Kintsugi: The Beauty Of Imperfection

Kintsugi 金継ぎ

Since we were young, we have always been taught (& also thought of ourselves) that we need to be successful in more ways than one. Deep down, we tend to hope that eventually, with given time and effort, we will be able to achieve perfection in a number of areas in our life. We often have beautiful & vivid dreams of how we would one day have a long & fulfilling relationship, work in a meaningful & purpose-filled occupation, as well as earning the respect & admiration of everyone around us. 

But as much as we hate to say it, life can sometimes get so rough that it would leave our dreams as nothing more but shattered hopes and dusted fragments. And it's at moments of trials such as these that we might find solace amidst the chaos in a centuries-old concept of Japanese philosophy; known as Kintsugi.

Dating back to the sixteenth century, kintsugi also known as kintsukuroi, is the Japanese art of repairing ceramics with a mixture of lacquer and powdered gold. The name given to this tradition derives from the words:

= Kin 金: Gold

= Tsugi 継ぎ: to repair or stick two pieces together 

In Zen aesthetics, the broken pieces of an accidentally-smashed pot or ceramic should be carefully picked up, reassembled and glued back together with lacquer inflected with a highly luxuriant gold powder. There should be no attempt to disguise the damage, as the point is to render the fault-lines beautiful and strong. The precious veins of gold are there to emphasize that breaks have a philosophically-rich merit, all on their own.

Origins:

Now, legend has it that over five centuries ago, the shogun of Japan, Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490) accidentally broke his tea bowl (which happened to be his most favorite & treasured drinking vessel at that time). Heartbroken by this, he sent his tea bowl to China, hoping that one of their best craftsmen could repair it. But upon receiving back his tea bowl, he was shocked to see that it was crudely fixed with staples instead. 

Initially displeased by its appearance, Yoshimasa soon came to realized that the bowl repaired in China had a different personality from the rest of his collection. Even though he did not like the way it looked, he thought that it had character, so he asked some local  craftsmen to fill its cracks with the noblest of material. And thus, Kintsugi was born.

The Kintsugi Philosophy:

Kintsugi belongs to the Zen ideals of Wabi-Sabi, which teaches us that there is beauty in imperfection. It is about the aesthetic of things in existence that are "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" that makes life beautiful and gives it its meaning. It can also be seen as a metaphor in life, in which we accumulate wounds and losses. 

Leaving our emotional wounds exposed forever, like a broken cup that goes unrepaired, causes unnecessary suffering. But we can recover and become better, by using what we have learned from our misfortunes and failures. In this way, our scars will tell our stories like the golden lacquer of kintsugi. 

Just like a delicate piece of porcelain, the human heart can be damaged too. But concealing & covering the damage out of shame & guilt isn't the solution. The damage is part of our history and has brought us to where we are today. Just for this, it deserves the brilliance of gold, which reflects a light that in this case, is our very own. 

Ultimately, in the purest version of wabi-sabi, kintsugi doesn't attempt to hide any flaws. Rather, it is quite the opposite: It highlights them, giving objects a new personality. All in all, having problems in life is part of being alive. It is because of our difficulties and how we face them, more than our periods of contentment, that shapes us throughout the course of our lives. 

Note: (If you made it this far, I would sincerely like to say thank you so much for reading this! Pardon my flow of English, as I am new to Blogger & have never written a blog before. I'll try my best to improve my blogging skills, as well as the quality of my content. If you want to, feel free to leave a comment to help me improve my skills or share my blog with your friends if you think what I've written might help them.) 

Yours Sincerely,

Satori Café