I am particularly vulnerable to “nostalgic attacks” during my golden years. While rereading Soo Eng Hiong’s article “To Repair with Gold, ” Susan Lim’s voice of yesteryears unexpectedly drifted back into my mind. She was the vocalist in The Crescendos, a popular Singapore band of the 1960s. It may be true that “Silver threads and golden needles could not mend this heart of mine,” but according to Soo Eng Hiong, he could use gold to put together broken pieces of ceramics.
Kintsugi (Kin = golden, tsugi = joinery) is a Japanese art of repair with more than 500 years of history. Broken pieces of ceramics or damaged pots can be carefully reassembled and glued together with lacquer and luxuriant gold powder. Interestingly, there is no attempt to disguise the damage. On the contrary, the focus is on highlighting the beautiful fault lines. The veins of gold are philosophically-rich, embracing the beauty of human flaws and reminders of our human fragility. Kintsugi helps us accept our flaws and celebrate the scars.
The philosophy of Kintsugi is an extension of wabi-sabi, which sees beauty in the incomplete, imperfect, transient, and value in simplicity. This art form originates from mottainai, the feeling of regret when something is wasted. It exemplifies mushin, the need to accept change and transform it into something new, beautiful, and more storied than the original.
We do not expect others to be perfect; we often appreciate people more when they reveal their vulnerabilities, show us old wounds, or admit their mistakes – they magically create intimacy and trust in relationships. When we see other people’s honesty about their flaws as positive, we are better positioned to accept our own mistakes, weaknesses, and blemishes (self-compassion).
We should not be embarrassed about our mistakes because they happen to everyone. We can synergistically converge the philosophies of Kintsugi, mottainai, and mushin to help us turn the ordinary into something extraordinary. No experience is wasted – experience is the bedrock of wisdom. In the famous words of Mark Twain, “Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.”
We live in an age that worships youth, perfection, and the new. It is refreshing to know the centuries-old wisdom of Kintsugi is as applicable to our lives as it is to repairing a broken pot. We can extend the same loving care and respect to shattered pots, firstly to ourselves and then to those around us.
If Susan Lim knew the art of Kintsugi, she could use silver threads and golden needles to mend her broken heart masterfully. It is also possible that she could create a new heart better than the original. Sadly, she died shortly after completing her final examination in 1970 (age of 22), swept away by strong waves at a Terengganu beach. Her body was never found. Shortly after the tragedy, the National University of Singapore awarded Susan a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in absentia.
Vince
Dr Vincent Chong is a retired Professor of Radiology at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
