KOUGEI EXPO is Japan's national convention for traditional crafts. In 1984, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) designated November as Traditional Craft Products Month, and the convention, held in a different prefecture each year, has been its centrepiece ever since, raising awareness of the country's officially designated traditional crafts.

The 2026 event marks the convention's 43rd edition and its first time in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Bringing together crafts from across Japan, the event offers exhibitions, sales, live demonstrations and hands-on workshops, giving visitors the chance to encounter the skills and processes behind the work at first hand.

Kogei Japonica is taking part as an Official Media Partner.

Looking beyond the finished object

For Kogei Japonica, introducing a craft means more than presenting an attractive object.

Every piece reflects accumulated knowledge and experience: the selection of materials, the techniques used to work them, the handling of tools and the judgement involved in finishing.

Behind each object lies a wider network of relationships, from a region's history and natural environment to material sourcing, the transmission of skills and routes to market.

By bringing different traditions together under one roof, KOUGEI EXPO makes it possible to compare these differences side by side and to see where each craft finds its distinctive character.

Drawing on its specialist editorial perspective, Kogei Japonica aims to help readers move beyond the event listings and towards a deeper understanding of craft itself.

Supporting the event as a Gold Sponsor

Alongside its role as an Official Media Partner, Kogei Japonica is supporting the event as a Gold Sponsor.

This is our English rendering of the official Japanese tagline of KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA 2026.

Craft objects embody the skills and experience of the people who make them. Once they enter someone's daily life, they take on new uses, associations and meaning.

That relationship between maker and user is also central to Kogei Japonica's editorial approach.

Our sponsorship expresses support for the event's aim of fostering public understanding and wider use of Japan's designated traditional crafts.

(Source: Event Overview | KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA)

Craft is often discussed in terms of beauty, technical mastery and historical significance. All of these matter.

But if we want to understand craft as a practice that is still very much alive, we also need to look beyond the finished piece.

Consider the three designated traditional crafts of Kanagawa: Kamakura-bori, Hakone yosegi-zaiku and Odawara lacquerware (Odawara shikki).

Kamakura-bori combines relief carving in wood with successive layers of urushi lacquer. Hakone yosegi-zaiku is a form of wood marquetry that brings together the natural colours of different timbers in geometric patterns. Odawara lacquerware carries forward the skill of finishing pieces in lacquer while bringing out the shape and natural grain of the wooden base.

Wood is the principal material in all three, yet each reads its character differently and draws out the expression of the finished piece at a different stage of making.

These differences become far clearer once you look beyond surface appearance to the making process and the places where these skills have developed.

Craft as a living practice, beyond preservation

Traditional craft is often discussed in the language of "preserving techniques" and "handing down culture".

Passing on skills and knowledge refined over generations is, of course, essential.

Yet inheriting a technique does not necessarily mean producing exactly the same objects indefinitely.

Craft traditions have always developed in response to changing ways of living, evolving needs and the materials available to their makers.

When makers build on established techniques to explore new forms and uses, they show that craft remains an active cultural practice.

At Kogei Japonica, we do not treat craft simply as a relic of Japan's past. We present it as a culture and an industry still being shaped today by the relationships between materials, techniques, regions, makers and users.

Making Japanese craft accessible to readers worldwide

Reaching an international audience takes more than translating a Japanese-language article into English.

A technique or production region familiar to readers in Japan may need to be introduced to overseas readers from the ground up, through its materials, processes and historical context.

It is equally important to avoid romanticising Japanese craft as something mysterious or timeless, and instead to explore its relevance through contemporary design, material culture, interiors, architecture and everyday life.

Through our publishing in Japanese and English, Kogei Japonica seeks to convey the tangible qualities and making context of Japanese craft to readers from many different cultural backgrounds.

We see our involvement in KOUGEI EXPO as an opportunity to connect readers in Japan and abroad with craft traditions from every corner of the country.

KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA 2026 will take place at PACIFICO Yokohama from Saturday 7 to Monday 9 November 2026.

Admission to the main event is free, and the programme includes exhibitions and sales of designated traditional crafts from across Japan, live demonstrations and hands-on workshops.

(Source: Event Details | KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA)

A meeting point for Japan's crafts and Kanagawa's makers

The programme includes CRAFT MARKET, showcasing traditional crafts from across Japan, and TEWAZA LIVE, featuring live demonstrations and hands-on making.

As host prefecture, Kanagawa will present its own crafts, led by Kamakura-bori, Hakone yosegi-zaiku and Odawara lacquerware.

The organisers have also announced initiatives designed to reach people with little previous contact with craft, including a collaboration between designated traditional crafts and the popular online game Touken Ranbu ONLINE.

Kogei Japonica has already published a visitor's guide covering the event overview and Kanagawa's craft traditions.

RELATED ARTICLE / VISITOR GUIDE

Dates, highlights and a closer look at Kanagawa's crafts, in our Japanese-language guide.

en.kogei-japonica.com

KOUGEI EXPO Kanagawa 2026: Japan’s Traditional Craft Guide | Kogei Japonica

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/events/kougei-expo-kanagawa-2026

KOUGEI EXPO Kanagawa 2026 runs 7–9 November at Pacifico Yokohama, free admission. Dates, venues, programme highlights and Kanagawa's three designated crafts.

Workshop registration is scheduled to open at noon JST on Saturday 24 October 2026. For programme details, participation requirements and the latest updates, please check the official event website.

Kogei Japonica is a bilingual editorial platform dedicated to Japan's traditional crafts, craft artists, workshops, materials, techniques, production regions and craft objects.

Beyond the history and characteristics of individual crafts, we cover craft culture from multiple angles: materials and making processes, the background of techniques, the work of makers and the place of craft in contemporary life.

Publishing in Japanese and English, we write for a broad readership, from craft enthusiasts in Japan to international readers with an interest in design, art and culture.

We also welcome enquiries from local authorities, regional craft associations, craft artists, workshops and businesses about communications support, interviews, editorial features and content for audiences in Japan and overseas.

Publication at a Glance

Through our Official Media Partnership and Gold Sponsorship, Kogei Japonica supports the aims of KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA 2026 and will continue to publish coverage that deepens understanding of Japan's designated traditional crafts.

We want this gathering of crafts from across the country to be more than a place to view and buy work: a starting point from which curiosity can move from the object to the technique, from the technique to the maker, and on to the region where it all began.

For us, that is the purpose of taking part as a specialist craft publication.