Member-only story
Why Do Japanese People Repair Broken Bowls With Gold?
What a bowl of matcha taught me about kintsugi, Japanese craftsmanship, and the beauty of giving things a second life.
Recently, I had the opportunity to drink matcha from a Japanese tea bowl that had been repaired using kintsugi, a traditional technique for restoring broken ceramics.
There were two bowls on the table, each filled with bright green matcha. Small Japanese sweets rested on leaf-shaped plates beside them. One of the bowls had visible cracks, yet it was still being used to serve tea.
I found myself drawn to that bowl.
It had been broken at some point, but instead of being discarded, it had been given another life. Someone had taken the time to repair it so that it could return to the table.
As I drank my matcha, I began thinking about what it means to keep something even after it has been damaged.
In Japan, there is a traditional craft that offers one answer to that question.
It is called kintsugi.
When a Broken Bowl Becomes Beautiful Again
Kintsugi is a Japanese technique for repairing broken pottery, traditionally using lacquer to…
