Kintsugi is a Japanese method to repair tableware that has its roots in traditional urushi lacquerware making technique. In recent years, I have seen many images of ceramics with golden cracks labeled ‘kintsugi’ on the Internet, but unfortunately many are not real kintsugi.

I appreciate that the Japanese term is getting known in the US and internationally. It allows for people to be more curious about Japanese craft and aesthetics in general, and that is a good thing. But I also want to clarify that a significant amount of time and expensive materials are needed to master the true kintsugi technique. So for the sake of the skilled craftsmen that practice it, I feel that pots with painted gold color lines, or broken pots repaired with epoxy and gold mica powder should not be labeled as “kintsugi.”

Kintsugi repaired salt cellar made in collaboration with potter Ayumi Horie and woodworker Blackcreek Mercantile & Trading Co. It took months to organize the collaboration in 2014, because each wooden lid had to be custom-turned to fit each pot.

Small broken pieces of pottery were saved and used in repairing the container. The kintsugi repair was carried out by a 4th generation Yamanaka lacquerware craftsman in Kaga, Ishikawa prefecture. This gold finish is unpolished.

The pot before Kintsugi repair. I was devastated when I broke it while trying to photograph it

In true Kintsugi, the adhesive sap extracted from a lacquer tree (urushi) is used to piece the broken pieces together. In its wet state, this sap can cause severe allergies when touched.

When I was in primary school, I was taught to avoid the low trees with compound leaves on red branches that maybe urushi. And even then, I fell victim to the urushi allergy several times playing in the woods. The acute itchiness that often struck while sleeping was the worst torture that you can experience. This is a risk that every kintsugi craftsman faces while handling their material.

A piece of Urushi trunk and the tools used to collect its sap.

Urushi is also a very peculiar material that dries by absorbing moisture. Many layers must be applied, with each layer requiring time for hardening in a damp environment. Once urushi hardens, it is extremely durable, and can withstand the likes of acids, alcohol, and hot and cold water.

The gold is applied by sprinkling powder gold on top of a layer of urushi while still wet. This lacquerware technique is called makie, an ancient method to decorate the surface with beautiful gold designs that became very popular during the Edo (1603-1868) period. The earliest example of the makie technique can be seen on the sheath of a Chinese style sword from the 7^th to 8^th Centuries in the Shosoin collection. Shosoin is a treasure house that belongs to the Todai-ji temple in Nara.

Kintsugi is not about putting the broken pieces together with gold for appearance. It is about repairing something that is irreplaceable with urushi lacquer, a uniquely durable natural material that has been time-tested over many centuries. The layer of gold is to cover its dark appearance, and because gold is a non-reactive metal, the vessel may be used for eating and drinking. Other less-reactive metals like silver can also be used.

Gintsugi, or gin-naoshi repair on the lip of a wood-fired tea bowl by Shumpei Yamaki

The tea bowl had a very beautiful and rare green ash effect with contrasting dark surfaces from the effect of ember. A part of the lip broke when the bowl was removed from the kiln where the ash dripped.

Considering the cost and the time required to repair the vessels, it is obvious that most broken pots are not worth repairing with kintsugi. But I think it’s a unique and appropriate way to repair a special piece of broken pottery that is irreplaceable or of immense sentimental value that you wish to keep and use for many years.

Tomodachi Tote Bag: Studio KotoKoto X Ayumi Horie Collaboration 2014

November 6, 2014Ayumi Horie Events

Tomodachi Tote Bags are available in our shop ->

Designed in America and Family-Made in Japan

-This blog post was originally written for Studio KotoKoto-

To celebrate Studio KotoKoto’s second anniversary (how time flies!), Kathryn and I wanted to create something special through collaboration between makers in the U.S. and Japan. We asked our talented Japanese-American friend and potter Ayumi Horie to help us design a special tote bag adorned with her beautiful drawings of playful animals.

Studio KotoKoto X Ayumi Horie collaboration 2014
Tomodachi Tote Bag Red & Silver

To make the bag, we searched far and wide for a small, family-owned Japanese company that produces highly durable cotton canvas and we found Onomichi Hanpu. We then sought out Koyabu Kogei, another small, family-run Japanese company, to make the bags. The end result is the Tomodachi Tote Bag. Tomodachi is a Japanese word that means friends and the tote bag symbolizes the friendship between cultures nurtured through our love for the preservation and tradition of craftsmanship.

The Illustration: Ayumi Horie

The tote bag is decorated with a drawing by Ayumi of a rabbit and toad sharing a peony-infused dream and breath. She draws from folk traditions and comics in the U.S. and Japan, and her ceramics with playful animals quickly sell out because of the many enthusiastic fans that are attracted to her distinctive, charming style.

Tomodachi Tote Bag Blue & Silver (modeled by the elegantly-dressed Clover)
Photo courtesy of Ayumi Horie

Ayumi chose these two animals for our bag because they are popular symbols in both eastern and western cultures. In her usual humorous and friendly tone she added, “they both jump to get around, they have something in common, and friends often have something in common”. At the bottom of the tote is a drawing of two birds joining feathers surrounded with a message that says “let’s tomodachi” in Japanese.

Ayumi creating a mock up in the early stages of designing the bag
Photo courtesy of Ayumi Horie

Careful thought was given to designing the shape of the tote and the length of its handles to ensure that it is comfortable for daily use. The signature stitches add beauty and durability. The inside has a pocket and a metal clip that can be used to close the bag and also hold keys.

The tag on the bag is designed like a senjafuda, a paper sticker bearing the name of the pilgrim that was affixed on a part of the shrine or temple that they visited. In other words, the tag is like an ancient and stylish form of graffiti tagging!

Tote bag tag depicting senjyafuda that says ‘Ayumi Horie and US-Japan-friends’

The Canvas: Onomichi Hanpu

Onomichi Hanpu is a family company that has been operating in the small port of Onomichi in Hiroshima prefecture for the last 80 years. The company began as a provider of sails for vessels that carried coal from Kyushu to Osaka in the early years of the 20^th Century.

Onomichi Hanpu Canvas Company in Hiroshima Prefecture

Although engines soon replaced sails, Onomichi Hanpu thrived into the 1960s as a provider of canvas covers for trucks that filled Japanese streets after the Second World War. The moisture-absorbent, air-permeable canvas was the perfect material for truck covers that carried produce from rural farms to city centers.

Vintage flying shuttle weaving machine still at work at Onomichi Hanpu

Since the 1960s, cheaper synthetic fibers began to replace natural canvas. Many canvas factories that existed in Onomichi closed down and Onomichi Hanpu is the last of its kind to still remain in business in the area. The president of Onomichi Hanpu, Takahashi-san, together with 4 employees including his son, are still continuing to make high quality natural canvas that is comfortable to use.

Onomichi Hanpu Canvas Company president Takahashi-san and his son

The Bag Maker: Koyabu Kogei

Koyabu Kogei is a family-owned and run company located in the Chita peninsula of Aichi prefecture. Although the majority of bags sold in Japan today are made in China, Koyabu Kogei has thrived because of its skill in making high-quality handbags, which is evident in the Tomadachi tote bag.

Koyabu-san sewing the tomodachi tote bags on his sewing machine
Photo by Tanaka Toshinori

The complex stitches on the bag’s handles were the biggest challenge in the developmental stage of the bag’s design. But the skilled craftsmanship of Koyabu Kogei overcame the design headaches and the end result is a testament to the maker’s excellent skill and attention to detail.

The complex stitches found on the Tomodachi tote bag
Photo by Tanaka Toshinori

The company’s president Koyabu-san relocated the company back from Tokyo to the family’s hometown in beautiful Chita peninsula when he took over the business from his father. The relocation was not only ideal for his growing family, but has also provided much needed part-time work for the skilled women in the area.

Small local companies like Koyabu Kogei provide important part-time jobs for the skilled women of Chita Peninsula
Photo by Tanaka Toshinori

In this first cross-country project, we reaffirm our appreciation for handmade and its linkage to the past. In our ever homogenized world, it is refreshing to see the distinctive skill and craftsmanship of the few that can still build identity and strengthen local communities.

In the sturdiness, functionality, and creative design of the Tomodachi tote bag, we hope that you too will find the legacy traced to the sailing ships that plied Japan’s coasts nearly a century ago enduring the rain and cold of the seasons, and the knowledge that is passed on through the generations to create beautiful and useful objects.

Studio KotoKoto X Ayumi Horie collaboration 2014
Tomodachi Tote Bag Red & Silver

Category: Ayumi Horie

Kintsugi: An Ancient Japanese Repairing Technique Using Urushi Lacquer

Tomodachi Tote Bag: Studio KotoKoto X Ayumi Horie Collaboration 2014