The Aesthetic of Mending What Is Broken

“Mottainai.”

A sensibility rooted in Japan—
to cherish what we have.

It came to be known around the world when Wangari Maathai introduced the concept of “4R”—
adding Respect to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle—
together with the word “MOTTAINAI.”

Within the act of mending something broken,
this spirit quietly resides.

Kintsugi did not originate from “mottainai,”
yet from the perspective of cherishing things,
it may well have been utilized
through that “mottainai,” sensibility.

And yet, in present-day when substitutes to fill what is broken
are so easily within reach,
this quiet and beautiful culture
feels as though it is gradually fading.

When I think back on it,
in my own life as well—

The first thing that comes to mind
is a pair of socks my mother mended.

When I was a student,
whenever a small hole appeared
in my uniform socks,
she would quietly mend them.

I remember trying to do the same myself.

Slightly away from the context of “mending,”

cutting worn towels into smaller pieces
and using them until the very end as cleaning cloths,
or reusing snack packaging
to hold miscellaneous goods—

What used to be a part of daily life

is now remembered as old memories.

For my mother,

mending socks

was probably nothing out of the ordinary.

That is 

precisely how a Japanese sense of beauty
lives within everyday life.

That such culture,
quietly residing within people,
continues to be carried forward—
gently, and without end.