 The word kintsukuroi came up again recently, thanks in part to a post by Sam Harrison (which now I can't find, sorry). Kintsukuroi is the Japanese art of repaired pottery, but it's something more than that. An important something.
These days, would you even consider a broken ceramic bowl worth repairing, let alone consider it more beautiful for having been broken? Probably not. No, of course not. But slow down a minute. Consider the bowl, made by hand with maleable clay and fired to a couple thousand degrees, forever altering its molecular structure. The bowl's creator strived to create perfection. A handmade object, like a bowl or cup, is revered for the care it took to make it, its beauty, and its purpose. But broken, the object is demoted and loses its honor, so to speak. Repaired, however, can raise the object to a whole new level of appreciation. Not a common idea in western culture. Some people, more scholarly and patient than I, attribute the origin of the repaired-ceramics artform to story from the mid-1500s. The story goes like this. A great military leader (with a supposedly hot temper) was given a beautiful bowl for an important tea ceremony. Someone dropped the bowl, which broke into five pieces (a more complete essay can be found in Flickwerk, The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics, available here). One of the guests spoke up with an improvised poem cleverly linking the name of the giver of the bowl, the style of the bowl, and the five broken pieces, making them all laugh and avoiding the wrath of the hot-headed leader. This specific bowl has since become quite famous, and is considered now an "Important Cultural Property." This essay goes on to say that instead of the break "…diminishing [the bowl's] appeal, a new sense of its vitality and resilience raised appreciation to even greater heights." The bowl has become more beautiful for having been broken. The true life of the bowl "…began the moment it was dropped…" "So it is not simply any mended object that increases in its appreciation but…the gap between the vanity of pristine appearance and the fractured manifestation of mortal fate which deepens its appeal." In other words, the proof of of its fragility and its resilience is what makes it beautiful. Like you. Thanks for reading, Cami =) p.s. Your good juju today: Don't strive for perfection, just be you—cracks, lines, chips and all. You being you is what makes you beautiful.
34 Comments
Astrida
1/26/2013 03:03:00 am
Thanks for your thoughtful elaboration.
Cami
1/26/2013 11:51:15 pm
Astrida, 2/11/2013 01:29:12 pm
Thank you so much for providing a link to this beautiful catalogue of mended Japanese Pottery. As always seems to happen, even the oldest pieces (15th century) appear so aesthetically contemporary. 2/14/2013 06:21:48 pm
Hello! The "more beautiful for having been broken" post on Facebook might have been from my blog. I hadn't thought that people might find it an odd way of putting it. As I think about it more, I do agree that it could perhaps have been worded differently. It might have been better if I'd been able to elaborate more, but I didn't have much space. You put it excellently here, though, so thank you for this post.
Cami
2/15/2013 12:43:21 am
Otherworldly, you're welcome. Thanks for your blog post as well. Kintsukuroi is a subtle concept that I think we can all benefit from if applied to our lives. It requires us to slow down and contemplate more than we do now. Thanks for this post. I have to say tho, the concept of something having greater value after being repaired is not foreign to Western culture. Americans in particular appreciate the return to grace after a fall. In fact we trust the people who have done so (even those politicians and media figures who have cheated and lied about it) often for nothing more than simply having fallen, sinned, been broken, and then returning. It is deep within our mythos, and the golden scars even that the most ignoble actions leave on these people is quietly respected. Sometimes these people are even trusted more, when once they inspired dismissal or disgust. 7/11/2017 09:00:38 am
Broken trust takes longer to repair and is a separate line of reasoning from a cracked, broken clay pot. Sounds more like a defense or excusable offense when trust is damaged. 4/12/2013 03:57:05 pm
Kintsugi—the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. The idea behind it is that the piece becomes more beautiful and valuable because it has been broken and has a history. I am fascinated reading this. Yesterday, my pastor titled his sermon "Those Beautiful Cracked Pots" and explained the art of Kintsukuroi. People, just like pottery, can be fixed and are more beautiful afterward. The entire sermon now makes even more sense to me after reading this explanation. Thank you.
Cami
6/25/2015 07:03:41 am
Glad this resonated with you, Jayne. Good juju to you!
Ronald Arboleda
6/24/2015 11:38:15 pm
One of the most beautiful essay I have ever read, thanks for posting. My wife died sometime ago, this story help me ease the pain that I still felt. God bless you.
Cami
6/25/2015 07:02:52 am
You're quite welcome, Ronald. Good juju to you!
Demi
9/16/2015 11:02:16 am
This is honestly one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I have ever come across. I was busy research Kintsugi/Kintsukuroi for an idea I had for an art project. This truly helped me a lot, so thank you so much
Cami
9/16/2015 11:32:41 am
Demi, I'm so glad it helped you! A cupful of good juju to you!
Davetta Wells
10/25/2015 10:07:02 am
This is entrenched deep in my spirit...thank you.
Cami
10/25/2015 07:19:45 pm
You're most welcome! 9/30/2016 06:44:01 am
Enjoyed your blog! I have written an autobiography about how God has taken my brokenness and made something beautiful of my life! Thanks for sharing! I would love to share some of it on my website!
Cami
10/5/2016 10:42:15 am
Thank you Trudy, glad you enjoyed it! By all means, do include it! Here's some more information: http://www.bachmanneckenstein.com/welcome 11/11/2016 09:11:52 am
Thanks for this wonderful inspiring post. I have written an autobiography which God placed on my heart to share with others about this same thing! I saw this on Facebook and immediately thought of our Mother Earth and how we have broken her down but like the broken pottery and the art of kintsukuroi, we have the ability and resources to do the mend needed for her to survive & thrive and if not for us for our future, our children and grandchildren etc etc! I thank you so much for this story. Nana
Cami
11/27/2016 06:08:12 pm
You're quite welcome!
Catherine Todd
3/23/2017 09:07:25 am
Lovely and compassionate post and explanation. Just what I needed today (and every day). To heal brokeness with gold, and to "become more beautiful because of it..."
Cami
9/29/2017 05:07:12 pm
My pleasure!
Easter
10/14/2017 07:25:52 am
Thanks much for your post. The therapist mentioned this to me during our session. However, she had a different perspective. She said it could also be said of people like me who are broken but become much more beautiful because of their brokenness. I viewed pictures of some of the beautiful vases and pray I rise to this level of beauty and appreciation one day!
Cami
1/5/2018 08:45:21 pm
You're quite welcome! Thanks for your comment.
Cynthia Snyder
1/5/2018 06:38:06 pm
I will never look at something broken in the same way. I have two ceramic candle stick holders one is broken and I look forward to filling the broken lines with beautiful gold color.
Cami
1/5/2018 08:46:10 pm
Sounds like the concept moved you like it did me. Enjoy! And thanks for your comment.
Cami
5/19/2019 11:28:45 am
Thanks Ralph!
odalys garcia
10/14/2020 09:24:03 pm
I am starting my ceramics repair business, as I ended a 23 year marriage. I have felt more fragile this week and yes, broken. But as much hurt as I have felt, I know that my heart is slowly repairing, and those cracks will fill with everything else that is golden and great in my life, my children, my parents, my friends, my students, my art.
Cami
10/14/2020 09:56:29 pm
I understand your pain, and glad you feel the beginnings of healing within. I also believe that when the student is ready, the teacher appears, sometimes in the most surprising ways. Good luck with your new business, and good juju to you, Odalys!
Tristany Lafleur
10/15/2020 07:13:37 pm
I was watching a movie this paast weekend when I first heard this phrase and immediately thought how much it resonatted with what my message is going to be for my website/blog. I'm a Furnirture ReDesigner and was initially going to blog about the art of taking a used,broken,worn furniture piece and remaking it into something beautiful.I thought on it for almost a year before coming to the realization that it wasn't enough, I wasn't passionate enough about it to write about it every day, though I still wanted to showcase my work and services. My passion is the effects that Narcisstic Abuse, from childhood throughout my adulthood. When I first heard the term and learned about the impact it has, it was as if a lightbulb went off in my head and I understood so much about myself! What AMAZED me beyond everything else was how NOBODY ever spoke of it before and I had been sent to so many domestic violence classes! I lost, almost everything, including myself, to the sickness of other people and the entire time believing that I was bad, irresponsible, incapable, a total failure at everything and anything! I, honestly, can't help but think how differently my life could have gone,had I known! It hasn't been until recently, that victims of such abuse were given a "name" and, it's becoming more evident that this is something that's touched more lives than could ever be imagined! My idea is that my work parallels my life in so many ways. I was used, abused, thrown to the roadside, just like the furniture I work on. For example, the very 1st piece I ever took in was a horribly beaten, broken, splintering little table. It likely, was never seen as special or valuable. It was a simple piece, basically, 4 legs, somewhat attached, and a small, square top. I sanded it down to the bare wood, smoothing out the splinering wood and uncovering everything that had been built up over the years. I, then, repaired all the brokenness, making it whole again, solid and strong. It wasn't until I was able to get down to the foundation of the piece and rebuild it, was I able to move onto remaking it into something that would display it's beauty and value.
Cami
10/15/2020 07:55:24 pm
I'm so happy for your healing and growth along your journey! There are two Japanese words: Kintsukuroi (defined above), and kintsugi, which is specifically repaired with gold ("gi" = gold). I'd love to see your tattoo when it's finished. Good juju to you! Leave a Reply. |
Cami Travis-GrovesGood juju-spreader, speaker, graphic designer. I'd love to hear from you! Archives
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