grid so the object can be placed on it.
Pause: The lacquer hardens best at a humidity level of 75 to 90 percent and at a temperature above 68°F. Place the object in this box, maintaining constant temperature and humidity levels.
Clean: Carefully clean your tools (palette knife, palettes, brushes) after each stage with turpentine or vegetable oil, and carefully organize them so they are ready for their next use.
Rest: Patiently leave the object in the box for seven to ten days, until it has dried.
Stage 4: Repair
Polish: Once the object is perfectly dry, clean the excess matter with a scraper and turpentine. Then use sandpaper to completely smooth out the surface. What remain on the object now are nothing but brown scars (urushi-tsugi).
Touch: It is sometimes difficult to recognize certain irregularities with the naked eye. Using your fingers and sense of touch, verify that all the joints are perfectly smooth.
Apply: With a small brush, apply a first layer of black lacquer (roiro-urushi) to all the joints.
Concentrate: Breathe calmly, concentrate, and execute slowly, using measured and precise gestures to apply thin lines to the joints. Let this first application dry in the box for one to two weeks.
Add: Polish the surface and apply a second fine layer of red lacquer (e-urushi or neri bengara-urushi).
Reanimate: The joints are finally covered by beautiful red lacquer. Brilliant and free-flowing veins have cured the object to give it a second chance. Put it in the box for half an hour.
Stage 5: REVEAl
Illuminate: While the lacquer is still moist and sticky, delicately apply the gold powder to the lacquer with a brush or a metal application tool (without touching it, as it is still fresh).
Collect: Save any remaining gold powder for your next creation. Then put the object back into the box for two to three days for drying and hardening.
Emerge: Once the lacquer has dried, use a silk cotton ball to gently remove any excess gold powder.
Protect: To protect the golden joints, apply a fine layer of protective lacquer. After five minutes, gently dab the joints. Then let the object dry for twenty-four hours.
Personalize: Use a tool you like to work with and that appeals to you to polish the golden joints. Some kintsugi masters use agate stones; others use ivory, fish teeth, or hematite stones . . .
Dazzle: To make the gold shine, polish the object with a blend of oil and powder using the polishing tool you have selected.
Stage 6: Sublimate
Observe: Take a step back and contemplate the repaired and sublimated object in all its uniqueness, strengthened by its veins of gold.
Admire: Notice how the broken object has been reborn and has become a precious work of art, unique and invaluable.
Contemplate: Remember the story behind the scars of the object.
Feel: As the lacquer hardened while drying, feel how the object is even more solid than before.
Welcome: Proudly accept the imperfections of the object. It is even more beautiful and precious once broken and repaired.
Share: Present your creation. Share its history to inspire others that repair is possible.
Kits c
ontaining all of the required materials for kintsugi can be easily found on the Internet. Depending upon your perfectionism and your budget, you can follow the traditional method with genuine Japanese lacquer (urushi) and twenty-two-karat gold powder (recommended for alimentary use), or you can simply be inspired by the technique and use epoxy glue and gold paint or nacre powder.
Stage 1
Break
yuki yuki te / tafure fusu tomo / hagi no hara
It doesn’t matter where I fall,
as long as it is
in a field of lespedeza.
Kawai Sora
(1649–1710)
Experience
During great misfortunes, hearts are broken or strengthened.
—Honoré de Balzac
Something unforeseen happens, a wrong move, a shock, and everything falls apart . . .
You’re shattered into a thousand pieces, like a broken object smashed violently on the floor. No matter what awful situation you’re experiencing, whether it’s physical or psychological, you’re under the impression that it can’t be overcome. You feel that you’ll never get over it or that you’ll never be the same person again.
And you’re not completely wrong. In fact, you will never be the same person again. You will change for the better. This current ordeal is merely an initiation. Consider today the beginning of a long process of reconstruction. Yes, it will be painful. Yes, it will be difficult. Yes, it will take a long time. Why deny it? But it will get better . . .
I have personally experienced this kind of extreme pain, that moment when one feels that everything has fallen apart, several times. When I learned that I was getting divorced, my entire world collapsed in an instant, like a house of cards. I was in shock because I had no clue what might lie ahead for me . . . Marriage represented a special value, a refuge, and I believed it would be a lifelong commitment. In addition, I had experienced my own parents’ divorce when I was only four years old. And it was certainly not an accident that I was a wedding planner for the same ten years that my marriage lasted. All of these things made the shock of my divorce
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