Creative Lifestyle

Beginner’s Guide to Kintsugi: The Japanese Art of Repairing Pottery and Glass

おうちでできるおおらか金継ぎ

Hori Michihiro (Author)

Seo Ha-na (Translator)

2022. 8. 31. 100 pages 188×250 mm Softcover 9791168230156 KRW 18,000

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Old, broken objects can become more beautiful than ever!

The thought of throwing away a cherished dish or mug can be heartbreaking. If you’ve ever wanted to repair a treasured piece rather than tossing it in the trash—but didn’t know how—the traditional Japanese art of Kintsugi (“gold repair”) offers the perfect solution!

A Beginner’s Guide to Kintsugi teaches you the traditional Japanese techniques of pottery and glass repair based on the ancient Wabi Sabi idea that imperfections are beautiful, and visible repairs are part of the “life story” of an object.

Author Hori Michihiro provides simple, safe, and inexpensive methods that you can do at home using tools and materials that are readily available online. Hori guides you through the entire process—from assembling and mixing the materials to reconstructing replacements for hopelessly shattered shards.

With this book, you’ll learn how to:

Reinforce cracks, rebuild shattered areas, and apply the time-honored staple technique
Fix broken handles so they are fully functional again
Safely work with lacquer and metallic powders to achieve beautiful, visible repairs
Work with a variety of repair materials from gold leaf to washi paper
Repair pottery and glass using traditional techniques for stunning results

As you take the time to prepare your materials and work closely with the pieces, you’ll find yourself becoming attuned to the mindful philosophy at the heart of Kintsugi and the Wabi Sabi principle of appreciating old and imperfect objects. Most of all, the meditative process of Kintsugi will help you look at broken objects in a new way.

Hori Michihiro

Hori Michihiro is a lacquer craftsman, manga artist and author from Toyama. He graduated from Takaoka National College (now University of Toyama, School of Art and Design) with a major in lacquerware and Ishikawa Prefectural Wajima-nuri Lacquerware Training Institute. After working for a cultural property restoration company and as a craftsman in a lacquer workshop, he made his debut as a manga artist in 2003 and has been active in the fields of lacquer and manga ever since. He is the author of several books, including Seishun Uruwashi! URUSHIBU (青春うるはし! うるし部). He conducts kintsugi workshops called “Kintsugibu” (金継ぎ部) in various parts of Japan to promote the relaxed and free style of kintsugi.

Seo Ha-na

A Japanese translator and publishing editor who hovers between language and print. She considers language to be design, translating Japanese into Korean and plans books. She has worked in architecture and interiors, and after studying in Japan, she worked as an editor at Ahn Graphics. She has translated Rojinryoku, Who Made 501XX?, The Mina Perhonen Design Journey: The Circulation of Memory, An Encyclopedia of Tokyo Hotels, The Original Scenery of Harajuku in the 1970s, Walking with the Designer’s Mind, Talking to the Body, Dancing with Language, Manual on Street Observation, Hyperart Thomason, Low-Altitude Flight, If You’re Doing What You Love into Korean, and wrote A Strangely Longing Feeling (co-authored).