Kintsugiya

A workshop in Saitama where broken and chipped ceramics are joined back together with urushi lacquer and gold. Kintsugi is understood here as work that carries something forward — from whoever made the piece, whoever gave it, and whoever has been using it. The repair is meant to sit inside the object rather than stand out from it, so a mended bowl goes back into everyday use instead of onto a shelf. There are two rooms: Hisuian, beside the Hakuchoike pond in the grounds of Omiya Hikawa Shrine, and Haruoka Hiroba in Minuma. Both teach the traditional method with real lacquer, from the beginning. A kintsugi workshop is also held in the Netherlands each year.