想
いを、
未来
へつなぐ
金継
ぎ。
Kintsugi that carries memories into the future.
うつわに宿る人の想いを、
日本の伝統技術の技で
次の時代へつないでいきたい。
器がつなぐ時間と、その物語
金継ぎは、
器を復元するための数ある技法のひとつに過ぎません。
割れてしまったままであれば、
そこで役目を終えてしまうかもしれない器も、
継ぐことで、再び時間を重ねていくことができます。
その器の生命は、
未来へとつながっていくことでしょう。
古い器に触れていると、
江戸時代の修復師によるもの、
と思われる手跡に出会うことがあります。
お直しを施されているということは、
それだけ大切にされてきた証でもあります。
どのような方の暮らしに寄り添い、時を重ね、
どのような想いによって
「かたちを留めておきたい」と願われたのだろう。
直し手の存在や、
そのときに重ねられた想いを想像すると、
そこには確かに、物語が存在しています。
今の時代に直された器もまた、
これから先、未来の誰かの手に渡り、
同じように何かを感じてもらえるかもしれません。
ひとつの器が辿ってきた時間の流れに、
静かな喜びと、少しの高揚を覚えます。
About Kintsugi
Weaving Time and Stories Through Ceramics
Kintsugi is an art that connects the past with the future. It allows the story of a ceramic vessel to continue, carrying its history across generations.
There are countless ways to repair broken ceramics. Kintsugi is just one of them, yet its philosophy and approach are unlike any other.
A broken vessel might seem to have reached the end of its journey. Through kintsugi, however, it is given a second life. It returns to everyday use, and its story begins to unfold once again.
Rather than being discarded, the life of the vessel continues, carried into the future through the hands of those who cherish it.
When working with antique ceramics, I occasionally encounter traces of kintsugi repairs made by anonymous artisans during the Edo period, more than two hundred years ago.
Those golden seams tell us something remarkable. They are evidence that someone, long ago, chose not to discard the vessel but to preserve it with care, allowing it to continue its journey through time.
Whenever I hold such a piece, I cannot help but imagine the people whose lives it touched. Who held it? How was it used? What memories did it witness? And who wished so deeply to preserve it that they entrusted it to the hands of a kintsugi artisan?
As I imagine the craftsperson who repaired it and the care they devoted to their work, the vessel's story comes alive before me.
The ceramics we repair today will one day be entrusted to future generations. Just as I now feel connected to those who repaired vessels centuries ago, someone in the future may one day feel connected to us.
To trace the passage of time carried by a single vessel fills me with quiet joy and a profound sense of wonder.
Recollections
記憶
Philosophy
想い
器とともに、時間をつなぐ
はじめに学んだのは、
西洋の化学的な素材を用いた「修復保存」の技術でした。
それは、器を使うことを前提とせず、
資料として残すための、保存を目的とした在り方です。
しかし私は、
直した器を再び使うことができるという考え方に、
強く惹かれていきました。
壊れてしまった器も、
もう一度手に取り、使い、時間を重ねていくことができる。
その在り方に魅力を感じ、
金継ぎの技法を学ぶようになりました。
器には、これまで大切に使われてきた時間や、
人の想いが確かに宿っていると感じています。
だからこそ私は、
それらをただの「物」としてではなく、
ひとつの存在として丁寧に受け止めながら、
ひとつひとつと向き合うことを大切にしています。
これからも、器に宿る想いが未来へつながるように、
手を重ねていきたいと願っています。
加藤 久美子
Connecting Time Through Ceramics
Breathing new life into broken ceramics and reconnecting their journey through time—this is my work as a ceramic repairer and kintsugi artisan.
My own journey began not with kintsugi, but with conservation. In London, I trained in Western conservation techniques, learning how to preserve antique ceramics using modern chemical materials.
The purpose of that work was to protect objects as historical records for future generations. While deeply meaningful, it also meant that these ceramics were no longer expected to return to everyday life. They were preserved, rather than lived with.
Over time, however, I found myself drawn to a different philosophy—one that allows repaired ceramics to be used once again. That philosophy is kintsugi, the traditional Japanese art of repair. It called me home to Japan.
Through kintsugi, a broken vessel can reclaim its purpose. It can be held again, used again, and passed on to future generations. The joy of living with it continues. This philosophy moved me deeply, and it continues to inspire me today.
Unlike many modern restoration methods, kintsugi relies on natural materials derived from plants rather than synthetic chemicals. It is a traditional craft whose techniques have been handed down for more than four hundred years.
The purpose of kintsugi is not simply to repair what has been broken, but to welcome an object back into daily life.
Captivated by this beautiful philosophy, I devoted myself to mastering the art of kintsugi.
I truly believe that ceramics bearing the traces of kintsugi carry the memories, the passage of time, and the care of all those who cherished them before us.
That is why I never see ceramics as mere objects. I regard each one as a living presence.
I speak to them. I listen to them. I observe them with care, taking the time to understand what each piece needs.
As I work, I imagine a new life and a new expression for every broken vessel.
When a repaired vessel returns to everyday use, it begins to mark time once again, becoming part of new memories and new daily rituals.
My wish, now and always, is to carry the spirit that resides within these ceramics into the future.
Day by day, I will continue to dedicate myself to connecting the past and the present through the art of kintsugi.
Kumiko Kato
Contact
お問い合わせ
金継ぎのご相談やご質問など、
お気軽にお問い合わせください。
通常 2〜3日以内 に返信いたします。
※営業・売り込みを目的としたお問い合わせはご遠慮ください。
悪質な場合、関係機関へ情報提供を行うことがあります。
Access
アクセス
ニッポニア
営業時間：11:00〜17:00（不定休・要予約）
〒505-0042
岐阜県美濃加茂市太田本町
２丁目４−７