A pair of untreated Japanese Akoya pearl stud earrings with exceptionally strong luster. One pearl has a tiny pinpoint scratch caused during photography, which became the story behind the name “Kizu.”

 

 

They look like a beautiful pair of earrings with exceptionally strong luster, don’t they?

Isn’t that probably why you came here in the first place?

But do you know what the word “Kizu” means?

In Japanese, kizu means a scratch, a flaw, or a wound.

While I was photographing these pearls, one of them fell from the palm of my hand.

No, the pearl did not suddenly decide to fall on its own.
It was entirely my fault.

I was taking the photos on the balcony of my home.
I was trying to make the most of the strong summer sunlight.

The balcony is made of concrete.

 

 

I often tell people not to worry too much about pearls, because they are not as easy to scratch in everyday life as you might think.

But I also often say:

“Just be careful around concrete and asphalt.”

This pearl fell from a height of about 1.5 meters and ended up with a tiny pinpoint scratch of around 0.1 mm.

It was such a beautiful pearl that I was a little depressed.

I think this may be the first time I have ever sold a pearl with a scratch that was caused by me.

 

 

A little while ago, I was making a YouTube Short about these earrings and writing the description.

And while I was writing, something occurred to me.

Maybe this was yakuyakushi.

In Japan, there has long been an idea called yakuyakushi, which means getting rid of bad luck or misfortune.

Originally, it refers to warding off some future calamity before it happens.

 

 

Perhaps the meaning has shifted over time.
Or perhaps this is actually the correct way to use the expression.
I am not entirely sure.

But when something bad happens, people sometimes say:

“Well, at least you got rid of some bad luck.”

The people who say things like this tend to be older, though.

If you break a plate while cooking:

“Well, you got rid of some bad luck. That means one future misfortune is gone.”

If you break a bone:

 

 

“Well, you got rid of some bad luck. That means one future misfortune is gone.”

Something like that.

Sometimes I still feel slightly unconvinced by this logic.

But I suppose the point is simply:

Try to look at things positively.

That was what I was writing in the description of the YouTube Short.

And now I am writing almost the same thing here.

Yes.

 

 

If you wear these pearl earrings, they will absorb some future misfortune on your behalf before it ever reaches you.

If I start selling jewelry with claims like this, this shop may finally be finished.

“Don’t worry. Nobody is going to believe you anyway.”

“Exactly. You were just clumsy.”

“If you lower the price because of the scratch, then fine.”

“I don’t want pearls with such bad luck attached to them.”

Well.

 

 

I suppose there could be all kinds of opinions.

Still, whatever happened to it, this pearl has such beautiful luster that I remain confident in it despite the tiny scratch.

And perhaps one day, while wearing these earrings, you might have a conversation like this with a coworker.

“Oh, those earrings are beautiful. Freshwater pearls?”

“Thanks. They’re Akoya pearls. By the way, did you process the delivery slip I gave you earlier?”

“Oh, Akoya pearls. The delivery slip? I don’t know anything about that.”

“I put it on your desk earlier.”

“I don’t know.”

“Look, it’s underneath that pile of papers.”

“Oh, sorry. I’ve got so much paperwork piled up. Anyway, those earrings really shine, don’t they?”

“They do, right? But there’s a tiny scratch on one of them.”

“A scratch? Did you drop them?”

“Not me. The person who made the earrings dropped the pearl.”

“What? And you still bought them?”

“I did. Isn’t that funny?”

“Funny? I’m not sure. You deliberately bought earrings with a scratch on them… The person selling them sounds pretty strange too.”

“And the earrings are actually called Kizu.”

“Kizu… kid?”

“No, not kid. Kizu means scratch in Japanese.”

“Are you and that shop both a little strange? Whatever. Here, I processed your delivery slip.”

“Thanks. Where should we go for lunch today?”

“How about that restaurant we went to yesterday? The waiter was handsome, remember?”

“The food wasn’t very good, though.”

“True. Fine, let’s go there.”

“Hey! You two! Get back to work! You’ve been making noise this whole time!”

 

 

Well, I have no idea whether a conversation like that will ever actually happen.

But I suppose everyone will interpret the story behind these scratched earrings differently.

The truth is, no matter how beautiful or handsome someone may be, everyone has flaws.

Some are there from birth.

 

Others come later.

And after living for decades, we are all covered in scratches one way or another.

At a company where I used to work, one of my bosses was a member of the family that owned the business.

 

 

He had almost nothing to do all day.

So he spent his days tapping away on a calculator and checking the taxes printed on his pay statement.

“There’s no way the government is going to make a mistake calculating taxes,” I once said.

“I’m genuinely busy every day. I can’t deal with watching this.”

Then someone in accounting replied:

“But they did make a mistake once.”

“What?”

“In thirty years, the government miscalculated the resident tax one time.”

“And that guy found it.”

“What…?”

Anyway, he was a member of the owner’s family.

And once, I happened to touch his hand.

His hand was unbelievably soft and smooth.

Almost to the point that it did not feel like something from this world.

 

 

It was like a baby’s hand.

Another boss explained:

“He has spent his entire career doing absolutely no work and simply sitting there. Of course his hands are still beautiful.”

If he had been a pearl, that would simply have made him an exceptionally beautiful pearl.

But for the hands of a fully grown man of his age…

I’m not so sure.

 

 

Even so, I can still remember the feeling of his hands.

They were that remarkable.

However, that same boss had a terrifying wife.

Every now and then she would call the office.

“Hello. Is ●● there?”

“Um… may I ask who’s calling?”

“What? Who are YOU?”

“This is ○○.”

“Just put ●● on the phone right now.”

She was frightening.

He may have had a peaceful life at work.

But apparently once he went home, his wife ordered him around like a floor cushion.

Now I have completely lost control of this story.

The point is simply that everyone has scratches and flaws of some kind.

So I hope you can forgive these pearls for having one too.

Thank you again for visiting.

 

 

The scratch on “Kizu” is not a natural wound that the pearl developed during its growth. It is a man-made scratch caused when I accidentally dropped the pearl while photographing it.

Still, this incident may make you curious about how durable pearls actually are, how natural wounds are considered when judging pearl quality, and why I sometimes value luster more highly than perfection. If so, you may enjoy these articles as well.

Pearl Durability: Why Pearls Are Stronger Than You Think

How We Choose Pearls, How We Choose Ourselves

How to Choose Pearls: The Six Factors That Determine Pearl Beauty

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