What is kintsugi?

Kintsugi, meaning 'golden joinery', uses urushi lacquer, a natural tree sap, to glue broken pieces together; the seams are then dusted with powdered gold, silver or platinum. Rather than hiding damage, it highlights the cracks as part of the object's story. The practice is often linked to the late 15th century, when the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa reportedly sent a damaged tea bowl to China for repair and was unhappy with the ugly metal staples. The art reflects the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, which finds beauty in imperfection and impermanence. Traditional kintsugi repairs can take weeks or months because each layer of lacquer must cure.