1.5 hour private experience (except Thursday, which take place with local Japanese students)
Location: Kamigyo, Kyoto
Offered in Japanese, with a friendly Deeper Japan guide interpreting in your language
A minimum of 2 guests is required to book. Solo participants are welcome but will be charged the 2-person rate
Meet the Master
A kintsugi master with over 40 years of crafting experience under his belt, Tsuyoshi was just a university art student when he first fell in love with kintsugi. Since then, he has repaired countless precious ceramic pieces for customers, instructed dedicated students both living in Japan and visiting from abroad, and created his kintsugi masterpieces reflecting his refined expertise.
What you’ll do
Select which antique piece of pottery you’d like to work on and learn how to repair it with lacquer and 24-carat gold dust. While it dries, learn about the fascinating history of kintsugi while drinking freshly prepared matcha from antique tea bowls repaired with kintsugi by the instructor.
Who can attend
Children must be 7+
What to wear
Clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty
Included
Antique Pottery
What else you should know
All sessions are private except for those on Thursday, which takes place with local Japanese kintsugi students
Availability
Wednesday to Friday
Session 1 (10:30-12:00)
Session 2 (13:30-15:00)
Session 3 (16:30-18:00)
Access
20 minutes from Kyoto Station.
Symbolic beauty
In the practice of kintsugi—literally “golden joinery”—broken pottery is granted a second life, its fractures bound with lacquer dusted in gold. The technique is said to have emerged in the late 15th century, when a Japanese shogun, dissatisfied with crude metal-staple repairs returned from China, prompted artisans to seek a more considered solution. Rather than concealing damage, kintsugi elevates it, allowing each crack to become part of the object’s history. Rooted in the Buddhist-inflected aesthetic of wabi-sabi, it embraces impermanence and imperfection as intrinsic to beauty. Each repaired vessel is both singular and symbolic, a quiet meditation on resilience, continuity, and transformation. Join a Kyoto master artisan in his kintsugi studio, tucked aside Kyoto's temples and atmosphere of history, to enter this glittering work of finding beauty in the broken.
Cancellation Policy
Please make your booking at least 7 days in advance. See cancellation policy here.
A detailed itinerary will be emailed to you once your booking has been confirmed.
