Photo/Illutration Clementine Nuttall, second from left, shares her “kintsugi” technique to repair broken ceramics with lacquer and gold with students on Nov. 24 in Nara’s Takabatake-cho district. (Makoto Ito)

NARA--When a foreign national is invited to give a workshop on a quintessential Japanese craft technique like “kintsugi,” chances are that person is very good at what they do.

Such was the case with British-born artist Clementine Nuttall, who specialized in lacquering at the graduate school of the Tokyo University of the Arts.

On Nov. 24, she served as the lecturer at an event organized by Takabatake Trust that aimed to offer a culturally enriching experience to visitors from overseas. 

“Kintsugi” is a traditional technique that utilizes lacquer and gold to repair broken pieces of ceramic.

The workshop was held at the former residence of the Toma family in the Takabatake-cho district here. The building is a state-designated tangible cultural property and Takabatake Trust is responsible for its upkeep.

The workshop was part of the trust’s Artist in Residence campaign. The drive is expected to be fully up-and-running from fiscal 2025. Artists taking part in the program will be able to stay at the former Toma clan home as part of their creative activities.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs, which is responsible for the nation’s cultural assets, gave its support for the project, which also aims to help raise the cultural property’s value among visitors from outside Japan.

Nuttall said the word “kintsugi” is well known even outside Japan and that the technique’s appeal lies in the “story” in which dishes and vessels are used, broken and fixed.

The workshop was offered in English. Three students took part: from such countries as China and Australia.

The trio paid rapt attention as Nuttall explained how to treat damaged ceramics with resin and lacquer before applying metal powder to their surfaces for decoration. They carefully tried each of these processes on their own.

One student described kintsugi as difficult yet rewarding.

Kiyoshi Tatsumi, an associate professor of studies on art practice at Osaka Seikei University, attended the workshop as a coach on behalf of the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

“The event provides a special experience, embodying a value-adding policy” from the perspective of cultural tourism, Tatsumi said.

Shingo Sakuma, the representative director of Takabatake Trust, is looking to hold workshops on repairing hanging scrolls and folding screens over several weeks next fall.

Participant registration is set to begin by the end of this year.

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