Kintsugi and the Ephemeral Beauty of Broken Men

[JT Soul]

"The wound is the place where the Light enters you." -Rumi

Kintsugi 金継ぎ is a Japanese term meaning “golden joinery” that refers to the practice of repairing broken ceramics with lacquer dusted with precious metals like gold, platinum, and silver. It can also be referred to as kintsukuroi 金繕い ("golden repair"). Contrary to the more common practices of simply discarding broken pottery or attempting to repair it in a way that conceals the break, kintsugi draws visual attention to the break by mending it with a bright material. Counter-economically, it also uses a far more valuable material (precious metal) to repair a less valuable object (pottery).

Philosophically, kintsugi is predicated on the notion that the breaks or scars in an object are part of its lived history; they should therefore be repaired to achieve renewed functionality, but they should not be hidden or plastered over. It has been called a celebration of the beauty of broken things. Indeed, the practice became so ingrained in the aesthetics and values of Edo-jidai (1603-1868) Japan that valuable ceramics were sometimes deliberately cracked and then repaired with precious metals. Kintsugi is grounded in the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi 侘寂, which is concerned with philosophical resignation to transience and imperfection. In turn, this idea can be related to the Buddhist idea of the trilakshana (Japanese: sanboin) or “three marks of existence”: impermanence, suffering, and non-self. It is also linked to the philosophical concept of mushin 無心 (“no mind”), which emphasizes acceptance of change and the role of fate in one’s life.

George RR Martin is very concerned with the idea of the “broken man,” a person physically and/or spiritually “broken” by the horrors of war. It’s a theme he’s explored over and over again in his writing, stretching back to his opposition to the Vietnam War. In A Song of Ice and Fire, it’s embodied in (anti-)heroes like Sandor Clegane, and also in villains like Rorge and Biter. One of the most celebrated passages in the novels is Septon Meribald’s rumination on the nature of broken men, in which he explains how these men come to be and why they should be pitied.

While most of the broken men in Martin’s story never recover, I would argue that the author has something important to say about the nature of those who do. We see this in Sandor, Tyrion, and Brienne who – like a pot repaired with kintsugi – display prominent scars on their faces as visual signs of their healed/healing brokenness. However, it is Jaime Lannister whose imperfection most perfectly embodies the concept of kintsugi, being a broken man who is quite literally repaired with gold and comes to embrace his golden imperfection as part of his lived identity. Jaime’s recovery from his injury coincides not only with the golden mending of his physical brokenness but with the gradual mending of his broken spirit and a growing acceptance of himself as a damaged person. We can apply precepts of the sanboin to his journey, as he first positions himself in individualistic opposition to the world, then experiences extreme suffering, only to embrace a greater sense of selflessness and resignation to his fate as he begins to heal both from the physical scars left by Zollo’s arakh and from the emotional scars left by his toxic relationships with his father and sister and his time in the service of the Mad King. Coinciding with his acceptance of himself as a broken man is his growing realization of the beauty of the scarred and damaged Brienne of Tarth.

The books are full of characters who remain broken and never heal, as well as some who do undergo healing processes and come to accept their scars as integral aspects of their imperfect identities. Conversely, I think we also have an example at the other end of the spectrum who demonstrates that too much of a good thing can be equally dangerous: the emotionally damaged Viserys, who is literally killed by the over-application of gold. The Dothraki were meant to be the solution to Viserys’s problems – dangerous men whose violence would destroy the obstacles in his path to kingship – but he failed to harness that violence and it was turned on him instead. Likewise, the golden crown symbolized attainment of everything he desired, but, unlike Jaime’s hand which is a signifier of acceptance of loss and a growing selflessness, the crown was not the true healing that Viserys needed. Rather, it was the physical manifestation of his selfish desire for power. Viserys’s tragedy is that he was a broken man who misdiagnosed and externalized the nature of his brokenness, failing to recognize that it was a product of his inner angst and thinking instead that it could be healed through the superficial trappings of power. Conceptualized in terms of kintsugi, he made the mistake of thinking that it was the gold itself that mattered, rather than the healed scars beneath. Thus, he was smothered and consumed, rather than healed and made whole.

I do not know whether George RR Martin is familiar with the concept of kintsugi, but I thought that the parallels with his concept of the broken man were interesting, particularly in the cases of Jaime and Viserys. I don’t wish to imply that this is all Martin is doing with these characters. For example, he is also doubtless alluding to figures in European mythology, like the Irish hero Nuada of the Silver Hand and the Phrygian King Midas of the golden touch. But I hope some of you might find this interesting.

Recommended viewing: Martin’s idea of the broken man is explored in a good YouTube video In Deep Geek did with Archmaster Emma entitled “Secrets of Broken Men in ASOIAF.” My interest in the topic was recently revived by Joe Magician’s new video “The True Identity of the Tattered Prince,” in which he convincingly argues that some of the broken-man-esque sellswords in the story could be explorations of how certain major characters might have evolved if they’d progressed down darker trajectories. Both videos are worth checking out if you have the time.

[Daendrew]

Beautiful post.

I think you would enjoy this song about Japanese bowls by Peter Meyer.

Lyrics: 

I'm like one of those Japanese bowls
That were made long ago
I have some cracks in me
They have been filled with gold

That's what they used back then
When they had a bowl to mend
It did not hide the cracks
It made them shine instead

So now every old scar shows
From every time I broke
And anyone's eyes can see
I'm not what I used to be

But in a collector's mind
All of these jagged lines
Make me more beautiful
And worth a higher price

I'm like one of those Japanese bowls
I was made long ago
I have some cracks you can see
See how they shine of gold.

 

[CamiloRP]

I've got nothin to say, just, beautiful.

[JT Soul]

3 hours ago, Daendrew said:

Beautiful post.

I think you would enjoy this song about Japanese bowls by Peter Meyer.

 

That's a really nice song! Thanks for sharing it. I'll be sure to check out some more of his work.

 

[Orion2]

I really like this:)

[Orion2]

And shit that part about Viserys is good, I was just thinking that:))

[Orion2]

I love this

 

 sorry for posting three times in a row

[Lilac & Gooseberries]

That is stunningly brilliant. 

[Groo]

Your profile shows this is your first post. That is an impressive debut.

[Groo]

You mention that you don't know if Martin is familiar with kintsugi. If you were to run with this idea, though, what implications do you think it might have for the story going forward?

[Springwatch]

Enjoyed the post - it is beautiful and relevant, but I think ultimately not GRRM's intent - as I see it these crippling injuries are a way for 'strong' characters to join the category of the weak. They are not mended; fighting is no longer the way forward for them; they need to use their minds. (Tyrion says early on about his mind being his sword, honed by books, I think.)

Important because, as we're told, you can't fight the cold.

On 1/24/2021 at 10:41 PM, JT Soul said:

Recommended viewing: Martin’s idea of the broken man is explored in a good YouTube video In Deep Geek did with Archmaster Emma entitled “Secrets of Broken Men in ASOIAF.” My interest in the topic was recently revived by Joe Magician’s new video “The True Identity of the Tattered Prince,” in which he convincingly argues that some of the broken-man-esque sellswords in the story could be explorations of how certain major characters might have evolved if they’d progressed down darker trajectories. Both videos are worth checking out if you have the time.

Not seen the videos, but I think you could be on the right track with these ideas.

[Canon Claude]

So you might say that Kintsugi is “Good Damage”. 

[Orion2]

Soo, how does this relate to Reek. Well his breaking allowed his love for the Starks to enter. It made him realize who he really was. Lets please expand on this topic:):) its awesome @JT Soul

 

What abt Tyrion.  Hes been broken for a long time. But I guess all these characters have been, it just takes something to make them realize their brokenness. He does genuinely care about Griff and Aegon. Hes more complicated.   

 

Tywin drowns his brokenness in power, and the ability to make others fear him through his cruelty. Tywin can't be vulnerable because he doesn't feel safe trusting people because he never wants to be taken advantage of like his father. It's like he's so rigid and strong that he never has an kitisungi, and @Canon Claude, thats necessary, for him and his family, and so his children are all messed up. And he dies for that. Cause he's gone too long without good damage. 

 

I think people who refuse to repent or take their beliefs too far are usually punished for it in ISOIAF, I think thats a pretty good way to tell when a character is going to die. 

 

I wonder how this applies to Jon and Ned. I think its easiest to apply it to very broken people, but every character is broken in some way. 

[Canon Claude]

28 minutes ago, Orion2 said:

Soo, how does this relate to Reek. Well his breaking allowed his love for the Starks to enter. It made him realize who he really was. Lets please expand on this topic:):) its awesome @JT Soul

 

What abt Tyrion.  Hes been broken for a long time. But I guess all these characters have been, it just takes something to make them realize their brokenness. He does genuinely care about Griff and Aegon. Hes more complicated.   

 

Tywin drowns his brokenness in power, and the ability to make others fear him through his cruelty. Tywin can't be vulnerable because he doesn't feel safe trusting people because he never wants to be taken advantage of like his father. It's like he's so rigid and strong that he never has an kitisungi, and @Canon Claude, thats necessary, for him and his family, and so his children are all messed up. And he dies for that. Cause he's gone too long without good damage. 

 

I think people who refuse to repent or take their beliefs too far are usually punished for it in ISOIAF, I think thats a pretty good way to tell when a character is going to die. 

 

I wonder how this applies to Jon and Ned. I think its easiest to apply it to very broken people, but every character is broken in some way. 

You didn’t get my reference. 

[Orion2]

oh no  @Canon Claude