Is Taking Time Inefficient?

In recent years, as technology continues to advance,
we see, everywhere we look,
things once made by hand being replaced by machines.

Kintsugi, too, has changed.
Techniques using synthetic resins—
often called simplified kintsugi— have come into being.

They can be completed in a short time,
without the risk of reacting to lacquer.

Even so, the reason for choosing traditional methods remains:
the beauty of lacquer itself,
respect for a history carefully carried forward,
and a desire to pass Japan’s traditional culture on to the future.

Lacquer does not harden by drying,
but through a chemical reaction.
Inside a muro,
where temperature and humidity are precisely controlled,
it quietly absorbs moisture and oxygen from the air.

In this cold, dry winter season,
maintaining the muro requires patience and care.
Yet the time spent adjusting the humidity,
watching the jewelry rest near the warmth,
holds an indescribable tenderness.

Such moments—
the time and effort so often called “extra”—
become a space
to let one’s thoughts turn toward the person who will receive it,
and to face tradition itself.