Kyoto is full of little danger signs which the uninitiated can easily miss. When you become attuned to Kyoto, a comment like this sets off an alarm system. But, don't leave it undrunk, either. Finally, after many years and payment of a high fee to obtain her license as a bonkei professional, she was to be told the answer. Use glue,' he said.
Japan is fascinated by secrets.
They are the defining feature of the way traditional arts are taught and preserved. They cause problems for government and business, since different departments of the same organization tend to guard their knowledge jealously and not speak to one another. In museums, the finer an artwork, the less it will be shown to the public - which is why you will often find that the National Treasure you traveled so far to view is actually just a copy. The real piece stays in storage, and is shown only to a chosen few curators. This tradition goes back to ancient Shinto, when the objects inside shrines, typically a stone or a mirror, became invested with mystical secrecy.