I was looking for an appropriate word for today, one that would fit well with our theme of Resilience, and came upon the word kintsugi, about which Wikipedia tells us is "the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum." The Blogger's Best Friend ™ goes on to say "As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise."
Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The bowl above has had more than its share of damage over the centuries, and each time it was repaired by using a mixture of gold and lacquer to stick the pieces back together. You'll notice it also had a number of chips around the edge of the bowl that have been patched with the gold lacquer. There was no reason to discard this piece of pottery because it was fractured, when it could be repaired in such an elegant fashion.
The principle of kintsugi, where nothing is discarded if it can be repaired, applies to everything, not just pottery. What are the things in your life that have been broken and repaired?
Got this one "tied up" for today...
ReplyDeleteK is for Knots
https://ladyleemanilablog.wordpress.com/2023/04/13/kiss-me-in-kyrielle-sonnet-and-whirligig-412/
ReplyDeleteI broke my hip in 1999 and would be very happy if the network of scars on my bum (it has been opened up three times in all) were outlined in gold! Besides that, relationships, and friendships, these too are both stronger when repaired but still bear the gold lines that reveal their history...
ReplyDeletehttps://how-would-you-know.com/2023/04/k-kick-the-bucket-bucket-list-know-the-ropes.html
Repairing things is good. Making the repairs beautiful is better.
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally, half the letters from Kintsugi make the title of my post for Letter K.
https://suestrifles.wordpress.com/2023/04/13/king-atozchallenge/
K is for Katabatic Wind
ReplyDeletehttps://misky.uk/2023/04/13/13-april-a-to-z-challenge/
Howdy,
ReplyDeleteI'm always trying to repair stupid things I've said in the past. Today I'm just trying to keep it simple and the German potatoes, also known as
KartoffelKloesse were easier to make than I thought.
Cheers,
Barbie
I love the look and often think the bowls broke themselves on purpose in order to feel whole through kintsugi.
ReplyDeleteThe bowl is beautiful
ReplyDeleteK was for Kintsugi in 2021: https://www.anne-m-bray.com/blog/167634/atozchallenge-2021-k-is-for-kintsugi
ReplyDeleteThis year's K shoe sketch: https://repeatsamb.blogspot.com/2023/04/atozchallenge-2023-k-is-for-kerry.html
I LOVE that concept. What has been broken and repaired with gold? Life. Every day we are faced with possible chips and breaks to our self and every day when that break happens, we push through and figure out how to repair the break. The self is never quite the same, but it is held together beautifully. Joy is one of the best of life's glue.
ReplyDeleteSegue into my post about the word Kerfuffle. By definition, it isn't a joyful word, but it sure is fun to say. Find joy in everything you can. https://arbitrarydustbunnies.com/2023/04/13/kerfuffle/
We all have scars, some visible and some not. I love the Japanese tradition...
ReplyDeleteMy A to Z Blogs
DB McNicol - Small Delights, Simple Pleasures, and Significant Memories
My Snap Memories - My Life in Black & White
Mm, something to consider in life.
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting for K:
My Languishing TBR: K
King of the Underworld: Hades
What a lovely post. Honoring handcrafted beauty, the intrinsic value of the item, and the personal attention shown by the repair process all tugged at heartstrings. I was sillier in my K post.
ReplyDeletehttps://womenslegacyproject.com/a-to-z/keepsakes-karma-and-kosher-food/
Today's K's: https://experiencewriting.com/2023/04/13/poetry-month-challenges-day-13-kindness-and-knowledge/
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting word to learn, I've seen pottery repaired like that.
ReplyDeleteCan't believe it's already K, a major milestone in my A to Z journey (NSFW, 18+), while the previous posts were mostly stories, this one is to applaud the diversity of the world of kink:
https://soreismore.blogspot.com/2023/04/k-is-for-this-is-kink.html
Here we go again, K for Kim
ReplyDeletehttp://imagery77.blogspot.com/2023/04/kim-possible.html
Hank
love this concept and each time i read about it, my heart fills with hope for some reason..
ReplyDeletehere is my k post - https://www.ladyinreadwrites.com/kabir-the-mystics-master-class-to-poetry-and-life/
That is one resilient bowl. I love things mended and reused.
ReplyDelete