Day 3691: Kintsugi and Ryo Takemasa.

 

  

"Threats": acrylics, junk mail collage, digital.

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2GN2S ... 

Kintsugi

Maybe it's because I am broken, but aren't most of us in some way? I love the Japanese custom of Kintsugi! Nothing is ever truly broken ... that's the philosophy behind the ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi, which repairs smashed pottery by using beautiful seams of gold.

Photo: Tom Slemmons

Kintsugi detail. Photo: Matthew Tyas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The story of Kintsugi is said to have begun in the 15th century when Japanese military commander Ashikaga Yoshimasa broke one of his beloved Chinese tea bowls and, disappointed with a shoddy repair job it was treated to, urged Japanese craftsmen to come up with a more pleasing method of repair.

Translated to “golden joinery,” Kintsugi (or Kintsukuroi, which means “golden repair”)  the centuries-old Japanese art  gives a unique appearance to broken pottery repaired with a seam of lacquer and precious metal. 

Painting a Kintsugi pot. Photo: Tom Slemmons

Trust the Japanese to encapsulate the wisdom of the ages into a single object. Theirs is a culture with an enviable talent for clarity of both thought and communication, and with an admirable attitude to what really matters in life.

Images & resource from  BBC Four's Japan season, here.

Lakeside Pottery 

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Kintsugi often makes the repaired piece even more beautiful than the original, revitalizing it with new life.

Photo: June's Child

If you want more, a wonderful page explaining the 3 predominant styles of Kintsugi: crack, piece method, and joint-call, can be found here.

Tokyo Suburb by Ryo Takemasa

Musashino Magazine (Fall 2016)

   For the past several years, Ryo Takemasa, the illustrator behind the Birds of Tokyo handbook, has been illustrating the cover of the quarterly magazine Musashino, dedicated to Musashino, a Western suburb of Tokyo along the Chuo line

Musashino Magazine (Fall 2021)

 

"For over 10 years, when I was growing up in Tokyo, I was lucky enough to call this neighborhood my home. But even for a long-term Musashino resident like myself, some of these spots are hard to identify. Of course there’s there shiyakusho (below) and the Kite Park (we just called it that) but there are plenty of nondescript locations that I vaguely recognize, or haven’t seen before at all."

Musashino Magazine (Fall 2020)

 

It’s part of what gives the area its charm and Takemasa illustrates each with a combination of warmth and nostalgia. You can check out some of the other covers here and see more of his beautiful work on Behance.

Musashino Magazine (Fall 2018)

  

Musashino Magazine (Fall 2017)

  

Musashino Magazine (Fall 2015)

  

Musashino Magazine (Fall 2014)

  

Musashino Magazine (Autumn 2013)

 

 

 

A fun 3+minute video, Pyramids, here.

 

Just because ...

  

Red-headed Weaver

 

 

Smiles for Tuesday ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#nationaldaughtersday   9-26-2022

 

 

                             Thanks for coming by today