Kintsugi
What is "Kintsugi"?
Kintsugi is the Japanese traditional technique of repairing broken ceramics and glass items.
The kintsugi technique has a long history of more than 500 years, and is an artistic way to upcycle.
The philosophy behind kintsugi is similar to the philosophy behind Japanese "wabi-sabi" ; to embrace the imperfect and that which is flawed. To see the beauty in repaired items, enriching them by putting them together after they have been broken. Rather than concealing the cracked lines, these are emphasized and referred to as landscapes, or "keshiki" in Japanese.
How to do it?
In kintsugi a special natural lacquer named "Urushi" is used in addition to a golden or silver powder.
Or one could simply use a chemical glue. However, this is not recommended for tableware.
At KATOYA we rather follow the Japanese traditional way as much as possible. Though this is much more timeconsuming, it gives a much more aesthetically pleasing result.
Step 1 : Broken pieces are glued together with a mixture of lacquer and flour.
Step 2 : After the glue is dry, sand it with sandpaper and apply lacquer to the repair lines.
Step 3 ~ 5 : Repeat 2 or 3 times [Sand it and apply lacquer to the repair lines] until the repair lines are smooth.
Step 6 : Apply lacquer again to the seams and sprinkle gold powder before the lacquer dries.
Normally one month is needed to finish one piece.
Japanese "Urushi" lacquer may cause allergic reactions if touched directly (before dried).
After drying, the lacquer will be completely safe. You can use the repaired piece normally.