Kintsugi: Japan’s ancient art of embracing imperfectionNewsBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioLiveWeatherNewslettersKintsugi: Japan’s ancient art of embracing imperfection8 January 2021ShareSaveTerushi ShoFeatures correspondentShareSaveriya-takahashi/Getty ImagesKintsugi: Japan’s ancient art of embracing imperfection (Credit: riya-takahashi/Getty Images)Meaning “joining with gold”, this centuries-old art is more than an aesthetic. For the Japanese, it’s part of a broader philosophy of embracing the beauty of human flaws.Most people don’t purposefully shatter their cherished pieces of pottery, but that isn’t always the case in Japanese culture. Adorning broken ceramics with a lacquer mixed with powdered gold is part of a more than 500-year-old Japanese tradition that highlights imperfections rather than hiding them. This not only teaches calm when a cherished piece of pottery breaks; it is a reminder of the beauty of human fragility as well.In a world that so often prizes youth, perfection and excess, embracing the old and battered may seem strange. But the 15th-Century practice of kintsugi, meaning “to join with gold”, is a reminder to stay optimistic when things fall apart and to celebrate the flaws and missteps of life.The ancient Japanese philosophy that helps us accept our flawsThe kintsugi technique is an extension of the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, which sees beauty in the incomplete and value in simplicity. The broken pieces’ gilded restoration usually takes up to three months, as the fragments are carefully glued together with the sap of an indigenous Japanese tree, left to dry for a few weeks and then adorned with gold running along its cracks.In an age of mass production and quick disposal, learning to accept and celebrate scars and flaws is a powerful lesson in humanity and sustainability.(Video by Terushi Sho, text by Yasmin El-Beih) This video is part of BBC Reel’s Ultimate Japan playlist. Join more than three million BBC Travel fans by liking us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter called "The Essential List". A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Worklife and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.{"image":{"pid":""}}WatchBBC in other languagesFollow BBC on:Copyright 2025 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. , Kintsugi (/kɪnˈtsuːɡi/, Japanese: 金継ぎ, [kʲint͡sɯɡʲi], lit. "golden joinery"), also known as kintsukuroi (金繕い, "golden repair"), [1] is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with urushi lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum., Poetically translated to “golden joinery,” kintsugi, or Kintsukuroi, is the centuries-old Japanese art of fixing broken pottery. Rather than rejoin ceramic pieces with a camouflaged adhesive, the kintsugi technique employs a special urushi lacquer, made from tree sap, dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum..