For hotels and ryokan (traditional Japanese inns), a winter craft display starts with more than selecting pieces. Set installation and changeover dates, assign responsibility for care and inspection, and agree where each piece will be stored or returned when the display ends.
You may want spaces that feel right for the New Year, yet hesitate to add display changes during the busiest weeks, or wonder whether pieces can be properly cared for in a heated building. Shitsurai is the arrangement of a space to reflect a season or occasion. In a hotel, that means balancing the display with guest service, cleaning and the care of each piece.
One approach is to plan the display tied to the New Year festivities separately from a winter display that continues afterwards. There is no need to change every piece. Decide what stays and what changes, so that handling instructions are passed on even when staff change.
Drawing on published examples from local governments and hotels, this guide covers how to structure a display, the New Year schedule, where to place pieces, and how to hand over to the next team once the display comes down. Facts confirmed in the examples are kept distinct from our editorial suggestions for applying them in your own property.
When considering how spaces and materials work together, our related article on summer shitsurai is also useful. Here, the focus is on seasonal changeovers and how displays are run once installed.
Table of Contents
Plan Winter Displays in Two Phases: New Year and Beyond
In winter, review the New Year calendar together with the display conditions created by heating. Treating the New Year period and the weeks that follow separately makes it easier to define what changes and what work is involved.
Seasonal displays need managing in summer too, but at the turn of the year several commitments can overlap: putting up and taking down New Year decorations, special in-house programmes, and suppliers’ holiday closures. Confirm not only the opening date but dates that both the property and the makers can manage.
The two-phase plan is not a nationwide rule. It is a way of separating pieces that remain throughout winter from elements changed for the New Year period, in line with the property’s own calendar.
The New Year Display: Celebration and Welcome
During shōgatsu, the Japanese New Year, one approach is to express the welcoming of the new year through the relationship between the pieces and the space. Where kadomatsu (pine-and-bamboo entrance decorations), kagami-mochi (stacked rice-cake offerings) or New Year flowers are installed, clarify the position and role of each so that the craft pieces are not lost among them.
When choosing pieces, look at their use on celebratory occasions, their connection to the region, and the meaning the maker gave them. Rather than deciding by colour or material alone (“red suits a celebration”, “lacquerware feels like New Year”), be able to explain why this piece is being presented in this property.
Properties with more guests and more in-house work may choose to show fewer pieces. Fewer pieces do not necessarily mean easier management, however. Consider the size, form and handling requirements of each piece, and find a placement that works alongside daily cleaning and guest service.
After New Year: Displays for the Rest of Winter
Winter stays continue after the New Year decorations come down. At this point, the focus can shift from celebration to the pieces’ materials, making techniques and the regional ways of life behind them.
Pieces may stay on from the New Year period with updated labels, or be replaced with different works. The end of matsu-no-uchi, the New Year decoration period, varies by region, so set the changeover date according to the property’s location and calendar.
Even when the same pieces remain, loan periods and display conditions still need confirming. When changing surrounding elements such as flowers or lighting, check their effect on the pieces as well.
Terms and Information About the Pieces
Winter shitsurai: In this article, arranging craft pieces and space for winter events and stays, including planning changeovers and care. This is an editorial definition, not an official term.
Matsu-no-uchi: The period during which kadomatsu and other decorations are displayed to welcome the new year. Its end date and the handling of decorations vary by region.
Information about each piece: Record the craft category, such as lacquerware or ceramics; the materials used, such as wood, clay or metal; and the techniques employed, such as forming or decoration. Include the maker or workshop and the place of production. These details help identify the piece, but do not replace its individual care instructions.
What Can Hotels Learn from Published Examples?
Craft displays can be organised around their purpose: permanent display, seasonal changeover, display with sales, and demonstrations by artisans. These are overlapping operating patterns, not categories that determine ownership or liability for damage.
Published examples show display periods, venues, the crafts presented and how sales are handled. Staffing, storage and compensation terms, however, may not be clear from announcements alone. When adapting these examples to your own property, confirm any undisclosed conditions individually.
Display with Sales: Kanagawa Prefecture and Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo (Announced for 2025 and 2026)
Kanagawa Prefecture announced the display and sale of Hakone yosegi-zaiku (wood marquetry), Odawara lacquerware and Kamakura-bori (carved lacquer) in the lobby of the hotel wing at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo. The 2026 announcement gave a period of 8 January to 3 March and listed examples including an octagonal confectionery dish, a serving bowl and a square plate. The previous year, a display and sale was announced for 9 January to 28 February 2025.
(Source: Traditional Crafts to Be Displayed and Sold at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo (2026 announcement, in Japanese) | Kanagawa Prefectural Government)
(Source: Traditional Crafts to Be Displayed and Sold at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo (2025 announcement, in Japanese) | Kanagawa Prefectural Government)
In both announcements, the display was scheduled to begin in early January and continue into late February or early March. This offers a reference for planning craft presentation that continues after the New Year events. The reasons for the dates, and how busy the hotel was during them, cannot be confirmed from the published materials.
These are presented here as past examples. For future editions, check the official announcements from the prefecture or the hotel each time.
What Happens to the Display When a Piece Sells?
The prefecture’s announcement states that because every piece is one of a kind, a different work is put on display once a piece is sold, and that displayed pieces can be purchased at the hotel shop.
(Source: Traditional Crafts to Be Displayed and Sold at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo (in Japanese) | Kanagawa Prefectural Government)
To adopt this system, decide what happens after a sale when the pieces are selected. What will be displayed until a replacement arrives? Who will check its condition at the changeover? Who will update the label, price and other details? Procedures that link sales with display management are essential.
The actual division of roles and the settlement terms are not described in the announcement. When considering this approach, agree who collects payment and how proceeds are settled, what commission applies, and how unsold pieces are returned. Linking display with sales can create new sales opportunities for makers and regional craft businesses.
Demonstrations: Artisans in Hotel New Otani Tokyo’s New Year Programme
Hotel New Otani Tokyo announced its “New Year Plan 2026” for the period from 29 December 2025 to 3 January 2026.
(Source: “New Year Plan 2026” (in Japanese) | Hotel New Otani Tokyo)
The event report by the planning partner, Japan Traditional Culture Lab (JTCL), lists stalls for oshie hagoita (decorative wooden paddles with padded fabric designs), Edo kiriko (cut glass), Edo sashimono (traditional woodwork made using joinery techniques) and Edo kimekomi dolls (fabric-inlaid dolls), along with demonstrations by artisans. The report’s event summary lists venues in both Tokyo and Makuhari, with dates of 31 December 2025 to 3 January 2026. These dates should be read separately from the period of the accommodation plan as a whole.
(Source: Event Report: Hotel New Otani’s “New Year Plan 2026” (in Japanese) | JTCL)
Beyond the finished pieces, demonstrations let guests see how materials are worked and hear makers explain what they are doing. When planning one, agree viewing positions, the scope for using tools, power supply and working hours with the exhibitors.
Exhibitors do not necessarily take full responsibility for pieces and tools. Treat event hours, overnight periods, and set-up and take-down separately, and decide the respective roles of the property and the exhibitors for each. Safety checks suited to the tools and materials used in the demonstrations are also needed.
Commissioning Craft for Hotel Use: An Ishikawa Example
Separate from display methods, a property can also procure work developed specifically for it. The application guidelines for Ishikawa Prefecture’s 2018 programme promoting made-to-order traditional craft for accommodation providers set out a process in which traditional craft businesses propose plans in response to hotels’ needs, and the property then purchases and uses the jointly developed products.
(Source: 2018 Programme for Made-to-Order Traditional Craft for Accommodation Providers: Application Guidelines (in Japanese) | Ishikawa Prefectural Government)
The same document states that industrial property rights belong to the selected traditional craft business, and that sales conditions are to be agreed among three parties: the selected business, the property and the general adviser. These were the conditions of that programme and do not automatically apply to commissions in general.
When commissioning tableware or furnishings for winter use, discuss not only purpose and quantity but also production time, rights, repeat orders and repairs in advance. This differs from a seasonal display, but offers a reference when bringing long-term craft pieces into a property.
Four Operating Patterns for Craft Displays in Hotels
| Operating pattern | Main purpose | Ownership and trading terms to confirm | Operations to agree | Relation to the examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent | Ongoing presentation of pieces in the property | Whether purchased, borrowed, etc. | Routine checks, moving, contact for repairs | Long-term display conditions designed case by case |
| Seasonal changeover | Presentation matched to seasons or programmes | Owner and loan terms for each piece | Who handles changeovers, condition checks, storage and return | e.g. planning the New Year period and the weeks after separately |
| Display with sales | Linking viewing with the opportunity to buy | Trading terms such as purchase or consignment | Point of sale, settlement, replenishment, return of unsold pieces | Kanagawa Prefecture’s announced display and sale at Chinzanso |
| Demonstration | Contact with the making process and the makers | Owners of pieces and tools, exhibitor terms | Division of care during the event, overnight, and at set-up and take-down | Event report on New Otani’s New Year programme |
This table is an editorial summary. Patterns can be combined, for example by pairing display with sales and demonstrations. Responses to damage and compensation should not be determined by display format alone, but confirmed as individual terms.
Editor’s Note
The Chinzanso example raises a practical question: who takes responsibility for the display once a piece is sold? Choosing the replacement, updating the label and preparing for the next guests are what keep a craft display alive over its run. In my view, a display’s quality shows not only on the day it is installed, but each time it changes.
Who Does What, and When? A New Year Display Plan
A display plan brings procurement, delivery, inspection and return together on a single sheet, anchored by the installation and take-down dates. Cross-check the business calendars of the property and its suppliers, and record the deadlines for checks separately from the actual working dates.
Purchases, loans, display with sales and commissions each require different lead times. Commissions may need even earlier planning, so rather than setting a common deadline, start by confirming the necessary stages with the makers.
A Sample Timeline: From Autumn Planning to Winter Take-Down
The following example assumes a New Year display using existing pieces. Adjust the actual dates to the requirements of the pieces, the property’s operations, the storage available, and the availability of transport and installation contractors.
Autumn: set out the plan and procurement terms
Decide the purpose, location, candidate pieces and scope of change. Confirm costs, handling, photography, whether pieces will be sold and the return conditions, and appoint a lead and a deputy. If the required production or loan periods do not fit, reconsider the plan itself.
December: prepare for delivery and receipt
Agree delivery dates, access routes, who will receive the pieces, and where and when they will be unpacked. Receiving pieces early also means finding temporary storage space. For winter transport, take environmental differences into account, and check with the lender and the carrier whether pieces may be unpacked immediately on arrival.
Year-end: install and check before opening
Where installation overlaps in time or place with the New Year decorations, adjust the order of work. After installation, check the condition of the pieces, fixing methods, labels and guest routes, and have the person in charge decide whether the display is ready to open.
New Year period: inspect as agreed
Decide what to check and when, and share information at cleaning and shift changes. Where sales lead to replacements, confirm each time that the pieces and their labels match.
After the festivities: change what needs changing
As the New Year decorations come down, confirm which pieces stay and which change. For loaned pieces that remain on display, recheck the loan periods. Update condition photographs and labels for any new pieces.
End of run: take down, then return or store
Check the condition of each piece as it is removed from display, and pack and transport it as agreed. For pieces the property owns, record storage conditions and location until their next use.
Assigning Responsibilities Across the Team
Assigning tasks by department alone tends to leave unclear who makes decisions when something goes wrong. Record the tasks each person carries out separately from what they are authorised to approve. Even in small properties where roles overlap, appoint a lead and a deputy.
Example Division of Roles
| Role | Main responsibilities | To agree in advance |
|---|---|---|
| Planning and communications | Theme, terms, labels and introductory text, photography | Who approves changes; who checks Japanese and English text |
| Front desk | Guest guidance, enquiries about sales and similar | Where purchases are handled; who to refer questions to that staff cannot answer |
| Housekeeping | Cleaning around displays, visual checks within agreed limits | What may be touched, whether items may be moved, where to report problems |
| Facilities | Heating and air conditioning, lighting, power, display environment | How to notify others when equipment changes may affect the pieces |
| Security | Agreed patrols and measures to prevent contact | Night-time contacts, scope of response in an emergency |
| Artists, workshops and lenders | Information on pieces, handling instructions, replenishment as needed | Closure dates, emergency contact methods, who to consult about repairs |
| Transport and installation | Delivery, installation and take-down within the agreed scope | Working dates, methods for unpacking, fixing and packing, handover records |
Example Display Plan
| Stage | Task | Example lead | Record on completion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planning and terms | Decide pieces, period, costs and handling terms | Planning lead, lender | List of agreed terms |
| Delivery and receipt | Check quantity, accessories and condition | Receiving lead, transport lead | Receipt record, condition photographs |
| Installation | Check placement, fixing, labels and routes | Installer, property manager | Installation photographs, pre-opening check record |
| On display | Inspect, clean surroundings, report problems | Designated property staff | Inspection and handover notes |
| Changeover | Update pieces and labels | Handling lead, planning lead | List of changes, updated photographs |
| Take-down, return and storage | Check condition, pack, hand over | Handling lead, recipient | Condition record, return confirmation or storage register |
Adding columns for the planned date, confirmed date, name of the lead, deputy and outstanding issues makes this table ready for internal sharing. It is important to distinguish the staff who look at pieces from the staff who may move them.
Where Should Winter Craft Displays Go? Heating, Dry Air and Crowds
Choose display locations after checking heating and entrance conditions, natural light, and the routes taken by guests and cleaning staff. Safe conditions cannot be determined by material alone, so give priority to each piece’s condition and handling instructions.
Besides photographs of the proposed location, tell the lender about air-conditioning hours, the position relative to windows and entrances, and any nearby work involving water. Discuss before installation whether environmental monitoring is needed.
Notes by Material
Grouping by material is a starting point for deciding how to handle pieces. Finish, construction, joints and repair history all change what needs checking, so do not use the following as a uniform handling procedure.
- Lacquer and wood: Check the wooden base and the surface finish, and ask the maker what care is needed regarding air flow from heating, heat, dryness, and changes in temperature and humidity. If you find dirt, do not wipe with water or polish on your own judgement.
- Bamboo and washi: Check the weave, joints, thin areas and how the piece is supported. Keep the checks for objects on display separate from those for washi (Japanese paper) and bamboo used on walls, in lighting or in interiors.
- Metal and glass: Check the surface finish, fittings, and how fingerprints and marks should be dealt with. When bringing pieces in from a cold place, discuss unpacking methods that take the environmental difference into account.
- Ceramics: Check not only the weight and form of the body but also rims, handles, projections and joins. When using a piece as a flower vessel, confirm for each piece whether water may be used.
Using washi in hotel or shop interiors calls for checks suited to its use and installation method, separate from the display of pieces.
Are Museum Standards a Useful Reference?
Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, in its guidelines on exhibiting National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, calls for management based on an understanding of each object’s material, form and condition, and for care to avoid sudden changes in temperature and humidity. The guidelines also address acclimatisation after transport to a different environment, and inspection during display.
(Source: Guidelines on Exhibiting National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties (revised 16 June 2023, in Japanese) | Agency for Cultural Affairs)
These guidelines, however, apply to the exhibition of National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. The temperature, humidity and light levels they set out cannot be used as general standards for hotel displays, or as figures that guarantee safety.
What is worth borrowing is the principle of setting display conditions only after understanding a piece’s condition and the environment in which it has been kept. The property should share its actual conditions and agree location, period and inspection methods with the lender and any specialist contractors required.
Fire-Retardant Checks for Plinths, Fabrics and Panels
In Japan, certain items used in hotels and ryokan, including curtains, carpets and plywood used for display purposes, are subject to fire-retardancy requirements. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency states that buildings covered by the rules must use fire-retardant products with a set level of performance for these items.
(Source: Fire-Retardant Products (in Japanese) | Fire and Disaster Management Agency)
When checking, do not assume that “it is a craft piece, so it is exempt”, or that “all display fabrics are treated the same”. Check according to the type of item, its use and how it is installed. Before arranging display panels, floor coverings or backdrop fabrics, share the specifications with the relevant property staff.
In addition to checking fire-retardant labels, consult the local fire station if it is unclear whether an item falls under the rules. The Tokyo Fire Department’s guidance gives specific examples by use, including display plywood and fabric decorations. For properties outside Japan, check the applicable local requirements with the relevant authority.
(Source: Items Subject to Fire-Retardant Rules (in Japanese) | Tokyo Fire Department)
Crowding and Contact over the New Year
A lobby is used not only by people viewing the pieces but also by people carrying luggage, waiting to meet others and cleaning. Check movement to the sides of and behind a display, not only the viewing position in front of it.
Consider ways of preventing contact that suit both the pieces and the space, from cases and plinth placement to appropriate partitions. When setting up partitions or a low visual barrier, place them so that they do not cause tripping or obstruct passage or evacuation.
Labels should give the title, maker, materials, technique and place of production. If touching is not permitted, state this clearly in Japanese and English. Indicate separately whether the piece is available for purchase and where guests can buy it. Labels are supplementary guidance and do not replace careful placement and care.
Winter Display Inspection Checklist
- Have you confirmed each piece’s title, maker, materials, technique and handling requirements?
- Have you shared the ownership, loan or sales terms, and how damage is to be reported and handled?
- Have you confirmed the use of display fittings and checked any necessary fire-retardant measures with the relevant property staff?
- Have you checked the positions of heating, windows, entrances and any work involving water?
- Have you checked the routes of guests, luggage and cleaning equipment?
- Have you distinguished the staff who may touch pieces from those who carry out visual checks?
- Have you set the inspection items and frequency, and who is responsible at night and on closure days?
- Have you decided how pieces and labels will be updated after sales or seasonal changes?
- Have you confirmed the storage location, packing materials and return schedule for after the take-down?
After the Display: Storage, Records and Staff Handover
Recording each piece’s condition at take-down, its storage location and the year’s issues allows the plan to be reused the following year. Link photographs to the register so that the reasons behind decisions survive changes of staff.
When a display ends, tidying up tends to take priority. But it is also the moment when the people who know what was easy to handle, and where adjustments were needed, are still on hand. Make recording information for next time part of taking the display down.
What to Record When Taking Down the Display
Give each piece an identification number and gather the following information. Photograph and handle pieces only within the limits of their handling instructions.
- Photographs: Full views of the display, the condition of each piece, and records showing how it was installed.
- Location: The display position marked on a floor plan or layout.
- Condition: Any changes since installation, the date of checking and who checked.
- Accessories: Stands, supports, labels and other fittings.
- Boxes and packing materials: Which box belongs to which piece, the packing method and the storage location.
A tomobako (a wooden box bearing the maker’s inscription) or another inscribed box may contain information that should be kept with the piece. Do not discard such boxes as unnecessary; check with the lender or owner. If boxes and pieces are stored in different places, make the pairing clear through identification numbers.
Storage Basics
Decide how to store each piece after checking its instructions. Wrapping in paper or cloth, sealing, or adding desiccant is not the right answer for every piece.
Do not record the storage location simply as “store room”; specify the room and the shelf. Check how the air conditioning runs, any equipment that uses water, the movement of other supplies, and the possibility of contact with the pieces, and ask the lender whether the proposed storage space meets each piece’s requirements.
Return loaned or consigned pieces on the agreed date, using the agreed packing and transport arrangements. If there is a storage period between take-down and handover, decide where the pieces will be kept and who will look after them. After return, record confirmation of receipt to complete the cycle.
What to Include in Handover Documents
So that next year’s lead can reproduce the plan, record not only the decisions made but also, briefly, the reasons behind them.
- The display theme and why the pieces were chosen.
- A list of pieces, distinguishing owned, borrowed and for-sale items.
- The actual dates of installation, changeover, and take-down or return.
- Leads, deputies and supplier contacts.
- Agreed handling conditions and approved placement and fixing methods.
- Inspection records, problems that arose and how they were dealt with.
- What to continue next time and what to change.
Suppliers’ closure dates, contacts and loan terms may not be the same next year. Use the previous year’s records as a starting point, and keep a separate list of items to recheck.
Editor’s Note
Respect for a piece shows not only in the label beside it, but in the records that pass on how it should be handled. Keeping the boxes, noticing changes, asking rather than forcing a piece to move: these should not depend on the attentiveness of individual staff. I believe that making them part of how a property works is what builds trust with makers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Q1. Should New Year decorations and the craft display be changed at the same time?
- There is no need to change them together. Separate what changes for the New Year period from the pieces that remain afterwards, and set dates according to the property’s calendar and staffing.
- Q2. Does winter heating damage lacquerware or woodwork?
- Some pieces need care regarding dryness and changes in temperature and humidity. Check the air flow and heat from heating and the conditions at the display location, and rather than judging by material alone, confirm handling requirements, including finish and condition, with the maker or lender.
- Q3. Is it possible to borrow craft pieces or display them on consignment?
- Arrangements and terms differ between artists, workshops, galleries and rental providers. Prepare details of the location, preferred period, management arrangements and whether pieces will be sold, then make an enquiry.
- Q4. If a piece is damaged during the busy season, who deals with it?
- This is not determined by display format alone. Before installation, confirm who to report to on discovery, which staff may handle the piece, and who to consult about repairs and insurance. In an emergency, put people’s safety and the prevention of further contact first, and follow the agreed procedure rather than repairing or cleaning on your own judgement.
- Q5. When should preparations begin?
- The time needed depends on whether existing pieces are being sourced or new work commissioned, and on transport and installation conditions. For a New Year display, starting discussions in autumn is one possible plan, but where production is involved, ask the makers whether earlier planning is needed.
- Q6. How should the pieces be explained to guests from overseas?
- Alongside the title, maker, materials, technique and place of production, explain why the piece has been chosen for this season. Explain any connection to shōgatsu, the Japanese New Year, and check the meaning of specific motifs and customs with the maker or an appropriate local source. For Japanese and English labels, the official titles of pieces and the names of makers also need checking.
Planning Your Next Winter Display
For winter craft displays in Japanese hotels and ryokan, plan the choice of pieces together with the work that follows installation. Treating the New Year period and the weeks after it separately, and sharing who handles changeovers, how inspections are done and where pieces are stored or returned, makes it easier to develop an approach that suits the property.
The published examples show the range of ways craft can be presented: shown over time, linked to sales, or with the making process conveyed through demonstration. Setting out the work each approach requires gives concrete shape to the relationship between the pieces and the property.
Kogei Japonica accepts enquiries about craft rental for businesses and about planning and production with artists and workshops. The scope of support for selecting pieces, delivery and installation, changeovers and return is confirmed case by case according to the pieces and installation conditions.
For Hotel Staff Planning a Winter Craft Display
Please send photographs of the location, your preferred period, an indication of budget and how your property’s staff will be organised. Even if storage or pieces are still undecided, we can begin from whatever conditions are known.
A display begins the moment pieces are placed, and it is sustained by how they are handled afterwards. Kogei Japonica gives equal weight to conveying the background of each piece and to building the arrangements that allow it to be cared for over time. For the next New Year season, start with one display area and the people who will install, check, change and store its pieces.
