Damage need not be the end
Worn lacquer can be refinished, and chips or cracks may be joined with lacquer and gold. A dedicated repair artisan has worked here since 2004. We accept objects made elsewhere, including inherited pieces of unknown origin.
Refinishing
The old surface is levelled and recoated without dismantling the vessel. For a bowl up to roughly 12 cm in diameter, hand-coated refinishing is approximately JPY 4,000–8,000; wiped-lacquer finishing is approximately JPY 2,000–3,500. A formal estimate follows inspection.
Chips, cracks and kintsugi
Local coating separation starts around JPY 3,000 per area; chips and cracks around JPY 4,000 per area. Gold kintsugi is priced according to crack length and damaged area, from several thousand yen for a small chip to tens of thousands for extensive damage. Gold seams remain visible.
Time required
Refinishing takes approximately two to three months; kintsugi one to two months. Winter curing can add about a month. Please discuss urgent circumstances before sending a piece.
How a repair proceeds
First send photographs of the whole object and damage. We give an approximate cost and time, then inspect the delivered object for a formal estimate. If you decline at that stage, only return shipping is charged. We send completion photographs before returning the piece. Payment is due after completion.
Sending a repair from overseas
Shipping documents must identify the object as temporarily imported for repair; we provide a sample. Customers bear round-trip shipping and applicable duties. Please discuss photographs first, including whether the repair justifies transport risk. Where local temporary care is sufficient, we will explain it.