We offer three types of kintsugi lessons to meet the needs of our customers.
- One-hour Traditional Kintsugi Workshop (restoring plates using traditional kintsugi with urushi lacquer)
- One-hour Kintsugi-style Workshop (creating kintsugi style accessories and chopstick rests without using urushi lacquer)
- Regular Kintsugi Classes (repair your own broken vessels using urushi lacquer)
1) One-hour Traditional Kintsugi Workshop (about 60 mins):
In this workshop, you will have the opportunity to experience the most impressive step of traditional kintsugi repair: the dusting of gold powder over the restored parts.
Traditional kintsugi repair is based on the use of urushi (the sap of the lacquer tree). Urushi requires a lot of time to cure and it is not possible to complete a whole kintsugi repair with urushi within an hour. However, for the discovery workshop, we restore the objects in advance so that you can directly apply the finishing layer.
You can choose to dust gold on a restored Japanese plate (subject to availability, please contact us in advance).
Once the item dusted with gold has completely hardened (3-4 days), you can pick it up at our studio or ask for it to be sent to your address.
During all of our workshops, we exclusively use traditional kintsugi techniques, which are based on the use of natural urushi lacquer. It is the only fully food safe option for kintsugi.
Price : 9900 yen per person with 23kt gold finish
Date/Time:
-Saturday & Sunday 16:00 – 17:00 at Ebisu and Asakusa Studio
【Note】If other dates and times requested, we will arrange for an additional 5,500 yen per group.
Gold powder : 23kt gold finish is food safe, and the color stays long. (If you wish brass finish, it is not certified as food safe but we can reduce 550 yen. Brass finish would be only for decoration.)
Venue : Ebisu studio (up to 6 people) or Asakusa (up to 13 people)
Reservation : Contact us at least one week in advance at “contact”.
When the advance payment by credit card is completed, your reservation is confirmed.
Cancellation Policy
-In case of cancellation from 3 days prior to the event to the day of the event: 100% of the workshop fee will be charged.
-Cancellation without notice: 100% of the reservation fee will be charged.
Late arrivals
If you do not show up within 15 minutes of your scheduled time, we will consider the workshop is cancelled. If you are going to be late for your appointment due to unavoidable circumstances, please contact us as soon as you know. However, we will not be able to extend the workshop time.
2) One-hour Kintsugi-style Workshop (about 45 mins – 1 hr):
For those who easily get rashes from lacquer or who want to take their creations home immediately, we recommend the “Kintsugi-style” workshop, which does not use urushi lacquer. Instead of using the traditional method, you can easily create kintsugi-like pieces using synthetic resin. Therefore, instead of tableware to serve food, chopstick rests, accessories, and key chains are made.
Above photo: Chopstick rests with pottery pieces found in the Japanese sea
Above photo: Earrings with with glass pieces found in the Japanese sea
Sea potteries and sea glasses can also be mixed to create fashionable items that blend Japanese and Western styles. Those pieces have been washed out in the sea over a long period of time, rounded at the corners, and become smaller and smaller when arrived at the shore. Once discarded as trash, they are not only picked up and reused, but also fashionably revitalized.
This kintsugi-style joint without using urushi lacquer is recently called “Modern-kintsugi.” It is finished with brass instead of genuine gold.
Price : 6600 yen per person (4 pieces included)
There is a supplement of 330 yen for each additional sea glass/ceramic or metal fitting used.
Date/Time:
-Saturday & Sunday 16:00 – 17:00 at Ebisu and Asakusa Studio
【Note】If other dates and times requested, we will arrange for an additional 5,500 yen per group.
Gold powder : Brass only
Venue : Ebisu studio (up to 6 people) or Asakusa (up to 13 people)
Reservation : Contact us at least one week in advance at “contact”.
When the advance payment by credit card is completed, your reservation is confirmed.
Cancellation Policy
-In case of cancellation from 3 days prior to the event to the day of the event: 100% of the workshop fee will be charged.
-Cancellation without notice: 100% of the reservation fee will be charged.
Late arrivals
If you do not show up within 15 minutes of your scheduled time, we will consider the workshop is cancelled. If you are going to be late for your appointment due to unavoidable circumstances, please contact us as soon as you know. However, we will not be able to extend the workshop time.
3) Regular Kintsugi Classes (90 minutes per class)
Reservations available!
In the one-day kintsugi workshops, we prepare the vessels and objects, but in the regular kintsugi classes, you can repair your own broken vessels.
With our regular classes, you can learn to restore damaged objects using traditional kintsugi techniques, using the sap of the lacquer tree as a glue. Our classes are customized according to your experience with kintsugi and the kintsugi projects you wish to work on.
Students will learn kintsugi at our studio using the TSUGUKIT. The goal is that you can do kintsugi at home by yourself. You can also attend kintsugi lessons only when you stumble while doing kintsugi alone.
Urushi lacquer is the main ingredient used in traditional kintsugi. It is known for being very strong and durable once it has hardened. However, the hardening process of urushi takes time and requires specific conditions. A full kintsugi repair usually takes at least a few month because many layers of urushi are required. It usually takes at least 5 lessons to complete a full repair. (Usually it takes more than 8-10 lessons to finish beautifully)
Course Fees:
Initial cost total: ①+②+③+④
1) Registration fee: 11000 yen (tax incl.)
2) Course fee:
– 1 time ticket 6,600 yen （tax incl.）
– 5 times ticket 27,500 yen（5,500yen / class, A little discount for tickets）（tax incl.）
Expiration date: 6 months from purchase
– 10 times ticket 49,500 yen（4,950 yen / class, A little discount for tickets）（tax incl.）
Expiration date: 1 year from purchase
3) Material fee: You have to purchase your own TSUGUKIT at our studio.
4) Storage of items at Tsugu Tsugu’s studio (including the use of the drying cabinet for optimal drying): 3300 yen/year (tax incl.)
Venue: Ebisu studio (up to 6 people) or Asakusa (up to 10 people)
Date＆Time（English class）
-Tuesday mornings (10:00-11:30) in Ebisu, and night (19:00-20:30) in Asakusa
-Thursday mornings (10:00-11:30) & afternoon (14:00-15:30) in Ebisu
-Friday mornings (10:00-11:30) in Ebisu
-Sunday mornings (10:00-11:30) & afternoon (14:00-15:30) in Ebisu
【Note】Please continue to come to the same location.
Reservation : Contact us at least one week in advance at “contact”. (Payment on the day. Credit card is accepted)
【Note】
- Our traditional kintsugi, using Urushi lacquer and genuine gold or silver powder is completely natural and food safe.
- Short-term visitors are required to continue working on kintsugi at home if it is not completed in the class only.
- Lacquer may cause rashes. In our classrooms, we always ask students to work with gloves, but please be careful if you have sensitive skin.
- Lacquer hardens through oxidation and requires specific humidity and temperatures. After each layer, lacquered objects are placed in a controlled environment to harden, typically overnight.
Because of the many layers of lacquer required, kintsugi repairs usually take at least several months.
Therefore, it usually takes at least 5 lessons to complete a full repair. (Usually it takes more than 8-10 lessons to finish beautifully) - If you want to plan your classes in advance, please send us pictures of the item you wish to repair. If you do not have a broken item to repair, you can get free for donated items or purchase a damaged piece at our studio before your first class.
- Frequently asked questions are listed here.Some pages are still being written, but will be updated as they become available.
https://tsugu-tsugu.shop-kintsugi.com/pages/faq
Measures taken to prevent the spread of infectious diseases: Hands should be sanitized when entering our studios. If you have fever or any other worrying symptoms, please refrain from coming to class and ask to reschedule. We thank you for your cooperation.
Our studios in Tokyo
Tsugu Tsugu – Ebisu Studio
Tsugu Tsugu – Asakusa Studio