:: COMPARE ::
The short answer
Wabi-sabi is a sensibility — a way of finding beauty in imperfection, age and impermanence. Kintsugi is a specific craft: mending broken pottery with lacquer and finishing the seams in gold, so the break becomes part of the object. The craft expresses the sensibility; it is not a synonym for it.
Side by side
| Aspect | Wabi-sabi | Kintsugi |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An aesthetic outlook | A repair technique |
| Scope | A way of seeing anything | Ceramics |
| Relationship | The philosophy | One expression of it |
| Makes visible | Age and imperfection | The break itself |
What each one means
Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic sensibility that finds beauty in imperfection, impermanence and simplicity — in the asymmetry of a handmade bowl, the patina of age, the quiet grace of things worn and passing.
Full definition of Wabi-Sabi →Kintsugi is repairing broken pottery with lacquer and finishing the seams in gold, so the break stays visible.
Full definition of Kintsugi →