WORKSHOP SERIES
An Introduction to Kintsugi: Workshops with Nishikawa Iku

(Unfortunately all of these workshops have now sold out)

Experience the art of kintsugi and take home a beautifully repaired ceramic item in a hands-on workshop at Japan House London.

Kintsugi is the centuries-old Japanese repair technique which uses Japanese lacquer (urushi) dusted with powdered precious metals to restore broken ceramic vessels. The craft is underpinned by a philosophy of finding beauty in the flawed or imperfect. Rather than masking fractures, kintsugi highlights them to tell an object’s story.

During the small-group workshops, each participant can gain practical kintsugi repair skills while fixing a crack on a ceramic item using urushi and powdered brass. Guests can take away their finished pieces, along with the knowledge of how to use kintsugi techniques to repair their own broken items at home.

The workshops at Japan House are led by Kintsugi Oxford’s Nishikawa Iku who is dedicated to making the craft of kintsugi accessible to those outside Japan. Including some shortcuts to allow beginners to complete a finished product, the workshops are intended as an accessible introduction to kintsugi principles and techniques.

Please note that all materials, including the ceramic plates that guests will repair during the event, are provided at Japan House. Due to time constraints, it is not possible for guests to bring their own broken ceramics to repair.

Booking tickets

Unfortunately all of the dates for these workshops have now sold out.

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About the Workshop Instructor 

Nishikawa Iku

Founder of Kintsugi Oxford, Nishikawa Iku was born and raised in Kо̄chi, Japan. She first became attracted to the art of kintsugi while assisting Kyoto lacquerware craftsmen Shimode Muneaki and Sato Takahiko with the delivery of kintsugi workshops at the Ashmolean Museum and the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. Although kintsugi has often been considered as a professional craft technique achievable only in Japan, through practice and training Iku found that the craft could be accessible outside Japan by using recently developed new materials. As Kintsugi Oxford, she has given kintsugi workshops in Japan, Italy and the UK using new materials. She hosts individual and group lessons from her studio in Oxford from where she carries out kintsugi repairs for private clients. She has worked with artists including Lisa Hammond, Bouke de Vries, Kat Wheeler and Claudia Clare.