Awareness of kintsugi has increased over the past five years, including before and after COVID-19, reaching the 70% level as in the previous survey. Kintsugi is especially popular among women, and both men and women in their 50s were found to be the most likely to not throw away broken vessels.
We are pleased to report the results of our fourth National Kintsugi Awareness Survey 2024, which is conducted periodically.
Why do we continue to conduct Kintsugi awareness surveys?
We, Tsugu Tsugu Inc., started as a company specializing in kintsugi in March 2020 when the corona infection was just about to spread. In 2019, only a few people know about kintsugi. We were unsure if kintsugi would be accepted and contribute to modern society.
In addition, there were no marketing or needs assessment materials available at that time for a niche traditional technology like kintsugi. Therefore, we decided to conduct our own survey on changes in awareness and consciousness of kintsugi before any other survey was conducted, in order to quantify and confirm how much the awareness of kintsugi in Japan would increase as a result of our activities to promote the charm of kintsugi. In this fourth survey, conducted in 2024, we analyzed the changes over the past five years as well as by gender and age to continuously and quantitatively clarify the situation.
This time, we increased the number of open-ended responses and delved deeper into the public's image of kintsugi and their needs.
In order to increase the number of people interested in Kintsugi, we are making this survey public so that many people can see and quote from it. We are pleased to report the results of the fourth survey, which covered the largest number of people in our previous surveys.
Number of subjects and background of the 4th Kintsugi Awareness Survey
In the National Kintsugi Awareness Survey, which we have continued to conduct a total of four times over the past five years, we have gradually increased the number of subjects to improve the accuracy of our analysis. The following is an introduction to the subjects and background to date.
National Kintsugi Awareness Survey 2022 (4th, this time)
From July 22-24, 2024, 327 women and 237 men (564 total) from all over Japan were surveyed online at
Respondent age distribution:
(Women) 27% in their 20s, 27% in their 30s, 24% in their 40s, 11% in their 50s, 10% in their 60s and older
(Men) 16% in their 20s, 24% in their 30s, 20% in their 40s, 14% in their 50s16%their24% in their, 24%their,14%their, 24% in their 60s and above
To improve the accuracy of the analysis, the number of people surveyed was increased from the previous survey.
National Kintsugi Awareness Survey 2022 (3rd)
From October 5-13, 2022, 216 women and 151 men (367 total) from all over Japan were surveyed online at
Respondent age distribution:
(Women) 15% in their 20s, 32% in their 30s, 19% in their 40s, 19% in their 50s, 16% in their 60s and older
(Men) 14% in their 20s, 16% in their 30s, 28% in their 40s, 17% in their 50s60s and older 25%
To include men in the survey and further examine trends by age group, a certain number of people in each age group were collected for each age group.
National Kintsugi Awareness Survey 2021 (2nd)
On May 26, 2021, we conducted an online survey of 233 women across Japan
Respondent age distribution: 1% teens, 26% in their 20s, 38% in their 30s, 25% in their 40s, 10% in their 50s, and 1% in their 60s or older
In the midst of what is being called a kintsugi boom, we increased the number of respondents from the first survey to make our analysis more precise.
Tokyo Kintsugi Awareness Survey 2019 (1st)
On October 3, 2019, 111 women living in Tokyo were surveyed online at
Respondent age distribution: teens 1%, 20s 18%, 30s 38%, 40s 28%, 50s 12%, 60s 3%, 70s 1%
This was a first market survey before founding Tsugu Tsugu.
Results of National Kintsugi Awareness Survey 2024
Q1: Do you know kintsugi?
Yes, I know kintsugi ... 70.8%
No, I don’t know kintsugi ... 29.2
More than half of the respondents said they knew kintsugi!
Q1-1 Do you know Kintsugi? ｜Awareness of Kintsugi over the past 4 surveys
In 2024, the latest year available, about 71% of respondents overall said they were aware of kintsugi, a slight decrease from 74% in October 2022. Because the percentages by gender and age are somewhat different, we assume post-Corona awareness to remain steady.
Q1-2. Do you know kintsugi? ｜Analysis by Gender
This survey also analyzed awareness of kintsugi by gender. The results showed that 75.5% of women were aware of kintsugi, while only 64.1% of men were aware of kintsugi. This trend is not limited to this survey; in the previous survey, women were about 10% more likely to have heard of kintsugi, indicating that interest in kintsugi is somewhat stronger among women on an ongoing basis.
In the kintsugi classes held at our studios more than 10 times a week, more than 90% of the participants are women. However, we believe that the desire to restore broken vessels in a traditional and beautiful way through kintsugi is a common need that transcends gender.
■Analysis by gender and age
Furthermore, according to the results of the analysis, which also included age, there was a tendency for awareness of kintsugi to increase with age for both men and women. Both men and women, especially those in their 50s, had the highest level of awareness of kintsugi.
Q1-2 Do you know kintsugi? ｜Breakdown of understanding
More respondents (39.8%) knew (had seen) what kintsugi was if they saw a picture of it than knew (31.0%) what it was from the word "kintsugi.
With the spread of SNS such as Instagram, more people have seen kintsugi, but it seems that a large percentage of people do not know the true meaning of what kintsugi is.
Q2: Do you have any broken, chipped, or cracked vessels that you have a special attachment to, but keep instead of throwing away? (Not necessarily expensive vessels).
Yes, I have. ... 24.9%
No, I don’t have. ... 75.1
About one in four respondents have a vessel that is broken, chipped, or cracked, but they have not thrown it away because they hace a special attachment to it.
■Analysis by level of understanding of kintsugi
Cross-analysis with Q1-2 shows that among those who have a high understanding of kintsugi, a high percentage (30.1%) keep broken, chipped or cracked vessels without throwing them away. In contrast, among those who have no knowledge of kintsugi, the percentage of those who retain vessels that have been broken, chipped, or cracked is low at 18.7%.
In other words, the higher the level of understanding of kintsugi, the higher the percentage of people who have broken, chipped, or cracked vessels but do not throw them away.
It is not clear from this survey alone whether a high percentage of the respondents retain broken vessels without throwing them away because they know kintsugi, or whether the fact that they have vessels that they have not thrown away is itself a trigger for their interest in kintsugi.
■Analysis by Age
Analysis by age group shows that those in their 50s in particular have the highest percentage of those who retain damaged vessels without discarding them, reaching 30%. Also, a relatively high percentage (23.7%) of those in their 20s also retain damaged vessels that they have a similar emotional attachment to.
Q3: When you have broken vessels around you, have you ever considered repairing with kintsugi to use them again?
Yes...93.5%
No...6.5%.
According to the survey, 93.5% of all respondents have experienced broken vessels in their immediate surroundings.
Among those who have experienced broken vessels around them and have never heard of kintsugi, the option of "repair with kintsugi and use again" for broken vessels came to mind for 3.0%, while 97.0% never thought of it.
This result can be taken as an indication of the low level of awareness of kintsugi.
Among those who have experienced broken vessels around them and know the meaning of the word "kintsugi," 40.7% have thought of the option "repair with kintsugi and use again," compared to 59.3% who have never thought of it
A relatively high percentage (40.7%) of the respondents who knew the meaning of the word "kintsugi" had thought of "kintsugi" when they had broken vessels and used them again.
Q4 (Descriptive answers) Questions about Kintsugi
The question, "If you had the opportunity to ask any question about kintsugi, what would you like to know?" The answer to this question was very varied.
Many people were curious about the cost of kintsugi. Especially from those who had never heard of kintsugi, the question, "Why is it so expensive?" was a prominent question.
In addition, many questions were raised about the durability and use of the vessels after the kintsugi repair. For example, "Can it be used to hold hot water?" and “Can I use it in the dishwasher or microwave?".
More technical questions were asked by those familiar with kintsugi.
“Can I fix it myself?”, “What materials do I need to do kintsugi?”, "Which stores will repair vessels?" and other practical questions like"to what extent can the damage be repaired?" and "How long does it take to repair?".
Some expressed interest in the history and techniques of kintsugi, and some were deeply interested in this traditional technique.
Traditional kintsugi uses urushi lacquer, which requires more time and effort to repair than synthetic adhesives, making it inevitably more expensive. Because this understanding has not penetrated the market, I felt that the image of kintsugi as an expensive process has prevailed.
Summary of Survey Results | National Kintsugi Awareness Survey 2024
Awareness of kintsugi reached about 70% in this survey, indicating that it has remained high after a sharp increase in awareness over the past five years. The percentage of women and older people tended to be more aware of kintsugi.
About one in four respondents in total said that they "have vessels that are broken, chipped, or cracked but have a special place in their hearts that they have not been able to throw away," with the highest number of respondents in their 50s, indicating that kintsugi still has potential to be used in the future. Kintsugi is a niche traditional technique, yet there is a clear demand for it. The most common question, however, was related to price.
Based on the results of this survey, we, Tsugu Tsugu, are working not only to raise awareness of kintsugi through photos and visuals via SNS, but also to provide more in-depth information on what kintsugi means, and the historical background of kintsugi. In order to increase opportunities for the general public to actually see and touch kintsugi vessels, and to enhance follow-up services to resolve questions of those who try kintsugi themselves with kintsugi kits, we are currently developing services such as Instagram Live and YouTube Live where kintsugi professionals can directly answer users' questions and help them deepen their understanding.
In addition, since our customers are waiting nearly one year for kintsugi repairs by our kintsugi professionals, we are also increasing the number of people who can perform kintsugi by utilizing the kintsugi certification test, which was launched in November 2023 by the Kintsugi Proficiency Test Association.
By continuing to focus on actively distributing information, we hope to develop services that will be accepted by a wide range of people, both young and old.
We believe that kintsugi is more than just a repair technique; it is an important means of passing on traditional Japanese culture. To this end, we believe it is essential to set transparent prices, provide an environment where customers can receive our services with peace of mind, and provide knowledge on how to properly handle kintsugi vessels and the knowledge behind the process.
Through the art of kintsugi, we hope to convey not only its beauty but also the excitement we feel when a cherished vessel is brought back to life.
“Kintsugi to Move the World”
Based on this mission, our goal is to promote a broad understanding of the true value of kintsugi and to make kintsugi familiar to as many people as possible.
