as a concept &. an art , kintsugi , also known as golden joinery / golden repair , is the act of repairing what ‘ s broken ( mainly ornate pottery ) , with gold lacquer. it treats the breakage &. repair of the chosen object as part of its history &. beauty rather than something ugly to hide &. cover up for no one to ever lay eyes on. this thematic in particular has always resonated heavily with how i portray my blake , how she ‘ s slowly learning to gather the broken pieces of herself in order to make amends with them rather than flee &. be scared of them. it goes so beyond the gold in gambol shroud. on one hand , the gold lacquer could be her team , because to be truthful they are the ones responsible for giving her the willpower to end this cycle of self loathing , but it ‘ s also due to her own inner strength ; wishing to be more than an unlucky black cat who thinks she brings misfortune to those around her , doomed to always run like the nature of her semblance , naught more than a shadow who often times has trouble differentiating herself from her semblance. blake ‘ s growth over the volumes is tremendous &. honestly believe she ‘ s not done just yet. for blake , her kintsugi marks are defined via the scars along her body.
kintsugi also has similarities to a japanese concept known as ‘ wabi - sabi ‘ , or embracing the imperfect / imperfections of oneself. japanese aesthetics value marks of wear &. tear of an object in fact , which heavily links back to blake coming to terms with her past rather than constantly being in a never - ending battle with it like she was in her youth. she ‘ s highlighting the cracks &. repairs as simply events of life rather than complete breakage. &. if this wasn ‘ t enough , there is also a japanese philosophy linked to this concept known as ‘ mushin ‘ : encompassing the concepts of non - attachment , acceptance of change , &. fate as aspects of life. no mind. mushin is often literally translated as no mind , but carries connotations of fully existing within the moment , of non - attachment , of equanimity amid changing conditions. there is no attempt to hide blake ‘ s damage &. her repairs are illuminated. it ‘ s true that she can never change her past , that she has done awful things for the sake of something she thought was right , but it makes her her. she ‘ s stronger because of it. she ‘ s learned because of it. why should she have to spend the rest of her life running when she can just accept &. live with it instead. she ‘ s done enough of that.