The Japanese art of repairing broken pottery so the repair remains visible, traditionally with lacquer and powdered metal.
Reach for it when naming the craft itself or a carefully qualified metaphor for visible repair
She practiced kintsugi, tracing the bowl's repaired seams with gold.
| everyday | |
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| warm | |
| professional | |
| formal |
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| literary |
everyday
repair art
Fits when creative repair is the broad topic
Careful Repair art is vague; it leaves the specific technique unnamed.
warm
visible mending
Fits when the repair is intentionally shown rather than concealed
Careful Visible mending usually refers to textiles and lacks kintsugi's materials and tradition.
professional
ceramic restoration
Fits when technical repair of pottery is the actual service
Careful Restoration often aims to hide damage, unlike kintsugi's visible seams.
literary
golden repair
Fits when a brief plain-language gloss is needed
Careful Golden repair is descriptive but not the established name of the Japanese craft.
literary
mottainai
Fits when a Japanese ethic of regret over waste is the real subject
Careful Mottainai is a distinct concept and cannot substitute for the pottery practice.
Kintsugi names a craft, so it has no true opposite. The words listed are the choices it turns down: throwing the broken piece away, hiding the repair, or letting it be destroyed.
art of kintsugi
The art of kintsugi made the bowl's history part of its beauty.
traditional kintsugi
Traditional kintsugi requires patience while each lacquer layer cures.
kintsugi repair
The kintsugi repair followed the vessel's old fracture line.
Keep in mind
Kintsugi is a specific Japanese craft, not a generic slogan that all trauma makes a person stronger. Metaphorical use should avoid romanticizing harm.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Updated
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