A brief history of Kintsugi
The Kintsugi technique originated under Ashigaka Yoshimasa (1435-1490) during the Muromachi period. Yoshimasa liked surrounding himself with artists and poets in his temple-palace Ginkaku-ji and it was him who gave birth to the cha no yu culture, the tea ceremony, in Japan.
When one day his precious cup, which is given the highest importance in the tea ceremony, broke, he brought it to the most skillful Chinese ceramist who repaired the broken parts with iron braces to sew the fractures. He then brought it to a Japanese ceramist who repaired it by gluing the broken pieces with urushi lacquer and finishing it up with a dusting of gold. This is when Kintsugi was born.
