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.

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Creating Ryo: Japanese Summer Craft for Hotels and Ryokan

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/crafts/summer-shitsurai-craft/

As summer approaches, a familiar question returns in hotels, ryokan, and restaurants: how should the space be refreshed this year? There is a desire to evoke coolness, but the results can start to feel repetitive season after season. Or the intention is there to bring in craft objects, but it is not clear which materials belong in which spaces. These are common practical problems.For a summer installation that draws on craft, the approach is to combine sudare reed screens, hemp textiles, bamb...

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.

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

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.

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

Example Display Plan

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.

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Custom Washi Wall Panels for Hotels and Retail Interiors

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If you have worked on a hotel or retail interior, you may have considered washi for a wall surface. The appeal is obvious enough from photographs of completed projects. The questions start when you try to place an order: can it meet the fire requirements, how do you obtain samples, how large can it actually be made, and who is responsible for what.Washi can be used on walls in hotels and retail spaces, but where interior-finish restrictions apply, the substrate and installation method specifi...

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.

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.

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.

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.

The post Winter Craft Displays in Japanese Hotels: A Practical Guide first appeared on Kogei Japonica.

Which pieces are for sale, and can you take one home on the day you buy it? For first-time visitors, it may not be clear which works are available or when they can be collected. Alongside the dates and booking arrangements, this guide explains the two categories of work and how each is sold, how prices are set, and what to check so that you choose pieces that suit the way you live.

Exhibition details and sales arrangements are based on this year’s official information and the 2026 application guidelines. Where these sources do not give specifics, such as individual payment or shipping terms, this is noted in the relevant section.

When and Where Is the Japan Folk Crafts Museum Exhibition 2026?

The exhibition runs from Sunday 22 November to Thursday 17 December 2026. Closure days during the run, and the dates when the West Hall is open, should be checked separately.

Dates, closure days and West Hall open dates are taken from this year’s exhibition page; admission fees come from the museum’s official visitor information. Visitors with a disability certificate and one carer pay a reduced fee of ¥750 each on presenting the certificate.
(Source: New Works Competition and Exhibition 2026 (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)
(Source: Hours, Closures and Admission (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

The museum is open on Monday 23 November, a national holiday, and closed the following day, Tuesday 24 November. Rather than assuming that closures always fall on a Monday, check your intended date.

The West Hall is the former residence of Soetsu Yanagi, and its hours differ from those of the Main Hall. On its open dates, it is open from 10:00 to 16:30, with last admission at 16:00. If you plan to see both buildings, allow for the West Hall’s earlier last admission time.
(Source: Hours, Closures and Admission (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

The museum is a seven-minute walk from the West Exit of Komaba-todaimae Station on the Keio Inokashira Line, or a fifteen-minute walk from the East Exit of Higashi-kitazawa Station on the Odakyu Line.
(Source: Access (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

Do You Need to Book? In 2026, Timed Entry Applies Only to the First Two Days

Timed-entry booking for general visitors applies to 22 and 23 November, with bookings opening at 10:00 JST (UTC+9) on Sunday 1 November. Group visits are covered by a separate advance-booking requirement.

Days that require booking, and days that do not

According to this year’s official information, only the first two days of the exhibition operate on an online, timed-entry, advance-booking basis. From 25 November onwards, days when the museum is open fall outside this timed-entry system.
(Source: New Works Competition and Exhibition 2026 (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

Members and invitation-ticket holders should check the guidance provided when bookings open. Do not assume that booking arrangements from previous years still apply; always refer to the 2026 page.
(Source: Hours, Closures and Admission (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

How to book, and what to watch for

Once bookings open, follow the booking method set out on the official exhibition page. The official information does not currently specify the time slots, whether payment is taken when you book, or how changes and cancellations are handled.

• Decide on your date, preferred time and the number of people in your party.
• Find the booking method via the official page and read the conditions.
• After booking, keep a record of the date and time, and of anything you will need at reception on the day.

An entry booking does not reserve a work for you. If there is a piece you hope to buy, check separately whether it is still available and how to buy it.

Should you visit on the first two days or later?

Choose your date according to the booking requirement and your own schedule. How visitor numbers will develop in 2026, and whether any stock will be replenished, have not been confirmed, so it cannot be said that the first two days offer the widest choice or that later dates will be quieter.

Under the 2026 application guidelines, however, nyūsen (selected) works remain on display for the full run. You can plan to see them later in the exhibition, but being able to see a work is not the same as being able to buy it. Whether each piece is still available needs to be checked individually.
(Source: 2026 Application Guidelines (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

Can You Buy the Works on Display? How Sales and Collection Work

Nyūsen works can be reserved for purchase and remain on display throughout the exhibition; jun-nyūsen works can be bought on the day of your visit. The key is to check separately when you can buy a piece and when you can collect it.

Nyūsen and jun-nyūsen works

The jury assigns each entry to a category. The museum distinguishes between nyūsen (selected works) and jun-nyūsen, works that were not selected for nyūsen status but meet the exhibition’s aims. Being selected is not the same as receiving a prize.
(Source: Information for Prospective Exhibitors (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

Display and sales arrangements are based on the 2026 application guidelines. Do not assume that “available to buy on the day” means every piece can be carried home that same day.
(Source: 2026 Application Guidelines (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

The jury’s assessment is a useful guide when looking at the work. But whether a piece fits on your table or in your cupboards, and whether its care requirements fit your routine, is for the person who will use it to decide. Rather than choosing by category alone, consider how well a piece suits your daily life.

Who sets the price?

Under the 2026 application guidelines, exhibitors must state the sale price on the submission form. Works not for sale are not accepted, and Japan’s consumption tax, similar to VAT or sales tax, is added to the price specified by the exhibitor.

In addition, 30% of the sale price is taken as a commission and used to fund the running of the exhibition. How prices will be shown on the labels in the galleries has not been confirmed, so check the total amount payable when you buy.
(Source: 2026 Application Guidelines (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

Payment, taking work home and shipping

The official information and application guidelines do not set out payment methods or shipping terms for visitors. Before buying, check the following points.

• Which payment methods are accepted, and the total amount payable.
• When payment is due for a nyūsen work, and the collection date.
• Whether you can take the piece home that day, or need to have it shipped.
• Where the museum can ship to, the shipping costs and the packing conditions.
• Whether there are limits on the number of purchases, or set procedures for buying.

If you are buying while travelling, it is essential to know whether you can receive the work before you return home. Do not assume that delivery to your hotel or shipping overseas is available; check first. Enquiries can be made before your visit by telephoning the Japan Folk Crafts Museum on +81-3-3467-4527 (03-3467-4527 from within Japan).
(Source: New Works Competition and Exhibition 2026 (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

What Should You Check Before Buying? Five Points for Choosing Pieces You Will Keep Using

Check five things: size, care, how you will use the piece, how you will receive it, and who made it. Trust what draws you to a piece, but also picture your life with it at home. That is what leads to a purchase you feel sure of.

If it is a bowl, what will you serve in it? If it is a basket, what will it hold? If it is a textile, where will it be used? Settling on a single use makes the dimensions and handling you need much clearer. Moving from “I’ll use it someday” to “I’ll use it tomorrow morning” makes the choice easier.

Pre-purchase checklist

• I have checked the booking conditions and closure days for my visiting date.
• I know the dimensions of the space where the piece will sit or be stored.
• I have thought about what the piece is for and how often I will use it.
• I have checked the materials, the finish and how to care for it.
• I have checked the total amount payable and the payment method.
• I have checked the collection date and how the piece will be carried or shipped.
• I have noted the maker’s name, the title of the work and who to contact after purchase.

Pens and other writing instruments that use ink are not permitted in the galleries. Bring a pencil for notes, and take photographs only in permitted areas. Visitors are also asked not to bring large bags into the building.
(Source: Gallery Guidelines (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

What to check for ceramics, textiles, wood and lacquer, and bamboo and basketry

Ceramics: as well as size and intended use, check for each piece whether it is suitable for the microwave or dishwasher. If you would like to see the kōdai, the foot ring, or the underside of a piece, ask a member of staff first. As a rule, do not lift or turn over pieces on display without staff permission.

Glaze effects, crazing and iron spots can be appreciated as keshiki, the surface variations that contribute to a ceramic piece’s visual character. Even so, do not treat anything that affects use in the same light. If something concerns you, check it against the description of the work.

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How to Read the Foot (Kōdai) of Japanese Pottery

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When you pick up a bowl or plate, the first things you notice are usually its colour and form, the painted decoration, and the character of its glaze (yūyaku). But if you want to look a little more closely at a studio piece or an older ceramic, try turning it over gently, just once.The foot, or kōdai, is the supporting part formed at the base of a vessel. Beyond the foot itself, looking at the footring's contact surface (tatamitsuki), the trimming, the clay, the glaze, the traces left by...

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Crazing, Iron Spots & Pinholes: Flaw or Character?

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/crafts/pottery-crazing-flaws/

Have you ever bought a piece by an independent maker, found fine crack-like lines, black dots or tiny holes on the surface, and worried that it might be faulty?To put it plainly: crazing (kannyū), iron spots (tetsupun or iron flecks), pinholes and the like cannot be judged as "faulty" or "returnable" simply because they exist. In technical terms they are sometimes treated as defects; in other cases they are deliberately incorporated as part of a maker's expression, or...

Woven and dyed textiles: check the intended use and dimensions, and how the piece should be washed and stored. Do not judge how to handle it from the name of the fibre alone; refer to explanations that also cover the dyeing method and finish.

Woodwork and lacquerware: check how the piece should be treated when you first start using it, how to wash and dry it, and whether it suits the place where you plan to keep it. It is also worth asking at the time of purchase where to turn if you would like it repaired.

Bamboo work and basketry: check not only the external dimensions but also the internal space and shape. Baskets and sieve baskets need to be carried in a way that will not crush their form.

Why an Exhibition That Sells? The Open-Call Tradition Behind the Exhibition

The New Works Competition and Exhibition is an open-call show that presents crafts made for daily life and helps them reach a wider public. Getting work into the hands of people who will use it, through sale, is built into what the exhibition does.

In its guidance for exhibitors, the museum also uses the word hanpu, which carries the sense of distributing things widely. Recognising beauty in the gallery, and trying an object out in your own life: the exhibition can be understood as a system that links the two.
(Source: Information for Prospective Exhibitors (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

The format since 1953, and how judging works

The Japan Folk Crafts Museum has held exhibitions of newly made crafts since it first opened. The current format dates from 1953, and the exhibition took its present Japanese name, Nihon Mingeikan-ten, in 1959.
(Source: About the New Works Competition and Exhibition (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

The 2026 jury is chaired by Naoto Fukasawa, director of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum and a product designer. Judging takes place in two stages: a first round by category, followed by a second round in which the whole jury takes part. Glass is judged within its own category, while fields that fall outside the categories, such as metalwork, paper and basketry, are judged by the full jury.
(Source: 2026 Application Guidelines (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

Knowing who sits on the jury, and how they work, helps in thinking about the perspective from which the exhibition selects its objects. There is no need, though, to turn the jury’s results directly into your own order of priorities when buying. It is worth using their assessment as a guide while keeping your own judgement as someone who will use the piece.

Finding out more about makers and stockists

Noting the maker’s name, region and workshop for any piece that catches your eye gives you a way to look into the background of their work after the exhibition. Keep any instructions and receipts from your purchase together with these notes.

Whether you can buy more, arrange repairs or place an order varies from maker to maker and from one point of sale to another. An open-call exhibition that values objects capable of being made again does not mean that the same piece will always be available.

When planning an exhibition with works for sale, it helps to separate the display period from collection and to state the terms of sale clearly, considering both how the pieces will be displayed and how buyers will receive them. Points to check when buying crafts through a gallery are covered in the following article.

en.kogei-japonica.com/media

Buying Japanese Craft at Art Fairs: A Collector's Guide

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/events/kogei-art-fair-2026/

"I would like to buy a piece of craft, but galleries feel intimidating." "Even at an art fair, I would not know what to judge a work by." These are common concerns among first-time buyers.Kogei ranges from vessels and tools used day to day to works made to be looked at, in which material and technique are the means of expression. Because the materials and handling differ from painting or photography, a first purchase calls for attention not only to price but to technique, ...

Frequently Asked Questions

Booking, sales and collection are separate matters. It helps to distinguish what the official materials tell you from what you need to check when you buy.

Can I visit without booking?

Timed-entry booking for general visitors applies to 22 and 23 November. Later days when the museum is open are not covered, but group visits are subject to a separate advance-booking requirement.

When do bookings open?

At 10:00 JST (UTC+9) on Sunday 1 November 2026. Once bookings open, follow the method set out on the official exhibition page.
(Source: New Works Competition and Exhibition 2026 (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

Does an entry booking secure the work I want?

No. Booking entry and buying a work are separate processes. Check whether each work is still available, and how to buy it, separately.

Is everything on display for sale?

The application guidelines state that works not for sale are not accepted and that entries are sold. Whether an individual piece is still available, including pieces already reserved, needs to be checked. This does not mean that everything on view, such as works from the museum’s own collection, is for sale.

Are nyūsen and jun-nyūsen works bought differently?

Yes. Nyūsen works stay on display throughout and are reserved for purchase. Jun-nyūsen works can be bought on the day of your visit. Check the conditions for taking pieces home and for shipping separately.
(Source: 2026 Application Guidelines (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

When can I collect a nyūsen work?

The official materials do not specify the collection date or method for buyers. Check with the museum before buying.

Can I pay by card, or have work shipped?

This is not confirmed in the official information. If you need either, including overseas shipping, check with the museum before buying.

Does the price include consumption tax?

The application guidelines state that consumption tax is added to the price specified by the exhibitor. Check how prices are shown on the labels, and the total amount payable, when you buy.
(Source: 2026 Application Guidelines (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

Can I handle a work to examine it?

Do not touch pieces on display without staff permission. The museum’s standard visitor guidelines prohibit touching exhibits.
(Source: Gallery Guidelines (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

In Summary: Choosing Pieces You Will Want to Keep Using

Before visiting the Japan Folk Crafts Museum exhibition in 2026, start by checking the booking conditions for your chosen day. If you buy a work, confirm not only its category but also the payment and collection terms.
(Source: Visiting conditions and latest information (in Japanese) | The Japan Folk Crafts Museum)

Craft makers and artisans who would like a profile listing, or to have their work and activities featured, can find details on the registration page.

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Register as a Craft Artist or Artisan

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/personal/entry/

Apply to join Kogei Japonica as a craft artist or artisan. Registration and basic profile listings are free. Share your work, skills, and experience with audiences, media, galleries, and potential collaborators in Japan and worldwide.

The post Japan Folk Crafts Museum Exhibition 2026: Booking & Buying first appeared on Kogei Japonica.

A piece that caught your eye in a photograph can feel quite different once it is in your hand. Equally, qualities you could not see simply by looking may become clear as you raise a cup to your lips.

If you are looking for tableware in Kasama this autumn, it helps to know not only how to reach the venue but also how to judge a piece in use and what to ask the person who made it. This guide covers the essentials, from the event outline and what to check before buying to how to prepare for getting your pieces home.

Note: event and transport details were checked on 26 October 2026. Before visiting, please confirm any changes through the official announcements of the organisers and transport operators.

When and where is Tou to Kurashi 2026?

The video above was made for the 2023 fair, so some details may differ this year. The 2026 fair runs from Saturday 31 October to Tuesday 3 November, a public holiday, in the event area at Kasama Craft Hills. It closes earlier on the final day, so check the times against your plans for the journey home.

Event details and what to check before you set out

Tou to Kurashi grew out of a wish to see more handmade pottery brought into everyday life. This year marks its 14th edition, with each maker exhibiting and selling Kasama ware, including new work.

(Source: Tou to Kurashi 2026 | Official website)
(Source: Access | Tou to Kurashi 2026)

Before setting out, check the venue map, along with how to sign up for any activities you want to join, their fees and any changes due to the weather. The admission fee and rain policy could not be confirmed from the official information reviewed for this article.

Look at the social media accounts linked from the official website as well. Knowing where the stalls and activities you want to visit are located makes it easier to plan your day.

Don’t confuse it with Aki-ichi, the Autumn Market

Around the same time, the Kasama Ware Cooperative Association holds its own Autumn Market, known as Aki-ichi. However, Tou to Kurashi and Aki-ichi are separate events held at different venues.

Tou to Kurashi takes place in the event area at Kasama Craft Hills, while Aki-ichi is held at the event plaza of Kasama Art Forest Park. Because both are in the same park, don’t choose your destination on the strength of “Kasama pottery fair” alone. Check the event name and the venue name together.
(Source: Announcement of the pottery fair “Tou to Kurashi. KASAMA” | Kasama Craft Hills)

What can you learn by trying a cup?

Using a piece draws your attention to how it sits in the hand and how the rim feels against your lips, things its appearance alone won’t reveal. Putting what you notice into words shows you what to ask the maker before buying.

Try a cup at the Toukura Café with your daily routine in mind

The Toukura Café, where drinks are served in cups made by exhibiting potters, is scheduled again for 2026. The food and drink listing shows “Toukura Café + LE MIDI” on all four days of the fair. What sets the café apart is that you can use the pieces with a drink in them, rather than only looking at them on a display stand.
(Source: Announcement of the pottery fair “Tou to Kurashi. KASAMA” | Kasama Craft Hills)
(Source: Food and drink vendors | Tou to Kurashi 2026)

As you drink, rather than grading whether a cup is “good”, picture your own everyday cup. Is it for the coffee you have in the morning, or the tea you linger over between tasks? The size and handle that feel right will depend on how you plan to use the cup.

Notice the weight with a drink inside, how your fingers fit the handle and how the rim feels against your lips. Remember even one small difference, and your conversations at the sales stalls will become far more specific.

That said, this does not mean every piece on sale can be tried. Check at the café counter how cups are chosen and whether there is a charge, and if you find one you like, note the maker’s name and the shape.

Watch potters at work at Tsukuru ga Mieru

Tsukuru ga Mieru, meaning “see the making”, brings visitors closer to the making process through workshops and demonstrations. It also appears in the 2026 event announcement. Check the individual listings for times, how to take part and fees.
(Source: Announcement of the pottery fair “Tou to Kurashi. KASAMA” | Kasama Craft Hills)

Watching a potter at work reveals more than technical skill. Where do they thin the walls, and where do they leave them thicker? Shaping a piece involves decisions about both use and expression. Seeing the process turns the vague “why this shape?” you feel in front of a finished piece into a specific question.

During the fair, the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum is also running a collaborative activity, Keramon’s Playland. It includes a chance to hold and touch makers’ tableware, a drawing workshop and a ring toss, and is free to join. It opens at 09:30, which differs from the start time of the fair as a whole. The drawing workshop ends each day once that day’s supply runs out.
(Source: Keramon’s Playland | Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum)

Treat the items offered for hands-on experience and the pieces displayed at sales stalls as separate things, and follow the guidance for each.

Look up makers in the official exhibitor list

The official website lists the makers exhibiting in 2026. Cross-referencing names that interest you with the venue map will help if you want to return to a stall later.
(Source: Exhibitor list | Tou to Kurashi 2026)

If names are hard to remember, you can, with permission, photograph a piece and add a note of what drew you to it, such as “cup with a round handle” or “deep dish with a white interior”.

The Kasama Ware Cooperative Association likewise presents diversity of expression as a defining feature of the area. When choosing tableware, rather than assuming “it’s Kasama ware, so it can be used this way”, look into the piece in front of you.
(Source: About Kasama ware | Kasama Ware Cooperative Association)

For more on the area’s history and the background to its range of expression, see the related article below.

kogei-japonica.com

笠間焼（かさまやき）とは？自由な発想が息づく伝統陶芸の魅力と特徴 | 工芸ジャポ...

https://kogei-japonica.com/media/crafts/kasama-ware/

茨城県笠間市を中心に生まれた笠間焼（かさまやき）は、伝統に縛られない自由な発想と多彩な表現が魅力の陶芸です。江

How do you choose tableware for everyday use?

Choosing tableware is easier when you start from the meals and drinks of your everyday life. Let your taste guide you, while also checking weight, capacity and storage space.

Compare how it feels to hold, drink from and set down

Ease of holding is not a matter of lightness alone. The shape of the handle, where your fingers rest and whether you can hold the piece naturally all play a part. At the café, pay attention to how a cup feels with a drink inside.

With plates and bowls, think too about how you usually carry them. With one hand, or with both? Picturing the trip from table to sink reveals a kind of fit quite separate from appearance.

Before lifting, turning over or stacking a piece on display, ask the exhibitor first. Never put displayed pieces to your lips; judge how a rim feels at the café instead.

Even if a cup you liked at the café belongs to the same series as one on sale, the size and finish may not be identical. Check the specific piece you are buying.

Think about washing, drying and putting it away

It is easy to picture a piece on the table, and just as easy to overlook how it will be handled afterwards. For tableware you want to use every day, factor in how you will wash and dry it and where it will live.

Before you go, measure the diameter of the plates you use most and the height of your shelves. A vague condition such as “not too big” becomes a concrete one: “it fits on this shelf”.

Balance what you love with practical considerations

For each piece that catches your eye, try putting into words one reason it attracts you and one practical consideration.

“I love this blue, and I’d like it for tea on my days off.” “The shape intrigues me, but I want to check it will fit my cupboard first.” Even this much leads to a different decision from one carried along by the atmosphere of the fair.

What should you ask the maker before buying?

Begin the conversation from how you want to use a piece rather than from technical terms. Explaining the use, then confirming the care and conditions for that particular piece, will spare you uncertainty once you are home.

Start with “I’d like to use it for this dish”

If you are not sure what to ask, starting from your own daily routine feels natural. English may not be spoken at every stall, so it can help to save your questions in Japanese or have a translation app ready.

For example: “I’d like to use it for coffee every morning.” “I want to serve dishes with plenty of sauce or broth.” “It’s for the whole family, so I’d like to be able to stack them.” Once the maker knows the use, they can more easily decide which aspects of the piece to explain.

If you are curious about how a piece came to be, you might ask, “What led you to this shape?” A detail that first seemed decorative may turn out to relate to how the piece is held or used.

When a stall is busy, ask just one question first and check whether you can follow up later. If you plan to get in touch, don’t assume a social media message is welcome; ask which channel and method the maker prefers.

Check microwave and dishwasher suitability, and ask about care

Confirm microwave and dishwasher suitability for each individual piece you buy. As a rule, don’t judge from colour, appearance or the name of the production area.

For any treatment before first use, don’t apply one method to every piece; follow the maker’s guidance. Some pieces may call for a preparatory treatment known as medome, which helps reduce water absorption and staining. Whether it is needed, and how it is done, varies from piece to piece, so ask the maker.

We have gathered what to check at the fair into 10 questions. There is no need to ask them all at once; choose the ones relevant to how you will use the piece.

If there is an information card, take it with you, and note any verbal explanations alongside the piece and the maker’s name. This avoids mix-ups if you buy from several makers.

Follow up later on repeat orders and business use

If you would like to add more of the same piece later, check whether it is in ongoing production and whether it can be reordered. Even if several are on display, you cannot assume they will be available on the same terms in future.

For use in restaurants or hotels, the points to discuss go beyond quantity to include preferred delivery dates, acceptable variation in size, restocking and washing methods. A realistic approach is to make contact on the day while looking at the work, then set out the details together later.

Some makers do not take wholesale orders or additional commissions. Before rushing to ask “How many could you make?”, ask whether they accept enquiries about commercial use.

How do you get there and bring your purchases home?

Check access against the 2026 service information. Note the change to the sightseeing bus routes and the temporary bus stops in place during the fair, and plan for both the journey home and carrying your purchases.

Plan both legs of a public transport journey

The Kasama Sightseeing Loop Bus changed its routes on 1 April 2026. It now runs as two services: a Connecting Route between Tomobe Station and Michi-no-Eki Kasama (道の駅かさま), a roadside rest area, and a Loop Route that starts from Kasama Station and calls at sightseeing spots.

If you travel from Tomobe Station by sightseeing bus, you will need to change to the Loop Route at Michi-no-Eki Kasama. From Kasama Station, take the Loop Route towards the Kōgei no Oka / Tōgei Bijutsukan stop (工芸の丘・陶芸美術館), which serves Kasama Craft Hills and the Ceramic Art Museum. Take care not to plan around the earlier direct service.
(Source: Kasama Sightseeing Loop Bus | Kasama City)

Ibaraki Kotsu has also set up temporary bus stops for the autumn period. The Kōgei no Oka Tōgei Bijutsukan stop is affected on weekends and public holidays, and also on Monday 2 November, so on all four days of Tou to Kurashi 2026, buses will pick up and set down at the temporary stop. Check its exact location on the map included in the service notice.
(Source: Temporary bus stops for the Kasama Sightseeing Loop Bus | Ibaraki Kotsu)

For the return journey, check not only when you will leave the venue but also your connections and train times. Save the timetable and the map of the temporary bus stop on your phone.

If you come by car, check parking and traffic restrictions

By car, set your destination as Kasama Craft Hills (笠間工芸の丘) and check its position relative to the event area on the official map. The organisers’ access guide names the Craft Hills car park and the north and south car parks of Kasama Art Forest Park as nearby options, and states that parking within the park is free.
(Source: Access | Tou to Kurashi 2026)

For available spaces and traffic restrictions, follow the information for your day of visit and the directions of staff on site. Not every car park nearby is necessarily free. Nor is the period just after opening necessarily quiet, so allow some leeway in your plans for the return.

It also helps to clear a stable space in the car for your purchases. Plan how you will load them so that wrapped pieces are not pressed under other luggage or left to roll around on a seat.

Ask the seller about wrapping, shipping and payment

Price is not the only thing to confirm before buying. Ask the seller, too, about wrapping, bags for carrying, shipping and payment methods.

If you choose a large plate or several pieces in particular, think about their size and weight once wrapped. If you are going home by train or bus, whether you can carry them comfortably should be part of the decision.

If you ask about shipping, check the cost as well as the dispatch timing and who to contact after delivery. If you would like pieces shipped overseas, discuss this with the seller individually, including which countries they can ship to and how items would be packed.

Planning meals and breaks also helps you compare pieces calmly. The official food and drink listing gives the dates for each vendor, so if there is one you want to visit, match it to your day.
(Source: Food and drink vendors | Tou to Kurashi 2026)

• Note the dimensions of the tableware you already own and how you plan to use new pieces
• Save the venue map, the return timetable and the location of the temporary bus stop
• Bring a bag that can carry your purchases securely
• Confirm payment methods and wrapping and shipping terms with the seller
• Check the weather and the organisers’ latest announcements before you leave

What do first-time visitors usually ask?

As a rule, direct questions about visiting to the organisers, and questions about how to use a piece or its terms of sale to the exhibitor. Knowing who to ask makes it easier to get the answer you need.

FAQ: visiting and activities

Q. Is it the same event as Aki-ichi, the Autumn Market?

No, they are separate events. Tou to Kurashi is held in the event area at Kasama Craft Hills, and Aki-ichi at the event plaza of Kasama Art Forest Park.

Q. Can I freely try the tableware on sale?

Not necessarily. Distinguish between items offered at the café or for hands-on experience and the pieces on sale, and follow the guidance for each.

Q. Do I need to book the café or workshops?

This varies by activity. Check fees, opening times and whether booking is required through the organisers’ latest announcements or on site.

Q. Is there an admission fee?

The admission fee could not be confirmed from the official information reviewed for this article. Please check with the organisers before visiting. Charges for the café and other activities should be checked separately from the museum’s collaborative activity, which is listed as free.

Q. Will it go ahead if it rains?

The 2026 rain policy could not be confirmed from the official information reviewed for this article. Before setting out, check the official website and the official social media accounts it links to.

FAQ: buying and taking pieces home

Q. Can I ask a maker questions if I know little about pottery?

No technical vocabulary is needed. Try starting with how you want to use the piece, for example, “I’d like to use it for my morning coffee.” When it is busy, begin with a short question.

Q. Can Kasama ware go in the microwave or dishwasher?

It depends on the piece. Check the maker’s guidance for the specific piece you are buying.

Q. Can I pay by card or arrange shipping?

Check with each exhibitor. There may not be a single arrangement that applies across the whole fair.

Q. Can I buy more of the same piece later?

That depends on whether it is in ongoing production or can be reordered. Noting the name of the piece and the maker’s official contact details when you buy makes it easier to ask.

Keep a connection with the pieces that caught your eye

When you find a piece you like, jot down briefly what it was you liked, along with the maker’s name: how it felt to hold, its colour, its shape, or the intention behind it that you learned in conversation. Details a photograph alone won’t keep will guide you the next time you see the maker’s work.

If you are considering bringing pieces into a shop or developing a project with a maker or workshop, set out the intended use, quantities and preferred timing, then see Kogei Japonica’s information for businesses. For makers who would like their work introduced and shared, we also offer information on registering as a craft artist or artisan. Registration and listing are subject to review.

The value of Tou to Kurashi 2026 lies not only in seeing a great deal of tableware in one place but also in being able to move back and forth between your own sense of a piece and its maker’s words.

The post Kasama Pottery Fair Tou to Kurashi 2026: Visitor Guide first appeared on Kogei Japonica.

Entries for the LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 close at 23:59 CET on 15 October 2026. The application is completed in English and calls for two to five photographs of the work, a short biography, a portfolio of up to five pieces, details of the entered work, identification, and a conceptual and technical statement of no more than 200 words.

The thing to avoid is treating this as a set of boxes to fill. The photographs, the portfolio and the written statement are separate items on the form, but together they build a single picture: what this maker thinks about, how they handle material and process, and why this particular work exists.

Drawing on the official 2027 pages, the FAQ and the Rules of Entry, this guide follows the order in which the work of applying actually happens — from eligibility through photographic specifications and the written statement to the final check before submitting.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

What Is the LOEWE Craft Prize 2027? Deadline and Basic Conditions

The LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 is an international award for contemporary craft, open to professional artisans aged 18 and over. Entries for this tenth edition close at 23:59 CET on 15 October 2026.

Established in 2016, the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize reaches its tenth edition in 2027. Its purpose, set against LOEWE’s own beginnings as an artisanal workshop, is to recognise excellence, artistic merit and innovation in contemporary craft.

The fields given as examples include ceramics, bookbinding, enamelwork, jewellery, lacquer, metal, furniture, leather, textiles, glass, paper and wood. The prize describes its territory as the applied arts. Read alongside the conditions set out below, the emphasis falls less on whether an object fits a recognised craft category than on whether it demonstrates artistic intent through its material and technique.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

There is no entry fee. Applications are made through the official online registration only; entries sent directly by email are not accepted. The form is completed in English.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

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LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize 2026: Winner, Japanese Finalists & What This...

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/trend/loewe-craft-prize-2026/

The LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize 2026 was awarded to Korean ceramicist Jongjin Park for Strata of Illusion (2025).Now in its ninth edition, the prize received more than 5,100 applications from 133 countries and territories. The winner was announced on May 12 in Singapore, and the finalists' exhibition opened the following day at the National Gallery Singapore.Three Japanese artists reached the finals: Misako Nakahira, Nobuyuki Tanaka, and Ayano Yoshizumi.If you follow contemporary craft ...

Prize, Exhibition and Judging Schedule

The winner receives €50,000. Where the Jury chooses to award Special Mentions, each carries €5,000.

Judging happens in two stages. The Expert Panel reviews the entries and selects the works that go forward to the final stage. The 2027 pages describe a shortlist of 30 works, while the Rules of Entry set the figure at a maximum of 30; this article follows the latter.

A Jury of fifteen, drawn from design, architecture, journalism, criticism and museum curatorship, then selects the winner from among the finalists. It includes Jongjin Park, winner of the 2026 edition, and the designer Naoto Fukasawa, director of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Tokyo.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Finalists are contacted in January 2027, after the Expert Panel has made its selection, by the telephone number or email address given on the form. The winner is decided after the Jury’s deliberation, which the FAQ gives as May 2027. The main pages state that the award and accompanying exhibition will take place in Europe in spring 2027; the venue had not been announced at the time of writing.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Who Can Enter? Working Through the Eligibility Conditions

Entrants must be professional artisans aged 18 or over at the time of application. There is no restriction by nationality, and entries may be made individually or as a group. The work itself carries further conditions covering when it was made, whether it is one-of-a-kind, and its prize history.

The 2027 information asks that entrants be 18 or over and engaged in craft as a sustained professional activity. Nationality places no limit on who may enter.

The conditions set on the work are as follows.

• It falls within the applied arts
• It is an original work
• It is one-of-a-kind
• It is handmade in whole or in part
• It was created within the past five years
• It has not previously won any prize
• It demonstrates artistic intent as well as technical proficiency
• It is innovative in the sense that it updates tradition

That last condition does not call for work that rejects inherited technique. What it asks is that you can account for what you have carried forward, what you have altered, and how material and process connect to a present-day form of expression.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Outsourced fabrication requires particular attention. The FAQ states that work designed or conceived by the entrant but physically made by a third party is not eligible: the entrant must be the maker of the work.

Makers and workshops who divide labour or work collaboratively should establish, before applying, which stages they carried out themselves and whether the entry belongs under a group submission.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Each individual or group may enter one work, or one series that stands as a single artistic creation. The same work may not be entered for another prize at the same time.

What “Professional Artisan” Actually Means

Professional artisan does not mean someone who earns their living from craft alone.

The FAQ describes it as working in craft as a professional activity and taking an active part in exhibitions, galleries, fairs and educational programmes. Income from craft need not be your sole support.

Students are eligible too, provided they are 18 or over and their biography shows sustained professional engagement with craft.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

What Do You Need to Prepare? Submission Items and Photographic Specifications

Beyond photographs of the work, the LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 application calls for a biography, a portfolio of up to five pieces, details of the entered work, identification, and a conceptual and technical statement of no more than 200 words.

The main pages give a brief summary of the photographs and the statement, but the full list of what you will be asked for sits in the Rules of Entry.

You will need two to five photographs. The Rules of Entry ask for different viewpoints, with one image only showing a person beside the work to indicate scale. The background should be white and neutral.

On files, the FAQ specifies JPG or PNG, a minimum of 800 × 600px, at least 200dpi, and no more than 2MB per file. Video, if you include it, runs to a maximum of one minute.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

You do not have to complete the form in one sitting. The FAQ states that entries are saved automatically and can be revised up to the point of submission. Once submitted, the content cannot be changed.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Pre-submission checklist

• The entrant is 18 or over and meets the conditions for a professional artisan
• The work was made within the past five years
• The work is one-of-a-kind and has not previously won a prize
• The same work is not entered for another prize at the same time
• The entrant is confirmed as the maker of the work
• The biography is in order
• The portfolio is edited down to five works or fewer
• Title, dimensions, materials, weight and category are confirmed
• An estimated insurance value in euros is ready to enter
• A passport or official ID is to hand
• The conceptual and technical statement is within 200 words
• Two to five photographs are prepared
• One photograph uses a person to indicate scale
• Backgrounds are white and neutral
• Files are JPG or PNG, at least 800 × 600px and 200dpi, under 2MB
• Any video runs to one minute or less
• All information is entered in English
• The current Rules of Entry 2027 have been checked before submitting

What the Statement Needs to Carry

In 200 words, a list of processes will not do the work. What has to come through is the intent behind the piece, the material and technique, and the reasons those were chosen — held together as one thread.

The 2027 Rules of Entry ask for a conceptual and technical statement of no more than 200 words about the work.

Rather than starting from the finished sentences, it is usually easier to settle three things first.

• What the work is about
• Why it had to be this material and this process
• How it reinterprets an existing technique, use or tradition

The pull, when describing craft in a short space, is towards the ready-made vocabulary of heritage: traditional craftsmanship, harmony with nature, tradition and innovation. Those phrases are frictionless to write and carry almost nothing specific about the object in front of the reader.

With a work in urushi, a natural lacquer made from tree sap, saying that traditional lacquer technique was used tells a reader little. What can be described instead is how the layering of the film, the polishing, the cutting back, the curing and the way the surface changes with age bear on the structure and meaning of the piece.

In ceramics, listing glaze names and firing temperatures is not the same as thinking about how the shrinkage of the clay, the flame, the movement of the glaze and the relationship between chance and control arrive at the final form.

Technique names such as maki-e, lacquer decoration using sprinkled metal powder, kanshitsu, dry-lacquer construction, zōgan, inlay, and yakishime, high-fired unglazed ceramics, do not need forcing into a single everyday English word. It is worth first checking the English forms already used by the makers, workshops, regional associations and museums concerned, then, where it helps, pairing a romanised term with a short explanation.

The aim is not to convert the vocabulary for its own sake. Meaning should survive, and someone seeing the work for the first time should be able to follow it.

Unsure Whether to Apply? Common Misunderstandings [FAQ]

The points that most often cause hesitation, set out from the 2027 FAQ.

Q1. When is the deadline?

23:59 CET on 15 October 2026. Entries opened on 8 July 2026.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Q2. Is there an entry fee?

No. The FAQ states explicitly that there is no registration fee.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Q3. How many works can I enter?

One work per individual or group, or one series that stands as a single artistic creation.

Q4. Can I enter a work that was entered for another prize but did not win?

Yes. It must, however, meet the other conditions, including never having won a prize and not having been a finalist in a previous LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Q5. Can I enter if part of the making was done by someone else?

The FAQ states that a work designed or conceived by the entrant but made by a third party is not eligible, and that the entrant must be the maker. Where the work is collaborative, check the conditions for a group submission.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Q6. Can students enter?

Yes, if they are 18 or over and their biography shows sustained professional engagement with craft through exhibitions, galleries, fairs, educational programmes and similar activity.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Q7. Can I submit the application in a language other than English?

No. The online registration form must be completed in English.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Q8. Can I revise my entry after submitting it?

No. Entries are saved automatically as you work and can be changed before submission, but not afterwards.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Q9. Can I enter a work that has already been exhibited?

Previous exhibition alone does not make a work ineligible. Check it against the other requirements, including prize history, date of making and conditions of ownership.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

Q10. Can I enter the same work for another competition at the same time?

No. The FAQ does not permit the same work to be entered for another prize concurrently.
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 Conditions at a Glance [Comparison Table]

Working through the conditions in five groups — eligibility, the work, submission items, photographs and language — is the surest way to avoid leaving something out.

(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

After You Submit: What Comes Next

The English biography, portfolio, photographs and statement you are putting together now are worth keeping as working documents, not filing away once the result is known. They will serve the next open call abroad and the next approach to a gallery.

Measuring a work again, hunting for images of earlier pieces, settling on an English title, rewriting a biography from scratch — doing all of it afresh for every international application is a heavy load.

Recording title, year, materials, technique, dimensions, weight, photographs, a short description and the English terminology as one set each time a work is finished changes how quickly you can respond to the next opportunity.

The portfolio of up to five works deserves the same second look. Rather than simply lining up your five most recent pieces, consider whether they let a reader see the themes you work with, your relationship to material, how technique has shifted, the range of scale, and the question you have kept returning to.

A portfolio is not an inventory. It shows what you have made, and at the same time what you have gone on thinking about.

Kogei Japonica reports on the profiles and working backgrounds of makers and workshops for readers in Japan and abroad. For the results of previous editions and the criteria by which contemporary craft is assessed internationally, our analysis of the 2026 prize covers the same ground from a different angle.

en.kogei-japonica.com/media

LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize 2026: Winner, Japanese Finalists & What This...

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/trend/loewe-craft-prize-2026/

The LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize 2026 was awarded to Korean ceramicist Jongjin Park for Strata of Illusion (2025).Now in its ninth edition, the prize received more than 5,100 applications from 133 countries and territories. The winner was announced on May 12 in Singapore, and the finalists' exhibition opened the following day at the National Gallery Singapore.Three Japanese artists reached the finals: Misako Nakahira, Nobuyuki Tanaka, and Ayano Yoshizumi.If you follow contemporary craft ...

Conclusion

Entries for the LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 close at 23:59 CET on 15 October 2026. Applying means preparing not only the work but two to five photographs, a biography, a portfolio of up to five pieces, details of the work, identification and a conceptual and technical statement of no more than 200 words — and starting early.

The conditions worth watching most closely: the work must be one-of-a-kind and made within the past five years, it must never have won a prize, the entrant must be its maker, it cannot be entered for another prize at the same time, and nothing can be changed once submitted.

What matters most in this application, in our view, is not producing language that sounds right for an international audience.

Which material you chose. Why that process was necessary. What you carried forward and what you changed. It is a matter of putting each of those judgements into words.

Set out how material, process, form and intent hold together as one work — not only how demanding the technique was — and the documents you prepare now will keep their use in the next exhibition, the next international call, the next conversation with a gallery.

If you are considering an entry, narrow the field to one work or one series and prepare the four elements separately: photographs, biography, portfolio and the 200-word statement.

Before submitting, check the current Rules of Entry 2027 and the FAQ on the LOEWE FOUNDATION pages.
(Source: LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)
(Source: FAQs – LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 | LOEWE FOUNDATION)

The post LOEWE Craft Prize 2027 Guide: Photos, Portfolio, Statement first appeared on Kogei Japonica.

Kogei ranges from vessels and tools used day to day to works made to be looked at, in which material and technique are the means of expression. Because the materials and handling differ from painting or photography, a first purchase calls for attention not only to price but to technique, provenance, storage, and where to turn after the sale.

This article uses KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2026, held in Kanazawa in November 2026, as a starting point to set out how buying craft at an art fair works, and the criteria that help you choose a work you will feel confident owning over time.

What is KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2026? Japan’s only craft-dedicated art fair

KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2026 is an art fair built around the exhibition and sale of craft works, which its organisers describe as the only art fair in Japan dedicated to kogei (according to the organisers). It runs from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November 2026 at the Hyatt Centric Kanazawa in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture.

The phrase “craft fair” may suggest a regional trade show or an artists’ selling event. At KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa, however, multiple galleries gather in one venue, each presenting works by the artists they represent and offering them for sale. As at a contemporary art fair, it functions as a market: visitors can not only look at the works but discuss prices and purchase terms with the galleries.

The fair began in 2017, and 2026 marks its tenth edition.
（Reference：ABOUT｜KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa）
（Reference：KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2026, Japan’s only craft-dedicated art fair, announced｜PR TIMES）

Visitor information: dates, venue, admission

The essential details for 2026, to check before you go.

General visitors can attend on 28 and 29 November. Note that 27 November is a VIP preview open to invited guests only. Ticketing and opening hours are subject to change, so check the official site for the latest information shortly before you travel.
（Reference：Visitor information｜KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa）

Why “Japan’s only”: ten editions since 2017

The organisers themselves describe KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa as the only art fair in Japan dedicated to craft. That claim, however, is made by the organisers.

What matters is less the word “only” than the fact that galleries dealing in craft have gathered at a single fair on a continuing basis, sustaining a market for craft across ten editions.

For 2026, a record 49 galleries from Japan and abroad are due to take part, nine of them exhibiting for the first time. Gallery LVS of South Korea is among the participants from overseas.

In 2025, 42 galleries exhibited, and the organisers reported that works by around 210 artists were shown and sold.

Related programmes are planned for the tenth edition in 2026. The official EVENT page already gives details of some of them, including a tenth-anniversary symposium on 28 November on the theme of how kogei relates to the wider world. Further details are expected, so it is worth checking for the latest information before visiting.
（Reference：KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2026 announcement｜PR TIMES）
（Reference：2026 edition confirmed, with 2025 results｜PR TIMES）
（Reference：EVENT｜KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa）

How do you actually buy a work at a craft art fair? The exhibition-and-sale format

Works at KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa are exhibited for sale, and you can discuss price and purchase terms with the gallery for any piece that interests you. Payment methods, handover timing, shipping and whether a work is already reserved all vary by work and by gallery.

Being at an art fair does not mean every work is sold in the same way. A piece on display may already be reserved, and some works are paid for at the fair but handed over once the exhibition has closed.

The art market also uses the term “primary market”, meaning the first sale of a work, from the artist through a gallery or similar.

That said, not every work at an art fair is a primary-market work. Alongside new pieces, earlier works or works from the secondary market may also be presented. Treating an art fair as entirely primary market is therefore not quite accurate.

What to do once you are there

On a first visit to an art fair, there is no need to set out looking for something to buy.

Walk the whole fair once, and note three to five works that caught your attention.

• The surface texture drew you in
• You could not tell what the material was
• You could picture it in your home
• You could not work out its use, but could not look away
• It struck you differently from the works around it

That is enough to start with.

On a second pass, check the artist’s name, the title, materials, technique, year and price. Approaching it this way lets you judge the works by your own response rather than starting from the price list.

The 2026 venue occupies floors 2, 4 and 5. The exhibiting galleries and artists are published on the official site, so if there is a particular gallery or artist you want to see, it is worth checking in advance.
（Reference：EXHIBITORS｜KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa）
（Reference：ARTISTS｜KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa）

What determines the price? Judgement criteria, not forecasts

The price of a craft work involves several factors: the artist’s standing, where the piece sits within their broader practice, the year, the size, materials and technique, scarcity and distribution. Pricing differs between artists and galleries, and cannot be judged simply by material costs and hours of work.

Writing about the craft market often turns on which artists’ prices will rise, or which works count as an investment. Future market prices, however, cannot be predicted with any certainty.

At Kogei Japonica, rather than encouraging purchases on the basis of unverifiable market sizes or price forecasts, we take one criterion as a starting point: whether you would still want to own the work if its price never rose.

With craft works, it is also worth thinking beyond the purchase price to how the piece will be displayed and stored.

What to ask the gallery

When you find a work you are drawn to, go beyond the price and check points such as these.

• The background to the artist’s practice
• The materials and techniques used
• The year, and where the work sits within the artist’s broader practice
• Whether it is unique, or part of a series or edition
• What comes with it, such as a tomobako or documentation
• Whether there are storage cautions regarding direct sunlight, humidity or water
• Whether display requires specific fittings or a stand
• Whether shipping, packing or insurance are charged separately
• Who to contact if maintenance or repair is needed in future

These are ordinary questions, asked in order to understand the work. If a technical term is unfamiliar, ask what it means on the spot.

For more on the provenance and market value of craft works, see the following article.

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Collecting Japanese Kogei: Provenance, Market Value, and What to Verify

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/invest/japanesecrafts-collection/

Japanese kogei can be evaluated as a serious collectible on the international market when provenance, technique, artistic identity, and condition can be verified. That said, the evaluative framework does not map neatly onto the provenance model used in Western art markets. Hakogaki (box inscriptions), tomobako (the artist's original box), exhibition history, purchase lineage, and the regional and master-student context in which a work was made — understanding these kogei-specific structu...

Which galleries and artists are exhibiting? The 2026 line-up

A record 49 galleries are due to exhibit in 2026.

TARO NASU, Tomio Koyama Gallery, Shibuya Kuroda Toen, YOD Gallery, PAKUPAKUAN, Gallery Voice, Tajimi, and KOGEI Art Gallery Ginza no Kanazawa are among them, placing exhibitors of different backgrounds side by side: galleries specialising in craft alongside galleries dealing broadly in contemporary art.

This is a significant point for anyone thinking about craft today.

Craft does not circulate solely within the category of “traditional craft”. Work built around material, and contemporary approaches to form, also connect to contemporary art and to the context of collectible craft.

The nine galleries exhibiting for the first time are BrainBrunnGALLERY, Galerie NUAGE, Gallery Kenbiko and Kenji Taki Gallery, Gallery Ringosha, Kuon, MEDEL GALLERY SHU, MtK Contemporary Art, SASAI FINE ARTS, and Wa.gallery with Kobijutsu Ueda.

From overseas, Gallery LVS of South Korea is taking part.

Among the exhibiting artists, the official announcement names Sayaka Miyata, Koichi Uchida, Peter Voulkos, Mayu Nakata, Haruka Saotome and Mika Tajima.

What is worth noting here is not only how many well-known artists appear. The fact that galleries specialising in craft and galleries dealing in contemporary art exhibit at the same fair is itself an indication of the fields alongside which craft is currently being presented.

Exhibiting artists and the works shown differ by gallery, so check the official exhibitor and artist pages for the latest information.
（Reference：EXHIBITORS｜KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa）
（Reference：ARTISTS｜KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa）
（Reference：Exhibiting galleries and artists announced｜PR TIMES）

Who do you contact after buying? Shipping, repair and checking a work’s details

If questions arise after purchase about shipping or how to handle the work, the gallery you bought it from is the first place to ask. That does not mean galleries carry out all restoration or authentication themselves.

Craft works are handled very differently depending on the material.

Ceramics and glass require care against damage in transit. For urushi lacquer, wood and textiles, direct sunlight, humidity, dryness and contact with water can all affect a work.

It is therefore worth confirming the following points at the time of purchase.

• Whether you take the work with you on the day, or it is shipped after the fair closes
• Whether packing, carriage and insurance are included in the price
• Whether there are conditions to avoid in the display environment
• How to clean and care for the work day to day
• Who to contact if it is damaged
• Whether the artist can be consulted directly about repairs

Provenance, raireki in Japanese, refers principally to the record of ownership, sale and exhibition a work has passed through since it was made.

A tomobako, a box made for a specific work and usually bearing the artist’s inscription, known as hakogaki, along with certificates, invoices and documentation, gives you a way to verify a work’s details later on.

That said, the absence of a tomobako or a certificate does not in itself indicate a problem with a work. Contemporary craft is sold in a variety of ways. What matters is checking, work by work, what accompanies it.

If questions about authenticity or provenance arise later, start by asking the seller to confirm the transaction record and documentation, then consider the appropriate parties to approach as needed: the artist, the gallery representing them, or a specialist. It is also important not to treat the gallery you bought from as an authentication body.

For first-time visitors to a craft art fair: a pre-purchase checklist

On a first visit, preparing just two things — the practical details of the fair, and the points to check before buying — will make decisions on the day considerably easier.

There is no need to work through every item mechanically. Use it according to the type of work, its price, and how seriously you are considering a purchase.

Kogei Japonica also publishes a Japanese traditional craft collection checksheet, for organising information as you build a collection. It can be used to record works that catch your eye at an art fair.

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Free Downloadable Resources on Japanese Crafts

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/feature/downloads/

Free Downloadable Resources on Japanese CraftsPDF DownloadsJapanese Kogei Collection ChecklistPre-Collaboration Checklist Craft Region × Brand PartnershipsBefore You Bid:A Pre-Auction ChecklistJapanese Traditional Games — Free PrintablesVideo Asset LibrarySAMURAI CORE サムライコアVideo Assets (Vertical and Horizontal Formats)Usage Guidelines

Frequently asked questions

Q. When and where does KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2026 take place?

From Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November 2026, at the Hyatt Centric Kanazawa in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. The fair is open to the public on 28 and 29 November.

Q. How much are tickets, and where can I buy them?

According to the official information, advance tickets are ¥2,500 and door tickets ¥3,000, both valid for the two days open to the public. Check the official site for current availability.

Q. What should I prepare for a first visit?

Looking through the list of exhibiting galleries beforehand, and noting even a few artists or materials of interest, makes the fair easier to navigate. If you are considering a purchase, be ready to ask about storage and shipping.

Q. Can works be bought at the venue?

Yes. Works at KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa are exhibited for sale. Whether a work is already reserved, and how payment and handover are handled, differ by work and gallery, so confirm at the venue.

Q. What is the price range?

It varies considerably by work, artist, size, year and gallery. No single price range is published for the fair as a whole, so the reliable approach is to ask each gallery about the works that interest you.

Q. Does every work come with a tomobako or a certificate of authenticity?

Not necessarily. What accompanies a work — a tomobako, hakogaki, documentation, certificate or invoice — differs from piece to piece.

Q. Who do I contact about shipping or repairs after purchase?

Start with the gallery you bought from. Confirming shipping terms, and who to approach if repairs become necessary, at the time of purchase will save trouble later.

Q. Will craft works rise in value?

Future prices cannot be predicted with any certainty. Rather than buying on the expectation of a price rise, consider whether you want to own the work itself, and whether you want to follow the artist’s practice over time.

Q. Can visitors from overseas buy works?

The official site does not indicate any nationality-based restriction on purchasing. Payment methods, international shipping, insurance, customs and export procedures do vary by work, gallery and destination, so if you plan to take a work home with you, confirm the details with the gallery before buying.

In closing

KOGEI Art Fair Kanazawa 2026 runs from 27 to 29 November 2026 in Kanazawa, and is described by its organisers as the only craft-dedicated art fair in Japan.
It is open to the public on 28 and 29 November, with a record 49 galleries expected to take part.

There is no need, though, to think of the fair only as a place to find well-known artists, or to buy works whose prices might rise.

Look at the work first. Consider why it holds you. Learn about the artist and the material. Ask the gallery. Confirm the practicalities of storage and shipping, then look at the work again.

Buying craft means choosing a work by understanding, in your own terms, the background that price alone cannot convey.

An artist works with a material, pursues a technique and arrives, over time, at a single expression. Someone then chooses that work, owns it, and carries it into the time that follows. Buying at an art fair is a way of taking part in that sequence.

There is no need to look for the “right” answer with your first work. If a piece stopped you before you had even looked at the price, begin there: with why you kept looking at it.

The post Buying Japanese Craft at Art Fairs: A Collector’s Guide first appeared on Kogei Japonica.

If you have seen the name but are unclear on when, where and what actually happens, or if you want to know what to look for when crafts from across the country are gathered in one hall, this guide is for you. For people working in local government or in a craft-producing region, there is also the question of how a national exposition can help raise the profile of a local craft.

Drawing on primary sources published by Kanagawa Prefecture, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the KOUGEI EXPO organisers, this article sets out the difference in dates and venues between the awards ceremony and the main event, the three crafts the organisers present as Kanagawa’s designated traditional crafts, the pre-events held across the prefecture, and the points worth considering for regions and public bodies thinking about the exposition as a platform.

Individual programmes and workshops may be updated from here on. The event information in this article is current as of 16 September 2026.

What is KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA 2026?

KOUGEI EXPO is the public-facing name of the National Convention for Traditional Craft Month, an exposition held in a different part of Japan each year to broaden understanding and use of designated traditional crafts. It has run since 1984, and the 2026 edition is the 43rd. This is the first time Kanagawa Prefecture has hosted it.

METI has designated November as Traditional Craft Month every year since 1984, and stages the national exposition as its centrepiece, moving the host region annually. For 2026, the awards ceremony takes place in Odawara and the main public event in Yokohama.
（Source: 2026 National Convention for Traditional Craft Month – event outline | KOUGEI EXPO）

The official outline lists the organisers as METI, the national organising council for Traditional Craft Month, The Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries, the national association of certified traditional craftspeople, and the Kanagawa prefectural organising committee for Traditional Craft Month.

Kanagawa Prefecture describes the national exposition as an event that has typically drawn between 50,000 and 100,000 visitors. It is less a retail event than a large-scale occasion for visitors to encounter crafts, makers and production regions from across Japan.
（Source: Kanagawa selected as host of the 2026 National Convention for Traditional Craft Month | Kanagawa Prefecture）

The history of the National Convention for Traditional Craft Month (KOUGEI EXPO)

The event’s formal name is the National Convention for Traditional Craft Month. It is presented publicly as KOUGEI EXPO, and 2026 marks its 43rd edition.

The important point is not to read KOUGEI EXPO simply as an occasion where crafts from around the country are put on display. The event also has a broader policy purpose: to make designated traditional crafts better known, and to carry that awareness through into future demand and future makers.

KOUGEI EXPO and Kanagawa Prefecture both present Kamakura-bori carved lacquerwork, Hakone yosegi-zaiku marquetry and Odawara lacquerware as the prefecture’s three designated traditional crafts.
The 2025 designation for Tokyo hand-carved seals, meanwhile, covers production areas in both Tokyo and Kanagawa.

To avoid confusing two different things, this article refers throughout to the three crafts the organisers present as Kanagawa’s designated traditional crafts.
（Source: KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA | Kanagawa Prefecture）
（Source: Tokyo hand-carved seals designated as a traditional craft | METI）

When and where? The awards ceremony and the main event are not in the same place

KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA uses two venues: the awards ceremony on 6 November, and the main event from 7 to 9 November. For anyone coming to see the exhibitions, the sales areas or the demonstrations, the venue to head for is Pacifico Yokohama.

Opening hours for the main event are 10:00 to 17:00 on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, and 10:00 to 16:00 on Monday 9 November.
（Source: KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA | Official site）

The awards ceremony (Odawara Sannomaru Hall)

The ceremony on 6 November is held at Odawara Sannomaru Hall. The official outline lists awards for service to the traditional craft industries among the proceedings.

Odawara is also the production area for Odawara lacquerware, one of the three crafts the organisers present as Kanagawa’s designated traditional crafts.
The ceremony itself is not a regional promotion programme, and the two should not be read as the same thing. Even so, the decision not to hold the whole exposition in Yokohama, and to place a venue in a craft-producing area in the west of the prefecture, is worth noting in understanding how this edition has been put together.

The main event (Pacifico Yokohama)

The main event runs from 7 to 9 November at Pacifico Yokohama. Admission is free.

The official site lists the main stage, Takumi no Hibiki Stage, alongside live craft demonstrations and workshops, a KOUGEI collaboration gallery with Touken Ranbu ONLINE, and a section titled The Future and the World of Kōgei.
（Source: KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA | Official site）

If this is your first visit, rather than trying to give every display equal attention, it helps to decide in advance which one of these matters most to you: seeing finished work, watching the making process, taking part in something, or buying.

Demonstrations are especially worth watching closely. Instead of registering only that the handwork is skilled, look at which stage of the whole process you are watching, and at what materials and tools are in use. Those are the things a finished object on a plinth cannot tell you about a technique.

What can you see? Kanagawa’s three designated traditional crafts

The three crafts KOUGEI EXPO presents as Kanagawa’s designated traditional crafts are Kamakura-bori, Hakone yosegi-zaiku and Odawara lacquerware.
All three use wood as a primary material, which they have in common, but the processes that give each its character are quite different.

Kamakura-bori is made by carving a design into a wooden base and then building up coats of urushi lacquer over it. That is a different sequence from chōshitsu, carved lacquer, where thick layers of lacquer are built up first and the carving is done into the lacquer itself. When you watch a demonstration, asking what exactly is being carved makes the distinction easy to see.

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[Introduction to Kamakura-bori] A Gentle Guide to the 800-Year-Old Traditiona...

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Kamakura-bori is a traditional Japanese craft that has continued since the Kamakura period, characterized by woodcarving techniques and multiple layers of lacquer finish. It is highly valued for its unique beauty and practicality, from everyday utensils to tea ceremony tools and artistic pieces.This article explains the history and appeal of Kamakura-bori, places where you can experience it, and how to purchase it, all in an easy-to-understand way for beginners. For craft collectors and those...

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Japanese Carved Lacquer "Choshitsu" Techniques and Terms

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/skills/choshitsu/

Choshitsu (彫漆) is a lacquer art technique in which layers of urushi lacquer are built up to substantial thickness, then carved to reveal patterns and depth within the lacquer itself.Anyone researching choshitsu will quickly encounter a cluster of related terms: tsuishu (堆朱), tsuikoku (堆黒), kokarokuyou (紅花緑葉), guri (屈輪). Layer in chinkin (沈金), kinma (蒟醤), Kamakura-bori (鎌倉彫), and Murakami kibori tsuishu (村上木彫堆朱) — all of which involve carving in some sense — and the fi...

Hakone yosegi-zaiku is a woodworking tradition that draws on the natural colours of different timber species, assembling them into geometric patterns. The pattern is not the only expressive element: the colour and grain of the woods themselves are part of the work.

Looking at a piece in person, consider more than whether the pattern is finely worked. Look at where two different woods meet, and at the unit from which the pattern has been built up.

en.kogei-japonica.com/media

Hakone Yosegi-zaiku: The Art of Japanese Marquetry - A Complete Guide to Its ...

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/crafts/yosegizaiku/

Hakone Yosegi-zaiku is a traditional Japanese craft from the Hakone region of Kanagawa Prefecture, known for its beautiful geometric patterns in woodwork. This intricate craft involves combining different types of wood to create patterns, supported by highly skilled craftsmanship. Beyond the beauty of its detailed patterns, it's also known for playful designs like puzzle boxes with hidden compartments.This article will explain in detail the history of Hakone Yosegi-zaiku, its techniques,...

Odawara lacquerware is known for lacquer that works with the beauty of the wooden base.
The organisers describe its characteristics as including accomplished hikimono lathe-turning to produce the base, and finishes such as suri-urushi, in which raw ki-urushi lacquer is rubbed into the surface repeatedly so that the grain remains visible.

Kamakura-bori carves the wood. Hakone yosegi-zaiku assembles it. Odawara lacquerware builds on the form of the turned wood and its natural grain, then finishes the surface with lacquer. Set out that way, it becomes clear how differently three woodworking traditions within one prefecture think about technique.

The exposition’s catchphrase translates as: the maker has a story, and a story begins for the user. Kanagawa Prefecture also explains that the logo took its inspiration from Katsushika Hokusai’s Under the Wave off Kanagawa.
（Source: KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA | Kanagawa Prefecture）

Are there pre-events? Related programmes around the prefecture

KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA does not begin and end with the main event in November. Through 2026, related pre-events have been held in craft-producing areas across the prefecture.

In the Kamakura area, the Kamakura-bori Fureai Exhibition ran from 26 to 28 June 2026 at Lumine Wing Ofuna, with displays and sales of Kamakura-bori, demonstrations by makers, and hands-on making sessions. That programme has now finished.
（Source: KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA | Kanagawa Prefecture）

Next, in the Odawara and Hakone area, the Odawara and Hakone Wood, Technique and Craftsmanship Festival takes place over two days, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October 2026, at Odawara Sannomaru Hall. Opening hours are 10:00 to 16:00 on both days.

The programme includes the 2026 Mokkō-1 Grand Prix, woodworking workshops, a woodwork market with local makers, karakuri puzzle box sessions, and an exhibition on the history of woodworking in Odawara and Hakone. The Mokkō-1 Grand Prix takes as its theme the idea of drawing on the past to create something new, and 171 works in total, including the prizewinners, are due to be shown.
（Source: Odawara and Hakone Wood, Technique and Craftsmanship Festival | Kanagawa Prefecture）

This pre-event is a chance to see the woodworking culture of Odawara and Hakone together in one place without waiting for November. Beyond Hakone yosegi-zaiku and Odawara lacquerware, it also shows the broader range of woodworking traditions that have developed in the region, karakuri puzzle boxes among them.

How can regions and public bodies take part? Sponsorship and exhibiting

KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA is an event for the general public. It is also, for local authorities, regional craft associations and businesses, an opportunity to introduce a regional craft to a national audience.

Kanagawa Prefecture opened sponsorship applications for the exposition to companies, organisations and individuals on 15 July 2026. Details of what sponsorship involves and how to apply are available on the official application page.
（Source: KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA sponsorship applications | Kanagawa Prefecture）

The official site for the main event also carries an application route for prospective exhibitors.
Conditions, eligibility and current application status should be checked against the latest official guidance in each case.
（Source: KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA | Official site）

That said, presenting a region does not end when the stand comes down.

After a visitor has seen the work, can they find out about the maker and the workshop? If they want to visit the region, will they reach the information? If a buyer or designer overseas searches for it, is there anything in English to find? The information that remains after the exposition is part of the planning, not an afterthought.

At a national event in particular, it is more effective to connect what visitors see at the event with what they can find online afterwards. An article or an English-language page that sets out the region, the technique, the makers and workshops, the materials, and where to buy or ask, makes it easier to carry an exposition beyond a one-off publicity moment and into enquiries and continued interest in the area.

KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA: frequently asked questions

The following sets out what is worth checking before visiting KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA, based on official information as of 16 September 2026.

Q1. When is KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA held?

The awards ceremony is on Friday 6 November 2026, and the main event, which is open to the public, runs from Saturday 7 to Monday 9 November.

Q2. Where is it held? Are the ceremony and the main event in the same place?

They are in different places. The awards ceremony is at Odawara Sannomaru Hall, and the main event at Pacifico Yokohama.

Q3. Is admission free? Is booking required?

The main event at Pacifico Yokohama is free to enter. Individual programmes such as workshops may have booking requirements or conditions of participation, so check the latest guidance on the official site for anything you want to join.
（Source: KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA | Official site）

Q4. What are Kanagawa Prefecture’s designated traditional crafts?

KOUGEI EXPO and Kanagawa Prefecture present three: Kamakura-bori, Hakone yosegi-zaiku and Odawara lacquerware. The 2025 designation for Tokyo hand-carved seals covers production areas in both Tokyo and Kanagawa.

Q5. When and where are the pre-events?

The Kamakura-bori Fureai Exhibition in the Kamakura area was held in June 2026 and has finished. In the Odawara and Hakone area, the Odawara and Hakone Wood, Technique and Craftsmanship Festival takes place on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October at Odawara Sannomaru Hall.
（Source: Odawara and Hakone Wood, Technique and Craftsmanship Festival | Kanagawa Prefecture）

Q6. Can you buy work, or only look at it?

You can buy. The official outline lists exhibitions, sales and demonstrations among the content of the main event. Individual exhibitors, products, stock and prices should be checked with the exhibitors themselves or against the latest official guidance.

Q7. How can local authorities, regions and businesses take part?

Sponsorship applications are open to companies, organisations and individuals, and the official site carries guidance for prospective exhibitors. Conditions and current status should be checked against the latest application documents.

KOUGEI EXPO in KANAGAWA 2026 is the 43rd National Convention for Traditional Craft Month, and the first to be held in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Dates and exhibitor information matter. But what interests us more is this: because the crafts of the whole country are in one hall, the differences in materials, processes and regional traditions become much easier to see.

Kamakura-bori carves the wood and then builds up the lacquer. Hakone yosegi-zaiku sets the colours of different woods against each other. Odawara lacquerware works from the turned form and the grain, and finishes in lacquer. Three woodworking traditions from one prefecture, thinking about their material in three different ways.

If something in the hall catches your attention, follow it one step further: where is this made, by whom, from what, and how?

Meet the work at the event, learn the technique, then turn back towards the region it came from.

Once that sequence starts, KOUGEI EXPO stops being an exhibition and sales floor, and becomes a way into the places across Japan where things are still being made.

The post KOUGEI EXPO Kanagawa 2026: Japan’s Traditional Craft Guide first appeared on Kogei Japonica.

Drawing on The Met’s official information as of 16 September 2026, this article sets out the rotation schedule and the works that can be confirmed on view, then sets out how to read Japanese ceramics through form, technique and use.

The aim is not to memorise style names. Look in turn at the shape of a vessel, its material, its glaze, its decoration, how it was used and who it was made for, and the single phrase “Japanese ceramics” begins to separate into distinct technical systems with distinct social conditions behind them.

Opening hours, closing days and admission rates are subject to change. Please check the official website for current information before travelling or visiting.
(Source: The Infinite Artistry of Japanese Ceramics | The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Plan Your Visit: The Met Fifth Avenue | The Metropolitan Museum of Art / The Metropolitan Museum of Art official website | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

What Is on View Right Now? A Guide to The Met’s Rotations

As of 16 September 2026, the exhibition is in its third rotation. The Infinite Artistry of Japanese Ceramics runs from 19 January 2026 to 8 August 2027 in the Arts of Japan Galleries (Galleries 223–232) at The Met Fifth Avenue.

The current exhibition page divides the run into five display periods, with a schedule for exchanging part of the selection. Not everything changes at once. Instead, some works come off view between periods and are replaced by others.
(Source: The Infinite Artistry of Japanese Ceramics | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

A visit in October 2026 therefore falls within Rotation 3, and part of the display will differ from what was shown in May or from what will be shown after 10 December 2026. A long run does not mean an unchanging one.

One point worth noting: the press release of 13 January 2026 announcing the exhibition described some 350 works presented across three rotations. The current exhibition page lists five display periods, Rotation 1 through Rotation 5. When planning a visit, the updated exhibition page is the more reliable reference.
(Source: Exhibition at The Met Explores the Artistry of Japanese Ceramics | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Where the Galleries Are, and What Admission Costs

The exhibition occupies the Arts of Japan Galleries (Galleries 223–232) on the second floor of The Met Fifth Avenue. The exhibition page states that it is free with museum admission, so no separate ticket is required for this show.
(Source: The Infinite Artistry of Japanese Ceramics | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

As of 16 September 2026, general admission for adults is $30. New York State residents and certain other visitors are eligible for pay-what-you-wish admission, under which the visitor decides the amount paid. Eligibility conditions and rates may change, so check the official website before travelling or visiting.
(Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art official website | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

What Is the Packard Collection, and Why Does It Matter Here?

One thing to understand about this exhibition is the part played by the Harry G. C. Packard Collection. The Met presents the show as marking the fiftieth anniversary of that collection’s acquisition. The exhibition draws primarily from The Met’s own holdings, and the Packard Collection accounts for a substantial share of it.
(Source: Exhibition at The Met Explores the Artistry of Japanese Ceramics | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

The Packard Collection was assembled by the collector Harry G. C. Packard (1914–1991). In 1975, The Met acquired more than 400 works by gift and purchase, including archaeological material, medieval Buddhist sculpture and painting, folding screens, hanging scrolls and ceramics. The acquisition significantly expanded both the scale and the range of The Met’s Japanese art holdings.
(Source: Five Thousand Years of Japanese Art: Treasures from the Packard Collection | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

The exhibition is curated by Monika Bincsik, who is responsible for Japanese decorative arts at The Met. According to the museum’s announcement, the selection includes works that have rarely, or never, been shown before.
(Source: Exhibition at The Met Explores the Artistry of Japanese Ceramics | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

It is worth drawing out that entering a major museum collection does not fix a work’s meaning or standing once and for all. The theme a piece is redisplayed under, what is placed beside it, and the research it is connected to all change how the same object reads.

How Do Form, Technique and Use Actually Differ? A Framework for Comparison

With Japanese ceramics, checking form, then technique, then use makes the differences easier to grasp than memorising kiln names and style labels first.

Form tells you what a vessel was meant to hold, how it was meant to be held and how it was meant to be used. Technique reveals whether you are looking at stoneware or porcelain, and what glazes and decoration have been applied. Use places the object socially: everyday tableware, tea utensil, gift, or a piece made for formal presentation.

Among the works currently on view at The Met is an Edo-period piece, Dish with Three Jars. As of 16 September 2026, it was listed as on view in Gallery 223.

It is a Hizen ware porcelain of the Nabeshima type, with cobalt blue applied beneath a transparent glaze and polychrome enamels added over the glaze. It measures roughly 4.1cm high and 15.2cm in diameter, and its accession number is 1975.268.563. The Met’s object page dates it to the 1680s–90s.
(Source: Dish with Three Jars | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Resist stopping at the impression that Nabeshima means luxury, or that enamelled decoration means showiness. Observe the size of the dish, how the flat surface for food has been set out, how the three jar motifs are arranged, and how the blue relates to the overglaze colours, and the design logic of the piece starts to come into focus.

And if you note the accession number from the label, you can return to The Met’s online collection afterwards and check technique, dimensions, credit line and provenance. Titles shift slightly between translations and sources; accession numbers do not, which makes them the most dependable way to follow a specific work.

What Separates Nabeshima, Imari (Hizen) and Oribe?

Nabeshima, Imari and Oribe are not three interchangeable style labels. What each name refers to is different in kind: region of production, distribution, how the kiln was run, materials and intended use.

The Met describes Nabeshima ware as porcelain produced at an official kiln established within the Nabeshima clan’s Saga domain during the Edo period, made as presentation pieces for the shogunal house, senior figures in the shogunate and the three Tokugawa branch houses. Dish with Sacred Jewels, Pine, Bamboo, and Plum, currently in Gallery 223, is another example of Hizen ware of the Nabeshima type.
(Source: Dish with Sacred Jewels, Pine, Bamboo, and Plum | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Imari, by contrast, does not name a single official kiln system in the way Nabeshima does. Historically, porcelain made in Hizen, including at Arita, was distributed via the port of Imari, and the name came to be used broadly as a result. Keeping that in mind makes the term easier to handle: Imari does not denote one fixed set of designs.

Kogei Japonica has covered the historical relationship between Arita and Imari, and how the two names are used today, in a separate article.

en.kogei-japonica.com/media

Imari Ware and Arita Ware: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Differences, Histor...

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/crafts/imari-ware/

These Japanese traditional crafts are highly valued worldwide for their beauty and advanced techniques. However, few people may accurately understand the differences between Imari and Arita ware. This article will explain in detail the differences between Imari and Arita ware, as well as their history, origins, and production processes.We'll explore their respective characteristics and backgrounds, introducing their appeal in a way that's easy for beginners to understand.What are th...

We would not treat the difference between Nabeshima and Imari as a matter of rank. What matters is the difference in the conditions of production: who controlled the making, who the pieces were made for, and by what routes they were distributed.

Oribe and the Aesthetics of Wabi-cha

Oribe refers to a group of Mino wares associated with Furuta Oribe and the culture of tea. Rather than simplifying it into the idea that Furuta Oribe created a single style, it is more accurate to see it as ceramics formed where kiln technology, the practice of tea, food culture and changes in form intersected between the Momoyama period and the early Edo period.

At The Met, an early seventeenth-century piece, Covered Vessel with Plum Tree, is on view in Gallery 228. It is Mino ware of the Oribe type, using iron for brown decoration, a transparent glaze, and a vivid green glaze derived from copper. The Met explains that the vessel was used to serve food at the meal accompanying a tea gathering.
(Source: Covered Vessel with Plum Tree | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Words such as distortion and imperfection are not enough to account for Oribe. You also need to look at the vivid green glaze, the brown lines, the changes in vessel form itself, the function of the piece as tableware, and its relationship to the visual culture of the period, textiles included.

The same applies to wabi-cha. Reducing it to the idea that imperfection is beautiful leaves out much of what tea practice involves: the selection of utensils, the space, the meal, seasonality and conduct. When visiting this exhibition, it is worth setting aside fixed ideas — that asymmetry equals wabi, or that roughness equals Japaneseness — and observing the structure and function of the actual vessel.

Kintsugi: Reading Repair as Value Rather Than Defect

Kintsugi is a technique in which a broken vessel is joined with urushi, Japanese lacquer, and the repair is finished using metal powders such as gold. Repaired ceramics form one of the significant themes of this exhibition.

The Met presents kintsugi as a practice that not only restores a vessel’s function through lacquer repair but gives the object new value by emphasising the repaired areas with gold and other metals.
(Source: The Infinite Artistry of Japanese Ceramics | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

That said, explaining kintsugi solely through contemporary language about ecology, sustainability and waste risks narrowing its historical and art-historical meaning.

At Kogei Japonica, we treat a repair not as a flaw that could not be erased but as one way of reading the record of a vessel being used, broken and repaired. What matters is seeing how the object arrived at its present state, the repaired form included.

How Should You Look at the Works in the Gallery? A Practical Framework

The first things to establish are period, technique, use, credit line and provenance, and current display status. Working through those five points in order gives you a fuller picture of a work’s background than reading the style name alone.

In a museum it is easy to read only the title and move on to the next case. But The Met’s object pages let you check date, materials and technique, dimensions, accession number, credit line, provenance and exhibition history.

Labels in the galleries will not always carry all of that. A practical approach is to check the essentials in the gallery, then use the online collection to fill in provenance and other details afterwards.

Five Things to Check in the Gallery

• Period: when the work was made. For an Edo-period piece, narrowing it down to the early seventeenth century or the eighteenth century makes shifts in technique and use much easier to see.
• Technique: whether it is stoneware or porcelain, which glazes have been used, and whether the decoration is underglaze, such as sometsuke in cobalt blue, or overglaze, such as iro-e polychrome enamels.
• Use: what the piece was made for — tableware, a tea utensil, a storage vessel, a presentation piece.
• How it was acquired: from the credit line or the online collection, whether it came by gift or purchase, and from which former collection.
• Current display status: whether the online object page shows the work as on view, and whether a gallery number is given.

These five points apply well beyond this exhibition, to any show of Japanese ceramics.

To go a step further, look beyond the upper surfaces to the kōdai, or foot ring, the tatamitsuki where the foot meets the surface, the glaze edge, me-ato or spur marks, and any mark. In a museum, of course, you cannot pick a piece up, so you are limited to what the display and the published images allow you to see.

en.kogei-japonica.com/media

How to Read the Foot (Kōdai) of Japanese Pottery

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/crafts/pottery-kodai/

When you pick up a bowl or plate, the first things you notice are usually its colour and form, the painted decoration, and the character of its glaze (yūyaku). But if you want to look a little more closely at a studio piece or an older ceramic, try turning it over gently, just once.The foot, or kōdai, is the supporting part formed at the base of a vessel. Beyond the foot itself, looking at the footring's contact surface (tatamitsuki), the trimming, the clay, the glaze, the traces left by...

Beyond The Met: What to Know If You Are Thinking About Collecting

Looking at works in a museum and choosing craft objects on the market call for different kinds of information. A museum presents research that has already been done. When buying or collecting, you may have to establish the maker, workshop, region, route of distribution, tomobako storage box, marks, certification papers and certificates of authenticity for yourself.

Avoid relying on any single piece of evidence: that a certification paper means genuine, that a tomobako automatically makes a work valuable, or that a mark means the work of the named maker.

Certification papers indicate information based on particular systems and standards, but they do not necessarily verify that a maker produced a given piece. Marks and storage boxes are important evidence too, but you need to establish separately what each one actually attests to.

en.kogei-japonica.com/media

Is the "Traditional Mark" Proof? Japanese Craft Seals

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/invest/dento-mark-authenticity/

When choosing a piece of craft, it is tempting to reason "it carries the traditional mark, so it must be genuine" or "it comes with a tomobako, the maker's own signed box, so I can trust it." But the traditional mark, the traditional certification seal, an artist's mark, a tomobako and its box inscription (hakogaki), and a certificate or letter of authentication each play a different role.To put it plainly: no single mark or document can establish a piece of craf...

The habit of noting accession numbers in a museum feeds directly into this kind of checking. Looking at materials, dimensions, date, credit line and provenance alongside the title is what lets you separate what has been established about a work from what remains unknown.

Kogei Japonica also takes enquiries from Japanese craft makers and workshops, and from galleries, art-fair organisers, interior designers, hotels and retailers seeking to introduce Japanese work to international audiences. We welcome enquiries about maker introductions, craft research, collaborations and exhibition planning.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. How long does the exhibition run?

From 19 January 2026 to 8 August 2027. The current official page sets out a schedule dividing the run into five display periods, with part of the selection exchanged between them.
(Source: The Infinite Artistry of Japanese Ceramics | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Q2. When is Rotation 3?

From 29 August to 8 December 2026. A visit in September or October 2026 falls within Rotation 3. Note that the display is not replaced in its entirety with each period.

Q3. Is there a separate charge for the exhibition?

The exhibition is described as included in general museum admission. General admission for adults was $30 as of 16 September 2026, but check rates and eligibility on the official website before visiting.
(Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art official website | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Q4. What is the difference between Nabeshima, Imari and Oribe, briefly?

Nabeshima is Hizen porcelain produced under controlled conditions at the Nabeshima domain’s official kiln, closely tied to presentation wares and gifts for the shogunal household and others. Imari is historically a name applied broadly to porcelain made in Hizen and distributed through the port of Imari. Oribe is a group of Mino wares associated with Furuta Oribe and the culture of tea, including pieces with green glazes and bold forms and patterns.

Q5. What is the Packard Collection?

A collection of Japanese art assembled by Harry G. C. Packard. In 1975 The Met acquired more than 400 works by gift and purchase, significantly expanding its Japanese art holdings.
(Source: Five Thousand Years of Japanese Art: Treasures from the Packard Collection | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Q6. How can I research a work in detail after seeing it?

The most reliable way is to note the accession number from the label and search The Met’s online collection. You can check materials, dimensions, how the work was acquired, and its exhibition history.

Q7. Can I check whether a particular work is on view?

For some works, The Met’s online collection shows an on-view status together with a gallery number. Dish with Three Jars, for instance, was listed as on view in Gallery 223 as of 16 September 2026.
(Source: Dish with Three Jars | The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Running over a long period with works exchanged along the way, The Infinite Artistry of Japanese Ceramics does not gather Japanese ceramics under a single aesthetic. It lets you compare different periods, materials, uses and conditions of production.

At Kogei Japonica, we think that asking why a form took this shape, which technique produced this colour, and who used the object and for what builds a more lasting way of seeing than memorising style names first.

The precise porcelain of Nabeshima, the bold tableware of Oribe and a vessel repaired with kintsugi do not need to be explained by one idea of Japaneseness. Follow the material, technique, use, distribution and the background of the people who used each piece in turn. Doing that is what lets Japanese craft come into view as concrete cultural and technical practice rather than as an image.

If you visit The Met again, try choosing just one vessel that holds your attention and checking its form, technique, use and accession number. Following a single work that closely will change how the exhibition looks.

The post Japanese Ceramics at the Met: Nabeshima, Imari & Oribe first appeared on Kogei Japonica.

Why would a biennial that gathers more than 700 works of craft from around the world place light at the centre of how it shows them?

To put it plainly: at Homo Faber 2026, light is not staging meant only to make the work look striking. It is designed as an instrument of perception—a way to make material texture, technique, the maker’s hand and the working environment easier to see.

According to the official announcement, light is handled through water, mirrors and movement, and fifteen immersive installations present a single story that runs from the maker to the workshop, the tools, the materials and the finished work. At the heart of the theme is not light alone but the relationship between light, materials and the human hand.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026: An Island of Light｜Homo Faber)

This article first sets out the practical details, then reads the exhibition through one question: how does light show the world’s craft? From there it connects to the relationship with light already present in Japanese craft—urushi lacquer, kiriko cut glass, raden (mother-of-pearl inlay) and kinko metalwork among them.

What Is Homo Faber 2026? The Basics of “An Island of Light”

Homo Faber 2026 is the fourth Homo Faber Biennial, exploring the relationship between light, materials and the human hand across fifteen immersive installations.

Dates, Venue and Artistic Director

Homo Faber 2026 runs from 1 to 30 September 2026 at Fondazione Giorgio Cini, on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy.

The Artistic Director is Es Devlin, the British artist and designer. The official site states that the biennial is curated by the Michelangelo Foundation, in partnership with Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte and Fondazione Giorgio Cini.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026: An Island of Light｜Homo Faber)

As of August 2026, official information states that more than 500 makers take part, with over 700 works drawn from more than 70 countries and regions.

Es Devlin has worked across stage and space—theatre, opera, museums, large-scale installations and Olympic settings. According to the official announcement, “Library of Light,” which she presented at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan in spring 2025, drew around 200,000 visitors.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026: An Island of Light｜Homo Faber)

What is worth attention here, though, is not simply that a well-known spatial designer is staging craft.

Rather than how to arrange more than 700 works, the show is rebuilt around a different question: what needs to be visible for the handwork to register? That is the important feature of Homo Faber 2026.

What Does “An Island of Light” Mean?

Taken literally, the title describes exactly that: an island of light.

The official description explains that Es Devlin drew on the archipelago of the Venetian lagoon, treating each craft artist around the world as an “island” with its own talent and skill. The story is one of those islands connecting within a wider sea of craftsmanship.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026: An Island of Light｜Homo Faber)

Light, then, functions less as the main subject than as a shared language that links maker, material, tool and work.

Why Show the World’s Craft Through Light?

Change the light and the same object yields different information. In craft, light is not a backdrop; it can be a tool of perception for reading differences in material and workmanship.

Light Changes the Conditions Under Which We See

Metal polished to a mirror finish returns light differently from metal left with fine tsuchime, the marks of the hammer. In clear glass, light enters the interior and refracts rather than stopping at the surface; in thin paper, fibre and thickness govern how it lets light through.

Seen only once, head-on, an object does not reveal everything its material holds.

The official Homo Faber announcement is explicit about handling light through water, mirrors and movement. What these share is that they do not fix a single appearance: it shifts as the viewer moves and as time passes.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026: An Island of Light｜Homo Faber)

It reframes craft not as a single still image but as something that changes with viewing position and light. That way of thinking aligns closely with how craft is actually seen.

Showing Not Just Material but the Human Hand

What is interesting is that Homo Faber 2026 does not treat finished work as the only thing on display.

“A Language of Hands” opens in a space that evokes the working environment of a workshop, leading visitors into the world of making through image and sound. “An Index of Artisans” shows portraits of the makers behind the works on display.

Beyond that, “An Alphabet of Objects” projects the outlines of more than 100 works into the space using a moving cylindrical structure and light.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026 Creative Vision Press Release｜Fondazione Giorgio Cini)

Read as a sequence, this shows an intent to present craft as more than finished, “beautiful” objects—to include the whole relationship: a maker, a workplace, tools and materials, and only then the work.

The value of craft does not sit in the appearance of the finished piece alone. Why this material was chosen, how far it was pared back, how much it was polished, where the maker chose to stop: behind the final form lie countless decisions.

Do Immersive Displays Work for Craft?

At the same time, it would be too simple to say that immersive automatically means craft comes across well.

Mirrored surfaces, water, vast structures, sound and light are themselves very strong visual experiences. If visitors remember only the setting and cannot recall the works and techniques they saw there, questions remain for a craft exhibition.

As far as the official materials indicate, Homo Faber 2026 in fact turns its light toward makers, workshops, tools, materials and live demonstration.

How Do the Fifteen Displays Use Light Differently?

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At Homo Faber 2026, shadow, water surfaces, mirrors, translucency, white light, colour and movement are each used in different ways. A “light exhibition” does not mean a single method.

Shadow and Movement—An Alphabet of Objects

“An Alphabet of Objects” projects the silhouettes of more than 100 works onto the wall using a moving cylindrical structure and light.

By stripping back, for a moment, the information of colour and fine surface decoration, it brings the outline forward. The mouth of a vessel, the swell of its body, the slenderness of a foot, the profile of a carving—the form itself becomes easier to read.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026 Creative Vision Press Release｜Fondazione Giorgio Cini)

When looking at craft, asking “what shape would this be if it were only a black shadow?” makes the form beneath the decoration easier to see.

Water and Reflection—A Full Moon Rising / A Great Turning

“A Full Moon Rising” is an installation staged in the former Piscina Gandini. The point to note is that Piscina Gandini is not itself the name of a display; “A Full Moon Rising” is what is installed in the former swimming-pool space.

Its subject is vessels that have held and carried water; Korean moon jars, and works inspired by them, are placed in a space that combines water and light. As light reflects off the water’s surface, not only the vessels but the relationship between vessel and water becomes part of the display.

In “A Great Turning,” an architectural colonnade is mirrored on the water, and a large kinetic mirror at the centre shifts how the space looks in relation to the changing light of the day.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026 Creative Vision Press Release｜Fondazione Giorgio Cini)

Here reflection is not decoration for simply doubling the image of a work. It unsettles the boundary between work and architecture, work and setting, drawing attention to how a piece of craft exists within a space.

Translucency—A Luminous Ark

In “A Luminous Ark,” paper sculptures by the Chinese maker Wen Qiuwen are lit like lanterns. Taking motifs such as the birds that live in Venice, the display works with the delicate translucency of paper itself.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026 Creative Vision Press Release｜Fondazione Giorgio Cini)

Without touching it, you can sense the thinness and material quality of paper from how it looks when light passes through. It is a way of seeing that carries over to looking at washi and other papers.

White and Colour—A Feast of Light / A Rainbow of Forms

In “A Feast of Light,” white works made of different materials—porcelain, glass, fibre, paper—are arranged on a reflective surface. Because everything is white, the differences in texture and shadow under light stand out.

In “A Rainbow of Forms,” by contrast, colourful works in plastic, enamel, resin and glass are combined with reflective shelves, rotating supports and a mirrored ceiling.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026 Creative Vision Press Release｜Fondazione Giorgio Cini)

The same light plays a different role when you are looking at white material than when you are looking at material with colour. Light is not there to brighten a work evenly; it is used in different ways to bring out the differences between materials.

Material and the Act of Making—An Atelier Alive

“An Atelier Alive” is a space where makers in ceramics, glass, metal and textiles show the act of making to visitors. It does not separate finished object from process; it makes the movement of hand and tool part of the display itself.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026 Creative Vision Press Release｜Fondazione Giorgio Cini)

The official programme also includes guidance from 90 Young Ambassadors and live demonstrations.

Japanese Craft, Too, Looks Different Under Light

In Japanese craft too—urushi lacquer, kiriko cut glass, raden mother-of-pearl inlay, kinko metalwork—there are pieces whose materials and workmanship can look markedly different depending on how the light falls and the angle from which you view them.

That said, one cannot flatly claim that Japanese craft developed with optical effects in mind. Rather than guessing at historical intent, here we consider, from the standpoint of viewing today, what light lets us see.

Urushi—Look at the Surface, Not Just the Shine

Lacquer art, shitsugei, is often described in terms of beautiful gloss, but simple sheen is not the only thing to look at.

How smooth the lacquer surface is, what shape the light source takes as it reflects, how the return of light differs between decorated areas such as maki-e and the plain ground: reading how the surface was worked through the way it reflects light sharpens your perception of the piece.

At the same time, one should not think that stronger light makes lacquer more appealing. Real exhibitions require conservation lighting that takes account of a work’s material, condition, sensitivity to light and length of display. The effect on viewing and the protection of the work must always be held together.

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Kiriko—Light Reads into the Glass Itself

In kiriko, cut glass, the reflection and refraction of light change with each cut facet.

The important thing is not to see kiriko merely as patterned glass. A cut is decoration, and at the same time it shapes how light travels through the glass and how the piece is seen.

Shift your viewpoint a little in front of a piece and the depth of the cuts, and the overlap of coloured and clear glass that you could not read head-on, become visible.

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Raden—Move, and the Colour Moves With You

Raden is a decorative technique in which shells such as green turban and abalone are worked thin and set into a lacquer ground or similar surface.

Its defining quality is that the colour and shine of the shell change with viewing position and light source. For that reason, raden is also a craft that a single still photograph struggles to convey.

When looking, don’t only stand still in front; move slightly to the left and right. Colours that were not there a moment before can appear.

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Kinko—Polishing, Hammer Marks and Colouring Change the Light

In kinko metalwork, light too makes differences in surface treatment easier to see.

Areas polished close to a mirror finish, areas left with hammer marks, surfaces given chokin engraving, and coloured surfaces each return light differently.

Beyond whether something simply shines, looking at whether it reflects to a single point or scatters finely, and what shading its unevenness produces, makes it easier to understand how the maker worked the surface.

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To set out the difference with Homo Faber 2026: the exhibition actively edits the relationship between light and material through exhibition design. Japanese craft, by contrast, has many techniques in which the material and surface treatment themselves change how a piece responds to light.

The direction is not the same. But they connect on one point: looking at light lets you understand material and handwork more deeply.

The official Homo Faber 2026 programme also includes specific events connected to Japanese craft. Alongside a kintsugi workshop—repairing ceramics with lacquer and gold—a hanko workshop is planned, in which participants carve into a wooden cube one of the kanji for “light,” “shadow” or ma (間), the sense of interval or space.
(Source: Discover Homo Faber 2026’s programme｜Homo Faber)

The official e-catalogue, moreover, lists Junpei Kawaguchi (川口淳平), who works in rattan craft from Japan, as an exhibitor in “A Rooted Ascent.” Japanese participation is not at some “unconfirmed” stage: it is already confirmed in the official materials.
(Source: A Rooted Ascent Exhibitors｜Homo Faber 2026 E-Catalogue)

Should a Good Craft Exhibition Show Only the Work?

The question Homo Faber 2026 raises is whether displaying only finished pieces is enough to convey the value of craft.

Not a Choice Between “Work-Centred” and “Experience-Centred”

Craft exhibitions tend to fall into an either/or: should the work be shown quietly, or should the display be made experiential?

But the real question is not which to choose.

It is to design what you want the viewer to discover, while respecting the work.

If you want people to see surface treatment, the direction of light matters. If you want to convey process, tools and demonstration help. If you want them to understand a material’s translucency, transmitted light can be effective.

Adding experience is not itself the aim. What matters is designing only the experience needed to understand the work.

What Is Lost When the Exhibition Design Is Too Strong?

Even with Homo Faber 2026, there are things to check once it has actually opened.

Vast mirrors, water, moving structures and light produce a strong visual experience. But if visitors remember that “the space was impressive” yet cannot recall what materials or works were in it, that leaves something to reconsider as a craft exhibition.

As far as current official information goes, sections such as “A Language of Hands,” “An Index of Artisans” and “An Atelier Alive” show a structure that tries to return makers and the act of making to the centre of the display.

What Makers, Workshops and Brands Can Take From This

This view is not only about an international biennial. It applies to solo shows, department stores, hotels, ryokan inns, shops and showrooms.

When displaying craft, it is worth checking the following.

• Where the light source is, and which face of the work it lights
• Whether the work’s expression changes when seen from other than head-on
• Where it reflects and where it absorbs light
• Whether shadow makes the form easier to read
• For clear or translucent materials, how light enters the interior
• Whether colour and reflection change as the viewer moves
• Whether you can still describe the work’s qualities with the staging removed
• Whether you have considered not only the viewing effect but the conservation conditions of the material

The last two points matter especially. If the value of the work cannot be explained once the staging is removed, the display may not be helping the work but standing in for it.

Because tolerance to light and appropriate display conditions differ by material, it is better not to fix a single rule—this lighting for lacquer, that lighting for glass—but to judge piece by piece, including condition and length of display.

When introducing craft into hotels, shops, offices or trade shows, too, how the work comes across changes if you think of material, light, background, visitor flow and cultural context together, rather than simply placing the piece.

Kogei Japonica welcomes enquiries on introducing craft works, collaborating with makers and workshops, exhibition and spatial design, communicating to audiences abroad, and regional and production-area projects.

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If You Visit Homo Faber 2026, Watch the Relationship Between Work and Light

If you go in person, how you read the exhibition changes a great deal when you focus not on how many pieces you saw, but on where you looked from, in what light, and how the material appeared to change.

Five Things to Check on Site

The first thing to check is where the light source is. From above, from the side, or within the work? Note whether it is natural or artificial light.

Next, shift your position slightly in front of the work. For pieces whose reflection, colour or transparency changes, looking only from the front is not enough.

Third is shadow. Sometimes the shadow cast on wall or floor makes the form easier to grasp than the work itself.

Fourth is the relationship between materials. Paper and light, glass and mirror, vessel and water—look at why each pairing was chosen.

And fifth is to ask, “how would this work look if this staging were not here?”

Why this light for this work? Simply holding that question makes it harder to reduce the exhibition design to a photogenic backdrop.

See Homo Faber in Città As Well

Homo Faber 2026 is not a project that begins and ends at Fondazione Giorgio Cini.

Official information describes Homo Faber in Città: an exhibition at Casa Sanlorenzo, visits to workshops across Venice, and related cultural events.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026: An Island of Light｜Homo Faber)

Seeing a highly edited craft display at the main venue, then going to an actual workshop—that contrast matters, too.

In a workshop you begin to see what the exhibition hall does not show: different natural light, the arrangement of tools, how materials are stored, the height of the workbench. The working environment itself, which finished pieces alone do not reveal, is information for understanding craft.

Visitor Information

As of the official guidance on 18 August 2026, the details are as follows.

For visitors who buy tickets online, a free shuttle is offered on the day of the booking, running from Pier B1 at San Marco–San Zaccaria to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Outbound departures run at 30-minute intervals from 9:30, and the return from the island runs every 30 minutes from 10:15 to 19:15.

Prices, times, transport and admission conditions may change, so always check the official information before visiting.
(Source: Homo Faber 2026 Practical Information｜Homo Faber)

FAQ｜Homo Faber 2026 and Light in Craft Exhibitions

A concise summary of the main questions about Homo Faber 2026’s key details and this edition’s theme of light.

Q. What is Homo Faber 2026?

It is an international craft biennial curated by the Michelangelo Foundation. 2026 marks the fourth edition, exploring the relationship between light, materials and the human hand across fifteen immersive installations.

Q. When and where is Homo Faber 2026 held?

From 1 to 30 September 2026 at Fondazione Giorgio Cini, on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy.

Q. What is Es Devlin’s role?

She is the Artistic Director of Homo Faber 2026. Using water, mirrors and movement, she has designed a story that runs across the fifteen exhibition spaces.

Q. Why is light important at Homo Faber 2026?

Because the official theme rests on the fundamental relationship between light, materials and the human hand. Light is used not merely to present the work attractively but as a medium for showing material, workshop, tools and the act of making.

Q. What can you see in the fifteen installations?

Displays that show craft in different ways are planned, among them “A Language of Hands,” which evokes a workshop; “An Alphabet of Objects,” which uses light to project the silhouettes of more than 100 works; “A Full Moon Rising,” which combines water and vessels; and “An Atelier Alive,” which shows makers at work.

Q. Is there Japanese craft that is closely tied to light?

Yes. The surface of urushi lacquer, the reflection and refraction of kiriko, the way raden changes with angle, and the polishing and hammer marks of kinko all reveal their material and working more clearly when the light is changed.

Q. Are Japanese makers taking part in Homo Faber 2026?

Yes. The official e-catalogue lists, for example, the Japanese basket-maker Junpei Kawaguchi as an exhibitor in “A Rooted Ascent.” Participant information may be updated, so check the latest official e-catalogue as well.

Q. Are there programmes for experiencing Japanese craft?

Yes. The official programme includes a kintsugi workshop and a hanko workshop in which participants carve into a wooden cube the kanji for “light,” “shadow” or “interval” (ma).

Q. What is Homo Faber in Città?

It is a programme that extends the experience beyond the main venue to exhibitions, workshops and cultural events across the city of Venice.

Take Homo Faber 2026 only as an exhibition where the world’s craft is beautifully staged by light, and you miss the important part.

More interesting is that changing the light brings into view the material, form, technique and the maker’s decisions you had been overlooking.

Look not only at the finished work but at the person, the hand, the tools, the material, the process, and the environment in which the work is placed.

This is not a theory of display that works only in Venice. It serves when you look at a single lacquer piece or a single kiriko glass. It applies when a maker builds a solo show, and when a hotel or brand brings craft into a space.

What it takes to convey the value of craft is not making it look grand through words or staging.

It is creating the conditions in which the work can properly be seen.

Homo Faber 2026, “An Island of Light,” looks set to be a fitting occasion to consider how craft exhibition is moving from arranging objects to designing how objects are seen.

The post Homo Faber 2026: How Light Reveals the Hand in Craft first appeared on Kogei Japonica.

Craft x Tech Tokai brings together craft businesses and makers from six production areas across three prefectures in Japan’s Tōkai region with six creative teams working in Japan and abroad, reinterpreting craft techniques through furniture, lighting, spatial works, and contemporary art.

The name might suggest a project that introduces AI or digital technology into traditional craft. Looking at the six actual works, though, that isn’t the whole story. Firing clay, forming paper by hand, binding and dyeing cloth, firing cloisonné enamel, painting porcelain, braiding cord—to these the project adds structural design, light, other materials, and international design thinking, opening up applications beyond the crafts’ traditional uses.

From 30 May to 2 June 2026, the six new works had their world premiere at kudan house in Tokyo, before travelling to the V&A for their London showing alongside London Design Festival 2026 (hereafter LDF2026). LDF2026 itself runs from 12 to 20 September, but the Craft x Tech Tokai showing has been officially announced to continue until 18 October.
（Source：The Craft x Tech Tokai Project heads to London | Craft x Tech）

Rather than presenting the six works simply as “a collaboration between Japanese traditional craft and overseas design,” we look at them through one question: what did each technique retain, what changed, and what new applications emerged? From there, we go further—into what makes an international collaboration on this scale coherent, and what a production area or company should prepare when working with an overseas designer.

What is Craft x Tech Tokai? An international collaboration between six Tōkai craft areas and six creative teams

Craft x Tech Tokai is a project pairing six craft production areas across Gifu, Aichi, and Mie prefectures with six creative teams working in Japan and abroad. It is the second edition of Craft x Tech; the first, the Craft x Tech Tohoku Project, focused on the crafts of the Tōhoku region.

The 2026 Tokai Project works with six fields: Mino-yaki (Mino ware), Mino washi (Mino handmade paper), Arimatsu-Narumi shibori (bind-resist dyeing), Owari shippō (cloisonné enamel), Seto sometsuke-yaki (blue-and-white porcelain), and Iga kumihimo (braided cord).
（Source：Craft x Tech | Official site）

On why the Tōkai region is the focus, Craft x Tech points to its rich natural resources, along with the movement of people, goods, and skills via the historic Tōkaidō and Nakasendō routes, and a concentration of manufacturing that continues to the present day. That craft and industrial production cultures coexist in the same region is also important context for thinking about this project.

A craft “production area” is more than a location. It is also a production ecosystem, where material supply, tools, processing techniques, kilns, division of labour, artisans, businesses, and distribution are bound together within a region. When introducing Japanese craft abroad, too, a more accurate picture emerges when you include the body of technique accumulated in a region, rather than describing it only by place name as “pottery made in Gifu.”

The originator, the curator, and the continuity from the Tōhoku edition

The overall producer and creative director of Craft x Tech is Hideki Yoshimoto, a designer and engineer. The curatorial director is Maria Cristina Didero.
（Source：The Craft x Tech Tokai Project heads to London | Craft x Tech）

What’s worth noting this time is that the second edition shifts its regional focus from Tōhoku to Tōkai.

A collaboration between craft and overseas designers looks glamorous if you see only the finished work. In practice, it takes a great deal of time and coordination—material understanding, prototyping, revision, communication, exhibition, logistics. That this is a project building a repeatable methodology across different craft regions, rather than a one-off PR exercise, is an important feature of Craft x Tech.

That said, the extent to which each workshop views the project as part of a medium- or long-term business strategy isn’t something to state uniformly from the outside. The project’s continuity and each participant’s own management decisions need to be considered separately.

Where and when can you see it? Practical details for London Design Festival 2026 and the V&A showing

LDF2026 runs from 12 to 20 September 2026, but the Craft x Tech Tokai showing at the V&A is scheduled to continue from 12 September to 18 October.

The venue is “The Daylit Gallery” inside London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). Craft x Tech’s official information gives the exhibition hours as 10:00–17:45, with free entry. Event details may change, so check the latest information from the V&A, London Design Festival, and Craft x Tech before you visit.
（Source：The Craft x Tech Tokai Project heads to London | Craft x Tech）
（Source：Craft x Tech Tokai Project | London Design Festival）

How Craft x Tech Tokai fits into LDF2026

London Design Festival reaches its 24th edition in 2026. Its official announcements set out international exchange, a renewed appreciation of craft, and future-facing technology as key directions for 2026, and Craft x Tech Tokai takes part as one of the “Special Projects.”
（Source：A First Look at LDF26 | London Design Festival）

There’s no need to survey “the recommended shows across LDF as a whole” here. The value of Craft x Tech Tokai is that it lets you compare six craft traditions and six creative approaches within a single framework. Focusing on a single project, in fact, lets you examine how Japanese craft is translated into contemporary design in concrete detail.

Artisan × production area × designer × outcome: breaking down the six collaborations [comparison table]

What the six works share is that they don’t add craft to a surface as “Japanese-style ornament.” Instead, they build the technique into the material, the process, the structure, the light, and the use itself.

Focusing not on the type of finished object but on “what was transformed from the original craft” makes the differences between the collaborations easier to see.

Mino-yaki × David Caon, Mino washi × Lanzavecchia + Wai (two production areas in Gifu)

“Fushi,” by Mino-yaki and David Caon, combines identically shaped ceramic modules made with Mino-yaki techniques, extending them into a console table and lighting. The materials are ceramic, wood, and LED. The surfaces use Oribe glaze (oribe-yū), and a precise modular structure coexists with the glaze expression that firing makes different on every piece.
（Source：Fushi | Craft x Tech）

What’s happening here isn’t the decorative move of “attaching pottery to the surface of furniture.” The important point is that the ceramic element is reconceived as a structural module.

More interesting still, the structure is precisely designed while the piece-to-piece variation from firing is not erased. When a craft is extended into a product, raising quality doesn’t have to mean making everything uniform. Which variations should be controlled, and which should be preserved as part of the craft’s character—that judgement itself becomes design.

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“Grid Unwoven,” by Mino washi and Lanzavecchia + Wai, meanwhile, is a free-standing screen that reinterprets the traditional shōji (paper sliding screen) through Mino washi, light, and structure.

According to the official description, the papermaking (kami-suki) process devised for this work uses water and gravity to flow the fibres vertically, varying the density between the top and the bottom. Lit from behind with LED, it shows the washi’s fibres, thickness, and translucency themselves.
（Source：Grid Unwoven | Craft x Tech）

In other words, rather than seeing washi as a “paper product,” it is reconsidered as a material whose density and light transmission can be controlled.

This is a useful way of thinking in craft product development. Instead of “how do I make the product I’m making now feel contemporary,” you ask again, “what else could this material be used for?” Once the question is reframed at the level of the material itself, possibilities emerge beyond the usual product categories—lighting, architecture, hotels, commercial spaces, installation.

Arimatsu-Narumi shibori × Bethan Laura Wood, Owari shippō × Philippe Malouin, Seto sometsuke-yaki × EUGENE STUDIO (three production areas in Aichi)

“Kataginu,” by Arimatsu-Narumi shibori and Bethan Laura Wood, extends the complex texture of shibori—made through binding, folding, and stitching—into three-dimensional lighting. It takes its cue from the kataginu, a traditional Japanese upper garment, and is composed of dyed cloth, steel, and LED.
（Source：Kataginu | Craft x Tech）

What is preserved here is not simply the visual pattern of shibori. It’s the hard-to-fully-predict expression produced by how tightly the cloth is bound, how it’s folded, how it’s stitched, and how the dye penetrates.

What changed, on the other hand, is “the relationship with light.” Something that took light from outside as clothing or dyed cloth now, as a lighting object, is lit from within. Without changing the technique, changing the conditions of viewing produces a new use.

“Kasane,” by Owari shippō and Philippe Malouin, is a set of stacking boxes in copper and cloisonné enamel. It takes a truncated-cone form inspired by the kōgetsudai, the sand cone at Ginkaku-ji in Kyoto, with a structure where each part can be used on its own or stacked. The surfaces carry motifs in gin-sen shippō (silver-wire cloisonné).
（Source：Kasane | Craft x Tech）

Shippō is a technique that applies a glassy glaze to a metal body and fires it. In Kasane, the three-dimensional form is fairly restrained relative to the visual presence of the cloisonné itself.

An easy trap in craft products for overseas markets is the idea of “adding immediately recognisable markers of Japaneseness.” But when the technique itself has enough presence, restraining the form can instead make the material and the working more visible. Not “how many touches of Japaneseness to add,” but how to let the material, technique, and workmanship speak for themselves. This way of thinking matters when considering overseas markets, too.

In the work by Seto sometsuke-yaki and Yuto Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO), Seto blue-and-white porcelain tiles are combined with traditional nuki mortise-and-tenon joinery to make a chair and tea utensils.

The “dami” used here is not a woodworking technique. It is a painting technique in sometsuke, filling in areas with the brush. The official description shows the wavering of indigo that dami produces, and the hand-painting by Shin-gama, extended onto porcelain tiles and furniture.
（Source：Chair in Japanese Nuki and Dami style, The Everyday at the Atelier | Craft x Tech）

The works draw on a chair long used in the atelier and tea utensils long familiar at the kiln.

The future of craft tends to bring to mind unconventional forms far removed from daily life. But much of craft has, by nature, been refined while being used in daily life. Newness isn’t the same as moving away from the everyday. This work shows that quietly.

Iga kumihimo × Atang Tshikare (one production area in Mie)

“Yamollo,” by Iga kumihimo and the South Africa-born Atang Tshikare, is a sculptural lighting work in braided cord, FRP, steel, and LED. It is composed of a central light and the shields that surround it, and the surrounding shields also serve to divide space.
（Source：Yamollo | Craft x Tech）

Iga kumihimo is known in relation to Japanese dress, in obijime sash cords and haori cords. Itogo, the participating business, has already extended braided cord beyond Japanese dress—into shoelaces, goods, and building materials.

In Yamollo, that thinking is extended to a much larger scale.

When “cord” handled in the hand is scaled up to the dimensions of the human body, the braid becomes not mere ornament but an element composing colour, plane, light, and space.

Scale up a small craft technique, and what was ornament becomes structure or space. This principle can be applied when connecting craft to architecture, interiors, hotels, and shops.

Why “Tōkai,” and why this line-up coheres: an editor’s reading

Having looked at the six works, there’s one thing worth stressing.

It isn’t enough to explain Craft x Tech Tokai only through the story that “world-class designers took an interest because Japanese craft is excellent.”

Holding together a collaboration on this scale requires at least several conditions: “curation that connects techniques with creators,” “the workshop’s technical and prototyping capabilities,” and “the cross-disciplinary design knowledge that makes a work hold together.”

Mino-yaki and industrial design, Mino washi and light-and-spatial design, Arimatsu-Narumi shibori and three-dimensional lighting, Iga kumihimo and large-scale form. The six teams don’t drape external design over a finished craft object; the collaboration begins with the capabilities and limits of the technique itself.

More important still is not treating the production-area side merely as fabricators.

In what form can the clay be fired? How far can the fibres of washi be controlled? How much of shibori’s inherent unpredictability can be controlled while preserving its character? To what shapes can shippō be applied? What happens when braided cord is enlarged?

These can’t be judged by an external designer alone. The material knowledge and process knowledge on the craft side become fundamental design parameters of the work.

That Craft x Tech continues from the Tōhoku edition into the Tōkai edition has meaning, too. Still, you can’t go so far as to say that “because it’s a continuing project, each participating workshop is assured of future business growth.” The continuity of the project as a whole and each participant’s own management outcomes should be assessed separately.

Why “Craft x Tech” is easy to misunderstand

From the name “Craft x Tech,” some will take it as a project that introduces digital technology—AI, robotics, 3D printers—into craft.

But looking at this Tokai Project only through that understanding misses the substance.

Craft x Tech itself describes the project as one that “questions anew the essence of ‘tech’—the sensibility residing in Japanese craft, and the power of the thinking and hands that engage with it.”
（Source：Craft x Tech | Official site）

The “Tech” visible in the six actual works becomes easier to understand if you divide it into at least the following four layers.

• Material intelligence: knowledge of handling materials such as clay, glaze, fibre, dye, metal, and thread
• Process intelligence: process knowledge such as firing, papermaking, shibori, dyeing, cloisonné, painting, and braiding
• Structural design: the structural design that makes craft materials hold as furniture, screens, and lighting
• Digital / lighting technology: technology such as LED that extends how materials appear and are used through contemporary equipment and light sources

The point here, in other words, is that “Tech” doesn’t mean “digital.”

Controlling the firing of ceramics, adjusting the fibre density of paper, and designing the structure of braided cord are all technique. Add contemporary structural design and light to that, and new uses emerge.

Rather than new technology updating old technology in one direction, the question is where to connect different systems of technique. Craft x Tech Tokai is better understood as an experiment in exactly that.

How can a Japanese production area or company collaborate with an overseas designer? A practical checklist

To learn from a case like Craft x Tech Tokai in practical terms, it matters to look beyond the finished work and consider what needs to be shared before the collaboration.

A workshop, production area, local government, or company considering a collaboration with an overseas brand or designer would want to organise at least the following.

• The core of the technique: what process or centre of value must not be changed
• Scope for adaptation: how far form, colour, size, material, and use can be changed
• Material constraints: what happens—cracking, shrinkage, colour variation, strength, variation in fibre density from piece to piece
• Scale: how the technique and quality change when enlarged or reduced
• Connection with other materials: whether it can be combined with wood, metal, resin, light sources, building materials
• Prototyping capacity: how much prototyping and revision can be handled
• Production scalability: whether it’s one-off making or a set number can be produced repeatedly
• Logistics: whether packing, weight, breakage risk, and overseas shipping can be handled
• Maintenance: how repair, replacement, and mending after installation are handled
• Intellectual property and credit: how design, technique, work titles, photographs, and maker names are handled

What matters especially is sharing not only “what can be done” but “what can’t be done.”

Conditions like “it distorts easily above this size,” “an exactly identical colour can’t be reproduced,” “drying takes time,” and “because the process is done by hand, some variation between pieces is unavoidable” are not negative information.

Shared from the start, they become design conditions in their own right.

The precise modules and the fluctuation of Oribe glaze in Fushi are a good example for understanding this way of thinking. Rather than pursuing uniformity completely, it separates the precision needed as structure from the variation preserved as part of the craft’s character.

One more thing matters: not deciding the finished product too firmly from the start.

There’s a way of starting from “I want to make a lamp with this technique.” But starting from questions—”how does this material look when it transmits light?”, “what happens when it’s enlarged?”, “could it become structure rather than surface decoration?”—can reveal applications beyond existing product categories.

International expansion isn’t only about exporting, as-is, a product completed at home. Translating a technique into a different design language and connecting it to a new market category is international expansion too.

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Collaborations between overseas brands and Japan's craft regions can open new markets and new forms of expression. Yet the finished product — and the brand name on it — reveals little about the profit or rights that remained with the makers and workshops involved.Assessing a collaboration takes more than a story of international recognition. It means looking at prototyping cost, pricing, intellectual property, mass-production responsibility, credit and repeat orders.For a partnership bet...

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How can a company stand out in a commoditized market and build a brand story that competitors cannot easily replicate? For many new business developers and executives facing this challenge today, co-creating with Japanese traditional crafts (Kogei) offers a meaningful strategic option.This article explores practical frameworks and success factors for B2B craft collaborations that go beyond mere buzz. For busy decision-makers, we have summarized the three key takeaways below.Collaborating with...

At Kogei Japonica, we take enquiries from companies, local governments, and craft-related businesses on product development using craft, collaborations with companies and artists, spatial design, and market development. Beyond ordering finished products, it’s also possible to work from the planning stage, on questions such as “could our own materials or techniques be extended into another field?”

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Japanese Craft Services for Business

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Kogei Japonica helps businesses, organizations, artisans, and local governments work with Japanese craft through sales development, artist collaborations, creative projects, product sourcing, and rentals for exhibitions, photography, and interiors.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Here we gather the points worth checking before a visit or while gathering information—Craft x Tech Tokai’s dates, the participating production areas, and the meaning of “Tech.”

When and where can I see Craft x Tech Tokai?

It is scheduled to be shown from 12 September to 18 October 2026 at “The Daylit Gallery” inside London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). London Design Festival 2026 itself runs from 12 to 20 September.

How much is admission to Craft x Tech Tokai?

Craft x Tech and London Design Festival official information gives free entry. Opening hours and entry arrangements may change, so check the latest official information before visiting.

Which crafts take part in Craft x Tech Tokai?

Six fields: Mino-yaki, Mino washi, Arimatsu-Narumi shibori, Owari shippō, Seto sometsuke-yaki, and Iga kumihimo. They come from the three Tōkai prefectures of Gifu, Aichi, and Mie.

Are the participants six overseas designers?

No. More precisely, they are six creative teams working in Japan and abroad. The collaboration on Seto sometsuke-yaki includes the Japanese contemporary artist Yuto Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO).

Does the “Tech” in “Craft x Tech” mean AI or digital technology?

Not only that. Contemporary technology such as LED is used, but the project’s character is easier to understand when you also include process knowledge—handling materials, firing, papermaking, dyeing, cloisonné, painting, braiding—and structural design.

What is Seto sometsuke-yaki’s “dami”?

It is a technique in sometsuke painting of filling in areas with the brush. In the Craft x Tech Tokai work, the wavering of indigo that dami produces, together with hand-painting, is extended onto porcelain tiles and combined with a wooden chair made with nuki mortise-and-tenon joinery.

What can a craft business learn from Craft x Tech Tokai?

Rather than decorating a finished product for overseas markets, the approach is to keep the core of the material and technique while changing use, structure, scale, and market category. It offers a cue to think not only about “what to sell abroad” but “what our own technique can do in another field.”

In a collaboration with an overseas designer, what should we prepare first?

It matters to organise the core of the technique, the scope for adaptation, material constraints, producible sizes, prototyping capacity, production scalability, logistics, maintenance, and the handling of intellectual property and credit.

Summary

Craft x Tech Tokai is a project in which craft businesses and makers from six production areas across the three Tōkai prefectures work with six creative teams from Japan and abroad, extending the techniques of Japanese craft into furniture, lighting, spatial works, and contemporary art.

It is shown at the V&A alongside LDF2026, but what’s worth attention isn’t only the outcome that “Japanese traditional craft reaches London.”

In Fushi, vessel technique becomes furniture; in Grid Unwoven, washi becomes space; in Kataginu, dyeing becomes lighting; in Yamollo, braided cord becomes a sculptural form at the scale of the human body.

What they share is neither abandoning tradition nor keeping an old finished form exactly as it was.

What’s kept is the understanding of materials, the process, the principle of the technique, and the judgement artisans and businesses have accumulated. What’s changed boldly is use, structure, scale, and the relationship with other materials.

When we think about bringing Japanese craft to international markets, we tend to start from the question “how do we sell Japanese-style products abroad.”

But the question that should come one step before that is, surely, “what can this technique really do?”

The more deeply you understand a craft, the more possibilities appear for connecting it to different fields—furniture, lighting, architecture, interiors, collectible design—without relying on surface-level Japanese-style expression.

If you have the chance to see Craft x Tech Tokai at London Design Festival 2026, compare the six works not only for the beauty of the finished pieces but for what each work preserves from the original craft—and what it transforms.

What comes into view there is a concrete method for translating Japanese craft into its next use, its next market, and its next cultural sphere—one that the convenient phrase “tradition and innovation” alone can’t fully explain.

The post Craft x Tech Tokai: Japanese Craft at London Design 2026 first appeared on Kogei Japonica.

Checking the list of winners and titles alone, though, doesn’t reveal what is happening in Japanese craft in 2026.

What matters when looking at the winning works isn’t the ranking of prizes, but how material, technique, form, and surface relate to one another to make a single work hold together.

The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition runs from 2 to 15 September 2026 at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi in Tokyo, before touring the country. This article keeps the dates and access details to a minimum and uses the sixteen officially announced prize works as a way into reading “where technique stands now” across the seven categories.

Note that the Japan Kōgei Association’s published list of winners gives the prize, title, maker, and an image for each work, but individual jury reasoning has not been published for every work. In this article, we keep the official prize results and Kogei Japonica’s own viewing and analysis clearly separate.
（Source：73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition: list of prize-winning works | Japan Kōgei Association）

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9 Japanese Kogei Exhibitions to Visit from June 2026 Onward

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From June through autumn 2026, a wide range of craft exhibitions will open across Japan — regional juried shows, textile exhibitions, ceramics retrospectives, contemporary handicraft, and a touring exhibition that brings craft techniques into contact with one of the world's most recognized character IPs. This guide covers what is coming and organizes it so you can find what fits your interests and schedule.We have selected nine exhibitions and events opening from June 2026 onward, coveri...

The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition 2026: what was recognised?

The results of the 73rd exhibition are more useful as a way to see how contemporary makers are reworking inherited techniques than as a simple ranking of “the year’s best works.”
（Source：73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition: prize winners and selected entrants announced）

The Tokyo showing is scheduled from Wednesday 2 September to Tuesday 15 September 2026, in the event hall on the 7th floor of the main building of Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi. Opening hours are 10:00 to 19:00, and admission to the Tokyo showing is free. The organisers include the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education, NHK, The Asahi Shimbun, and the Japan Kōgei Association.

The Japan Kōgei Association describes the Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition as the largest open-call exhibition in the craft field, and the only one the national government co-organises. It is an annual open call for works in seven categories: ceramics, textiles, lacquer, metalwork, wood and bamboo, dolls, and other crafts.

One more thing matters for understanding the winning works: the Japan Kōgei Association’s own idea of “tradition.” The aims of the 73rd exhibition don’t frame traditional craft as imitating old things or keeping earlier techniques exactly as they were. They emphasise refining inherited techniques further while creating something new, suited to life today.

What is the Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition? How the seven categories divide [definition box]

The Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition is made up of seven categories with different materials and systems of making: ceramics, textiles, lacquer, metalwork, wood and bamboo, dolls, and other crafts. Even within one “craft,” the materials, processes, and points at which technical judgement matters differ greatly from category to category.

According to the Japan Kōgei Association, the Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition is an open call divided into seven categories, with selected works shown at venues across the country.
（Source：Open-call information, Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition | Japan Kōgei Association）

Set the seven categories side by side, and it becomes clear that seeing the Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition as “a show of Japanese-style works” doesn’t fit. Each field has different material properties, processes, histories, and problems of form, and they can’t be compared by a single measure alone.

On Important Intangible Cultural Properties, the Agency for Cultural Affairs explains that the state designates the most important among skills (waza) of high historical or artistic value as Important Intangible Cultural Properties, and certifies the individuals or groups who embody and command those skills to a high degree as holders or holding groups. Among these, individually certified holders are commonly known as “Living National Treasures.”
（Source：Intangible cultural properties | Agency for Cultural Affairs）

In 2026, what kind of works were recognised in each category? [comparison table]

At the 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition, sixteen prize-winning works were announced on 15 August 2026. The top honour, the Japan Kōgei Association President’s Prize, went to Toshie Ōki’s bamboo flower basket Tōsei.

Looking at the list of winners, works were chosen from different material systems—bamboo, lacquer, silk, cotton, ceramic and porcelain, metal, wood, dolls, cloisonné, inkstone. First, here are the sixteen officially announced works.
（Source：73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition: list of prize-winning works | Japan Kōgei Association）

The “what to look for” column in this table isn’t a summary of official jury reasoning. It gathers points worth attending to when viewing, based on the work titles, the maker’s category, and past works and technique information verifiable through the Japan Kōgei Association.

Ceramics

In ceramics, Shūsaku Ichino’s ash-glazed coloured bowl “Oboro” received the Tokyo Governor’s Prize,

Even within a single category such as ceramics, it helps to separate form and surface when comparing the three works.

For the ash-glazed coloured bowl “Oboro,” the title suggests one useful starting point: the relationship between the ash glaze, colour, and the bowl’s form. For the bluish-white porcelain carved flower vessel “Ryūkei–2026–,” meanwhile, you can look closely at seihakuji’s pale tone, the relief of the carved decoration, and the shadow when light falls across it.

Hiroshi Nakata can be confirmed through the Japan Kōgei Association’s official maker information as a full member in ceramics, and has continued to show ceramic works titled “Shinju kōsai” (pearl lustre). That said, it’s best not to infer the specific making technique of “Momotamana” from the title alone; it should be confirmed at the venue caption or in the catalogue.
（Source：Hiroshi Nakata, list of works | Japan Kōgei Association）

In ceramics, what matters isn’t only “is the glaze beautiful,” but how form, firing, glaze quality, and surface are integrated into a single work.

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Textiles

In textiles, Ei Miyairi’s ukiori raw-silk kimono “Tree Rain” received the MEXT Minister’s Prize,

These four works are easier to compare if you ask at what stage of the process the pattern is created.

Ukiori produces variation on the surface through the weave structure itself. In Kokura stripe, the arrangement and colour of thread make the stripes; in Edo komon, the fine, repeated stencil-dyeing matters. In Kurume-gasuri, weaving pre-dyed threads brings the pattern into view.

In other words, even what looks like the same “pattern” isn’t drawn onto the surface afterwards. Where the image is made—at the thread stage, the dyeing stage, or the weaving stage—lies at the heart of each technique.

Ei Miyairi can be confirmed through the Japan Kōgei Association as a maker in textiles who has continued to show ukiori raw-silk kimono.
（Source：Ei Miyairi, list of works | Japan Kōgei Association）

Lacquer

In lacquer, Yasunori Sudō’s Aizu keshifun maki-e lacquer box “Wind Crossing the Valley” received the Prince Takamatsu Memorial Prize,

Though both are lacquer, these two works are a way into seeing the difference between treating lacquer as surface decoration and as a material in its own right.

Keshifun maki-e is a maki-e technique that uses fine metal powder over patterns drawn in lacquer. Tsuishitsu, by contrast, takes the thick layer built up by repeated lacquer coats as the object to be worked.

Masakazu Ishihara can be confirmed through the Japan Kōgei Association as belonging to lacquer, and has consistently produced works combining tsuishitsu and inlay, such as “Tsuishitsu inlay layered box.”
（Source：Masakazu Ishihara, list of works | Japan Kōgei Association）

In lacquer, rather than seeing only “colour” such as gold or black, understanding deepens when you look at how the surface is made through layering, grinding, polishing, and decoration.

Metalwork

In metalwork, Kōdō Murakami’s inlaid flower vessel “Canal in Dusk Colours” received the Japan Kōgei Association Chairman’s Prize.

Inlay (zōgan) is a technique of setting a different material into a base metal to create pattern, colour, and variation across the surface.

In metalwork, colour isn’t necessarily “painted on” like pigment. Visual difference is produced through the colours of the different metals themselves, surface treatment, colouring, and polishing. So when looking at “Canal in Dusk Colours,” rather than taking in colour alone, it’s worth confirming where that colour arises, and how the boundaries of the planes are made.

Metalwork handles hard materials, but in the finished work the physical force and technical difficulty involved in making can disappear from the finished appearance, leaving what reads as a quiet plane. The distance between that “force of process” and “stillness of the finished form” is one of the interesting things about contemporary metalwork.

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Overseas museums are drawn to contemporary Japanese metalwork not only for the precision of the hammer work, but for the artistic vision that keeps renewing alloy, color, surface, and form.When you look into Japanese metal artists or contemporary metalwork, what you usually find is fragmented information: a Living National Treasure's biography, a basic explanation of a technique, an exhibition announcement — with little sense of what is actually being valued overseas.In recent years, U.S...

Wood and bamboo

In wood and bamboo, Toshie Ōki’s flower basket “Tōsei” received the Japan Kōgei Association President’s Prize,

Even within wood and bamboo, Ōki’s flower basket and the woodwork of Hayashi and Kawaguchi differ greatly in how their forms are constructed.

In the bamboo flower basket, the repetition, curve, and crossing of the linear material, and the voids (kūgeki) themselves, make the form. The “empty parts” inside are also part of the three-dimensional structure. In the zelkova boxes and serving vessel, by contrast, grain, plane, thickness, ridge lines, and how the surface reads through wiped lacquer (fuki-urushi) matter.

When looking at wood and bamboo, what matters isn’t only how extensively the material has been manipulated, but how the maker incorporates the material’s inherent properties—such as grain and the directional character of bamboo—into the form.

Even at the stage of viewing the official work images, “Tōsei” holds together through a gathering of lines and an interior space, while in “Ceaseless Change” and “Hanshō” the planes and mass of the wood are large visual elements—giving a sense of the range within a single category.

Dolls

In the dolls category, Ritsuko Noda’s wood-core paulownia-paste, cloth- and washi-covered “Rhythm” received the Japan Kōgei Association Encouragement Prize.

Wood-core tōso is a doll technique that models with paulownia paste (using paulownia powder and the like) over a core of wood or similar. This work’s title also carries “cloth- and washi-covered,” showing that not only the three-dimensional form but the materials making up the surface matter.

Noda can be confirmed through the Japan Kōgei Association as belonging to the dolls category, continuing to make works using wood-core tōso and paper-covering.
（Source：Ritsuko Noda, list of works | Japan Kōgei Association）

With doll works, the eye tends to go to the face, but the body’s centre of gravity, the direction of the limbs, the flow of clothing and surface material, and the distance to the base matter too. Given the title “Rhythm,” this is a work where you’d want to confirm at the venue not just the figure’s momentary pose but the sense of movement created by the figure as a whole.

Other crafts

In other crafts, Reiko Andō’s cloisonné lidded vessel “Drift Ice” received the Japan Kōgei Association Encouragement Prize,

Thinking of other crafts as “miscellaneous crafts” misses the specialism of this category. Between cloisonné and inkstone, the materials, the making processes, and what to look for in the finished work all differ greatly.

Reiko Andō belongs to other crafts in the Japan Kōgei Association, and has shown wired cloisonné (yūsen shippō) and cloisonné vessels. Because cloisonné works through a metal body and glassy glaze, what matters visually is not only the surface gloss and colour but how the metal and glassy layers make a single plane.
（Source：Reiko Andō, list of works | Japan Kōgei Association）

Ichihime Nakamura also belongs to other crafts in the Japan Kōgei Association, and has continued to show inkstone works such as “Kyūjō-ken,” “Tōka-ken,” and “Kayō-ken.” With “Biwa inkstone,” it’s worth attending to how the form of an object with the function of an inkstone connects with the sculptural quality of the form itself.
（Source：Ichihime Nakamura, list of works | Japan Kōgei Association）

What trends in technique and material appeared in 2026?

From the sixteen prize works of the 73rd exhibition alone, you can’t assert a single trend that “2026 craft moved in this direction.” Even so, reading across the official work images, titles, techniques, and makers’ histories, a few recurring questions do emerge that are useful when viewing the works.

The first is the difference between showing the material as it is and greatly transforming its impression.

In wood and bamboo, the material’s own properties—the line of bamboo, the grain of zelkova—remain visible. By contrast, in tsuishitsu that layers lacquer, inlay that sets one metal into another, and kasuri that makes pattern from thread placement, layering several processes onto the material creates an expression different from the starting point.

The second is that works that visibly foreground technical virtuosity and works in which technique dissolves into the finished form exist side by side.

Explanations of craft tend toward the order “because the technique is very difficult, the work is excellent.” But difficulty of making isn’t the same as a work’s value. Some works strongly visualise a complex process; others converge into a plane so quiet that technical complexity is barely felt.

The third is that names indicating use—bowl, box, kimono, obi, flower vessel, serving vessel, lidded vessel, inkstone—remain in many of the winning works today.

Still, the presence of a use-name doesn’t mean the work should be seen only for its “usability” as an everyday object. Among the works at the Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition are those that keep the structure of a vessel while pursuing form deeply as art craft.

Rather than an either/or of usable or not usable, it’s easier to read across the 73rd exhibition’s works by asking how strongly the object’s original function remains legible in its form.

Note that this article analyses mainly the official materials and work images released before the Tokyo showing opens. In the actual works, there is information images can’t convey—size, gloss, three-dimensionality, the finish of details. After seeing them in person, it’s worth allowing that the impression may differ from this preliminary analysis based on published images.

Five viewing points to keep in mind at the venue [checklist]

If you stand before a winning work and feel “I don’t know what’s impressive about it,” there’s no need to worry about a lack of knowledge. Looking in the order material, technique, size, surface, and overall structure makes it easier to organise a work’s information.

If you have time to spare, don’t end your viewing with the winning works—go on to see other selected works shown in the same category.

Even within ceramics, some foreground glaze, while others foreground form. Even within textiles, some make pattern through dyeing and others make it from the weave structure. Even within wood and bamboo, bamboo work that builds up line and woodwork that handles the plane and grain of wood proceed from different thinking.

Rather than seeing a winning work as “the answer,” see it as one possible response to the same material and technical tradition. Do that, and the whole Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition becomes interesting as a place of comparison.

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When you decide to start learning the tea ceremony or simply want to enjoy matcha at home, one of the first questions that comes up is: Which matcha bowl should I buy? With so many regions, styles, and price points, choosing your first bowl can feel overwhelming.However, prioritizing practical usability makes the process much easier.This article outlines the basics of selecting your first bowl for tea ceremony beginners and international fans of Japanese culture.For your first matcha bowl, pr...

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Here we organise the points worth checking when researching the winning works or the venues of the 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition 2026.

When and where is the 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition held?

The Tokyo showing is scheduled from Wednesday 2 September to Tuesday 15 September 2026, in the event hall on the 7th floor of the main building of Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi. Opening hours are 10:00 to 19:00, and admission to the Tokyo showing is free.
（Source：The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition）

Who won the top prize at the 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition 2026?

The Japan Kōgei Association President’s Prize went to Toshie Ōki’s flower basket “Tōsei.” It can be confirmed in the list of prize-winning works the Japan Kōgei Association announced on 15 August 2026.
（Source：73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition: list of prize-winning works | Japan Kōgei Association）

How many categories does the 73rd exhibition have?

Seven: ceramics, textiles, lacquer, metalwork, wood and bamboo, dolls, and other crafts. The Japan Kōgei Association holds an annual open call divided into these seven categories.
（Source：Open-call information, Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition | Japan Kōgei Association）

What trends are there in the 2026 winning works?

It would be misleading to reduce the sixteen winners to a single trend, but they include both works that draw on the material’s inherent properties and works that greatly transform the material through processes such as layering, inlay, and weaving-dyeing. The relation between use-indicating forms—bowl, box, kimono, obi, flower vessel, serving vessel, lidded vessel, inkstone—and sculptural expression is also an important axis of comparison. This is Kogei Japonica’s analysis of the works, and doesn’t represent an official jury summary.

What was recognised in the winning works?

The Japan Kōgei Association’s list of winners gives the prize, maker, title, and image, but individual jury reasoning hasn’t been published for every winning work. So for works where official jury reasoning can’t be confirmed, it’s best to avoid asserting from the outside that “this technique was recognised.” This article analyses the works as viewing points for material, technique, and form.

What is a Living National Treasure?

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the state designates important intangible cultural properties as Important Intangible Cultural Properties, and certifies the individuals or groups who embody and command those skills to a high degree as holders or holding groups. Among these, individually certified holders are commonly known as “Living National Treasures.”
（Source：Intangible cultural properties | Agency for Cultural Affairs）

Are the “Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition” and “Traditional Craft Products” the same system?

They aren’t the same. The Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition is an open-call exhibition organised by the Japan Kōgei Association and others. “Traditional Craft Products,” by contrast, is a designation system based on law; despite the similar names, they are institutionally separate.

Can the winning works be purchased?

Winning a prize and a work being for sale are separate matters. Whether a work is for sale, its price, and where it’s handled differ by work, so check the venue’s sales information, official maker information, and handling galleries. You can’t tell from the prize information alone whether a work is available for purchase.

Can the 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition be seen outside Tokyo?

Yes. After Tokyo, the 73rd exhibition for 2026 is scheduled to tour Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Miyagi, Ishikawa, Okayama, Shimane, Kagawa, Fukuoka, and Hiroshima. Dates, venues, admission, and closed days differ by venue, so check the official page before visiting.
（Source：73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition: schedule | Japan Kōgei Association）

Set the sixteen winning works of the 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition 2026 side by side, and it becomes clear how inadequate the single label “traditional craft” is for describing them all.

There are works that make space from the line of bamboo, and works that draw on the plane and grain of wood. Works that make pattern from thread arrangement, and works that set one metal into another. There are ways of decorating lacquer on the surface, and ways of treating the layering of lacquer itself as material.

The interest of viewing the Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition isn’t confirming that “traditional craft has forms like this,” but being able to compare how differently makers working within the same technical tradition have arrived at their works.

See the winning works first, then the selected works in the same category. And compare how, even with the same material, the relation of form, surface, light, and use differs.

Widen your view that far, and the 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition shifts from “a show for seeing advanced technique” to a show for seeing what today’s makers choose to preserve, reinterpret, and renew.

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Support for Japanese Craft Artists & Artisans

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Kogei Japonica supports craft artists, artisans, craftspeople, and studios through profile and portfolio features, product sales, market development, editorial coverage, and connections with buyers, media, and businesses.

The post Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition 2026: 16 Prize Works first appeared on Kogei Japonica.

But you don’t need to memorise anything before you go. Just keeping seven simple points in mind—material → form → surface → technique → light → sides and edges → maker information—makes the differences between works far easier to see.

And in autumn 2026, exhibitions across Japan give you the chance to try that way of looking with real works, in person. On September 2, “The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition” opens at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi in Tokyo, then tours the country through March 2027. On September 6, the Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art opens an exhibition on three ceramic artists—Ezaki Issei, Kamoda Shōji, and Mori Tōgaku.

This article does more than explain “how to look at crafts.” It connects that method to which exhibitions you can actually visit in autumn 2026, and what to look at once you’re there, in concrete terms.

Autumn 2026: which craft exhibitions can you visit? Four to know first

Autumn 2026 brings a run of exhibitions that let you approach crafts from different angles—from a broad open-submission show, to a focused ceramics exhibition, to displays centred on pattern and design. If it’s your first craft exhibition, one approach is to choose the show by what you want to practise looking at.

Exhibition dates, opening hours, and closed days are subject to change. Always check the latest information from each venue or organiser before you visit.

The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition | For those who want to compare different materials at once

The exhibition where the seven steps in this article are easiest to put into practice is “The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition,” which opens on September 2, 2026.

Officially, it is organised into seven fields: ceramics, textiles, lacquerware, metalwork, wood and bamboo work, dolls, and miscellaneous crafts. In other words, a single venue lets you look across different materials, techniques, and forms.

The Tokyo showing is scheduled for Wednesday, September 2 to Tuesday, September 15, 2026, in the event hall on the 7th floor of the main building at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, open 10:00 to 19:00, with free admission. After Tokyo, it travels to Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Miyagi, Ishikawa, Okayama, Shimane, Kagawa, Fukuoka, and Hiroshima.
(Reference: The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition | The Japan Kōgei Association)

The nationwide touring schedule for The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition

Admission fees and opening hours differ by venue. Tokyo, Miyagi, and Fukuoka are free according to official information, but some touring venues charge admission. Be sure to check the details for the venue you plan to visit.
(Reference: The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition Schedule | The Japan Kōgei Association)

The prospectus for the 73rd exhibition also lists associated events such as commentary on the displayed works and a “traditional crafts children’s viewing course.” Check the latest information for specific dates and participating venues before taking part.
(Reference: The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition Prospectus | The Japan Kōgei Association)

Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art | Seeing what changes from one ceramic artist to another

If you want to look at ceramics a little more closely, another exhibition worth seeing is “Ezaki Issei, Kamoda Shōji, Mori Tōgaku, 1969–71: Crossings of Ceramics in Transformation,” scheduled for Sunday, September 6 to Sunday, November 29, 2026 at the Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art.

According to the museum, the exhibition looks back on a three-person show held from 1969 to 1971 at Gallery Te in the Kotsu Kaikan building in Yūrakuchō, Tokyo, centring on the works shown at that time.
(Reference: Annual Schedule | Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art)

What to try here is not to lump everything together as “this is what ceramics is,” but to see how differently artists who all work with clay and firing approach form, surface, colour, and the material itself.

If a general craft exhibition is a place to compare different materials side by side, a focused exhibition like this can be thought of as a place to look more closely at a single material. That makes choosing which craft exhibition to attend easier, too.

National Crafts Museum, “Wonderful Patterns²” | Practising how to look, with pattern as the way in

Until Wednesday, September 23, 2026 (a national holiday), the National Crafts Museum in Kanazawa, Ishikawa is holding “Independent Study for Kids and Grown-Ups: Wonderful Patterns².” It runs from July 3 to September 23.
(Reference: Independent Study for Kids and Grown-Ups: Wonderful Patterns² | National Crafts Museum)

Pattern is an approachable starting point for beginners, but you don’t have to look only at what is depicted.

How the same pattern repeats. How the look of a line changes with the material. How a pattern placed on a curved, three-dimensional surface reads differently from the front than from the side.

This exhibition is also a good place to practise the “form → surface → light” approach introduced here.

National Crafts Museum, “Design Chronicle” | Seeing the era, not just the object

From Friday, October 9, 2026 to Monday, January 11, 2027 (a national holiday), the National Crafts Museum will hold “Design Chronicle: What Was Born, What Changed?”
(Reference: Design Chronicle: What Was Born, What Changed? | National Crafts Museum)

When you look at crafts, focusing only on material and technique can leave your viewing stuck at “how it was made.” But works and designs are also connected to the daily life, industry, and values of the era in which they were made.

Here, if you extend the “maker information” at the end of the seven steps a little further and ask “why was this form or material needed in this era?”, another way of seeing opens up.

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9 Japanese Kogei Exhibitions to Visit from June 2026 Onward

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/events/kogei-exhibition-2026/

From June through autumn 2026, a wide range of craft exhibitions will open across Japan — regional juried shows, textile exhibitions, ceramics retrospectives, contemporary handicraft, and a touring exhibition that brings craft techniques into contact with one of the world's most recognized character IPs. This guide covers what is coming and organizes it so you can find what fits your interests and schedule.We have selected nine exhibitions and events opening from June 2026 onward, coveri...

Where should you start at a craft exhibition? The seven steps: “material → form → surface → technique → light → sides and edges → maker information”

If you lose track of what to look at during a craft exhibition, try using the order material → form → surface → technique → light → sides and edges → maker information as one guide.

This is not an official viewing method set by a museum or craft organisation. It is a viewing framework that Kogei Japonica has put together so that even beginners can notice more in a work.

What matters is not checking all seven items in order, but finding one question to ask about the work.

Why read the maker information later rather than first

There’s nothing wrong with learning the maker’s name or awards first. But setting that information aside for a moment changes the attention you bring to the work itself.

Rather than “I’m looking because the maker is famous,” you begin from “for some reason, this is the piece that made me stop.”

Maker information is not an “answer key.” Read it as something that adds another layer to your first observation and broadens your interpretation.

Steps 1–3 | How should you look at material, form, and surface?

In the first three steps, you begin with what you can see, before bringing in any specialist knowledge. Looking in the order of material, form, and surface makes it harder to stop at a vague “that’s nice.”

Material | Start by asking “what is it made of?”

Clay for ceramics, urushi (lacquer) for lacquerware, thread and cloth for textiles, metal for metalwork, wood and bamboo for wood and bamboo work—in crafts, the material itself is deeply tied to the expression.

You don’t need to know the material’s name. Feeling that something looks “hard,” “thin,” “heavy,” “soft,” or “highly reflective” is itself observation.

If you go to The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition, for example, try looking at ceramics and metalwork one after the other. Even when both are three-dimensional objects, clay and metal handle surface and light differently.

Looking at crafts is not a quiz about naming materials or techniques. First, it matters to pick up how they look to your own eyes.

Form | Looking at the relationship between use, the body, and shape

Next, check the overall form from a little distance.

Height, width, outline, thickness, centre of gravity, left-right balance. For a vessel, also look at how the mouth opens, the swell of the body, and the line running towards the base.

There’s no need to force an either/or between practical item and artwork here. A vessel intended for use can have a strong formal quality, and contemporary craft also includes works that cannot be explained by function alone.

What is the form for? Is there a relationship to the body? And beyond that function, what kind of shaping emerges? It’s important to look from several viewpoints.

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What is Japanese Traditional Craftsmanship? A Beginner's Guide to Unders...

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/crafts/kogei/

Craft is a field of "making" fusing technique and beauty, a traditional culture where skills and handwork cultivated through long history shine. Spanning pottery, woodworking, textiles, metalwork and more, it combines aspects of practical items close to daily life with artistic value.While times change, craft evolves while preserving its techniques and aesthetic sense, now incorporating new designs and uses. This article deeply explores craft's appeal and value, clearly explain...

Surface | Looking at glaze, maki-e, weave, hammer marks, and more

The surface is one of the richest sources of information in a craft object.

In ceramics you begin to see glaze (yūyaku) and the clay’s texture; in lacquerware, the coating and decoration (kashoku) such as maki-e (sprinkled-metal decoration); in textiles, thread and dyeing; in metalwork, hammer marks (tsuchime), carving, and colouring.

• Smooth, or uneven
• Uniform, or full of variation
• Glossy, or holding the light back
• Whether traces of making remain
• Whether the impression changes up close versus far away

What matters here is not to assume that the more precise and uniform something is, the higher its value.

Some works deliberately leave the traces of material and process—shaving marks, hammer marks, the movement of glaze, the waver of the fibres. Your looking deepens when you consider not how fine it is, but why this surface.

Steps 4–5 | How should you look at technique and light?

When looking at technique, what matters is not memorising names but working backwards from the finished piece to ask how it was made. And looking at light makes differences in surface and structure even easier to see.

Looking for traces of technique | Thinking in What, How, and Why

As you look at a work, try thinking in these three stages.

• What: what is it made of
• How: how is it made
• Why: why were this material, technique, and form chosen

In ceramics, you might consider the traces of shaping on the wheel, or brush marks (hakeme); in textiles, the arrangement of warp (tate-ito) and weft (yoko-ito); in metalwork, processes such as casting, hammering, carving, and colouring.

The Japan Kōgei Association introduces casting (chūkin), hammering (tankin), and chasing (chōkin) as major metalwork techniques.
(Reference: Metalwork | The Japan Kōgei Association)

That said, technical difficulty is not the same thing as the overall quality or value of a work.

What matters is seeing how technique connects with material, form, and expression.

Looking at light | The impression changes with where you stand

The gloss of glaze, the surface of urushi, the reflection of metal, the transmission of light through glass, the shading of woven cloth—all change with the light.

Without touching the work or the display case, change your position slightly within the normal viewing area.

A surface that looked uniform from the front may reveal unevenness, or the reflection off lacquer or metal may change.

The art appreciation education introduced by the National Center for Art Research also presents a focus on formal elements such as form and colour, material and light.
(Reference: Training for Instructors to Enhance Appreciation Education Using Art Museums | National Center for Art Research)

Steps 6–7 | How much should you look at the sides, edges, and maker information?

A craft work is not always complete when seen from the front alone. Within what’s visible from a normal viewing position, look at the sides, the rim, and the form running towards the base. When you then read the maker information, new details are added to your first observation.

Why look at the foot ring, the sides, and the finish

For a vessel, the form continuing to the foot ring (kōdai) and the mouth rim (kōen); for a three-dimensional piece, the sides and joins; for textiles, the edges and the overall finish—all hold clues to understanding the work.

That said, there’s no need to lean over the display stand or press extremely close to the case to see the underside. The basic rule is to look only at what you can safely check from a normal viewing position.

Even looking at a single foot ring, rather than judging whether the form is good or bad, it helps to look at its relationship to the work as a whole—how the shaping connects from the body to the base.

Maker information broadens interpretation; it is not the “answer” to your observation

Here you check the maker’s name, the title, the material, the technique, the year, and the background of making.

It doesn’t matter if it differs from your own guess.

If you find that what you thought was metal was another material, or that a pattern you thought was accidental came from a specific process, return to the work and look again.

Look → question → learn → look again.

Once you can move back and forth like this, a craft exhibition changes from mere information-gathering into your own experience of looking.

Can you enjoy a craft exhibition without knowing the titles or the makers’ names?

The short answer is yes, more than enough. Especially while you’re a beginner, rather than trying to understand everything, try aiming to take home one discovery about one work.

At an exhibition with several fields side by side, like The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition, the number of works on display is large, too.

At times like that, after going around the venue once,

“If I had to choose just one today, which would it be?”

is a good question to ask yourself.

It doesn’t have to be the most famous work.

“Because it’s beautiful” is fine, so is “because it caught my attention even though I don’t quite understand it,” or “because I wondered how it would look in my own home.”

It’s fine if you can’t do all of them. If there was even one moment when you thought “why is that?”, your viewing has already begun.

Common questions about your first craft exhibition | FAQ

Q1. If I’m going to my first craft exhibition in autumn 2026, which one do you recommend?

If you want to compare a range of crafts at once, The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition is a clear option. You can look across ceramics, textiles, lacquerware, metalwork, wood and bamboo work, dolls, and miscellaneous crafts.

Q2. Can I see The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition outside Tokyo?

Yes. After the Tokyo showing in September 2026, it tours Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Miyagi, Ishikawa, Okayama, and Shimane, and is scheduled for Kagawa, Fukuoka, and Hiroshima in 2027. Dates, fees, and opening hours differ by venue.

Q3. Where should I start at a craft exhibition?

If you’re unsure, try starting with material, form, and surface, then look at technique, light, and the sides and edges, and finally read the maker information.

Q4. Can I enjoy it without knowing the titles or the makers’ names?

Yes. One effective approach is to first note what drew you in, and only then learn about the maker and technique.

Q5. Is it better not to read the caption first?

There’s no rule. But if you’re unsure what to look at, try looking at the work alone first, then reading the caption, then looking at the work again—this makes it easier to connect your observation with the information.

Q6. Can I take photographs?

Whether photography is allowed differs by exhibition, venue, and work. There may be no-photography rules or limits on flash and video, so check the on-site signage and the organiser’s latest information.

Q7. Can I enjoy a craft exhibition with children?

Form, colour, pattern, and material can be observed without specialist knowledge. The prospectus for The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition also lists a “traditional crafts children’s viewing course” among its associated events. Check the latest official announcement for specific dates and venues.

Q8. About how many minutes should I look at one work?

There’s no set time. Rather than time, prioritise finding one thing that caught your attention.

Q9. Do I need to know the names of techniques to understand the work?

No. Wondering how something was made and looking up the technique afterwards is itself part of appreciating crafts.

Q10. How can I tell whether a craft work is “good”?

It can’t be judged by a single standard. Beyond the precision of the technique, you need to look from several viewpoints—material, form, technique, use, expression, and the background of making. Start by putting into words what drew you in.

Conclusion | This autumn 2026, put your eye to the test at a craft exhibition

When you’re unsure how to look at a craft exhibition, try using the seven viewpoints—material → form → surface → technique → light → sides and edges → maker information—as one guide.

And autumn 2026 brings a run of chances to put this approach into practice, in front of the works themselves.

• To compare different craft fields: “The 73rd Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition”
• To compare ceramics closely: Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art, “Ezaki Issei, Kamoda Shōji, Mori Tōgaku, 1969–71: Crossings of Ceramics in Transformation”
• To look with pattern as the way in: National Crafts Museum, “Wonderful Patterns²”
• To think about the relationship between works, era, and design: “Design Chronicle”

Learning to look at craft is not something you master all at once by memorising terms.

You stop at a single work and ask a question: “why this material?” “why this form?” “why does the light fall differently only here?” From that question, you look into the technique or the maker, and look at the work again.

At Kogei Japonica, rather than reducing craft to a visual shorthand for “Japan” or a tourist attraction, we present it as a culture where material, technique, form, and the maker’s decisions intersect.

If you’d like to find more upcoming craft exhibitions, see our 2026 craft exhibition guide as well.

en.kogei-japonica.com/media

9 Japanese Kogei Exhibitions to Visit from June 2026 Onward

https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/events/kogei-exhibition-2026/

From June through autumn 2026, a wide range of craft exhibitions will open across Japan — regional juried shows, textile exhibitions, ceramics retrospectives, contemporary handicraft, and a touring exhibition that brings craft techniques into contact with one of the world's most recognized character IPs. This guide covers what is coming and organizes it so you can find what fits your interests and schedule.We have selected nine exhibitions and events opening from June 2026 onward, coveri...

Please note that the exhibition information in this article is organised from official information available as of August 17, 2026. Dates, opening hours, closed days, fees, and related events are subject to change. Always check the latest information from each organiser or venue before you visit.

The post How to Appreciate Japanese Crafts: A 7-Step Viewing Guide first appeared on Kogei Japonica.

That understanding is not wrong. But to grasp Gallé’s work through glass alone is to lose sight of his ceramics and wooden furniture, and of the Gallé firm that linked several production sites and their artisans.

From around age seventeen, in 1863, Gallé helped with his father’s business and began designing pottery. Ceramics came earlier than the glasswork that would later establish his international reputation, placing it close to the starting point of his work as a maker.

From July 11 to September 23, 2026, the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum is holding the special exhibition “Gallé’s Ceramics II: A World of Fantasy and Invention.” Taking this exhibition as its starting point, this article sets out the difference between Gallé’s ceramics and his glass, how Japonisme appears in his work, the production structure of the Gallé firm, and the background to the decline of his ceramics activity.

Émile Gallé Was Also a Ceramicist — Where Did That Work Begin?

Émile Gallé (1846–1904) was involved in designing pottery before he earned his reputation as a glass artist, and he went on to work across ceramics, glass, and wooden furniture.

Gallé’s father, Charles, ran a business in fine ceramics and glassware based in Nancy. He did not, however, manufacture everything in-house from start to finish. According to the Suntory Museum of Art’s official account, Charles commissioned production from manufactories in various places and finished the results as his own products.

Gallé began helping with his father’s business in 1863, designing pottery, and in 1866–67 he studied glassmaking at Meisenthal. So rather than a simple sequence in which he finished with ceramics before moving fully to glass, it is more accurate to think that for a certain period he explored several materials in parallel.
(Source: In Special Cooperation with the Musée d’Orsay: Émile Gallé, 170th Anniversary — Exhibition Structure｜Suntory Museum of Art)

It is also not accurate to assume that, for works bearing Gallé’s name, he personally handled everything from preparing the raw materials to forming, firing, decoration, and finishing. They need to be understood as including, alongside Gallé’s own concept and design, the work of artisans involved in the firm and of outside manufactories.

Gallé’s ceramics are not simply “unusual pottery made by a glass artist.” Through their form, surface, coloring, and imagery, they are an important body of work in which you can trace the view of nature and the formal thinking that also carry through to his later glass and furniture.

Overview of “Gallé’s Ceramics II: A World of Fantasy and Invention” at the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum

The 2026 “Gallé’s Ceramics II” is an exhibition presenting around 120 works, different from those in the first installment held in 2020.

The exhibition presents such works as the cat figurines that were a long-selling item for the Gallé firm, works quoting the Hokusai Manga, and pieces entered in the world’s fairs. The Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum’s official web page states “around 120 works,” while the official press materials state “121 works,” so this article uses “around 120 works.”

Admission is free for high school students and younger on July 11 and 18, and August 29 and September 5, 12, and 19. There is also a free-admission period for those aged 70 and over from September 15 to 21. Check the official information before your visit for the conditions attached to free admission and discounts.

On September 20, during the exhibition, a cross-talk titled “Nancy and Its Surroundings: From the Site of Gallé’s Ceramic Production” is planned, between a Gallé researcher and the curator in charge. For anyone who wants to know not only the works but Gallé’s base of activity and the background to his production, it is a related program worth watching for.
(Source: Special Exhibition “Gallé’s Ceramics II: A World of Fantasy and Invention”｜Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum)

Why Did the Image of “Gallé the Glass Artist” Become Fixed?

It is not that Gallé’s ceramics did not exist; rather, later exhibitions, holdings, circulation, and publications tended to present the glass works as representative, and this is thought to have strengthened the perception of “Gallé equals glass.”

Gallé entered ceramics, glass, and furniture in the world’s fairs and elsewhere, raising his international standing. Among these, the glass works, which drew on layers of light and color, made a strong visual impression, and later museum exhibitions and introductions to his work also treated them as central.

Still, it is not appropriate to explain this with a single reason — “because the glass won awards at the world’s fairs, the ceramics were forgotten.” The surviving state of the works, museums’ collecting policies, circulation in the market, the accumulation of research, and how easily something photographs and displays are all thought to relate to how the image of an artist forms.

As one example, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s public collection data, of 17 works under Émile Gallé’s name, 13 are registered as glass, 3 as ceramics, and 1 as a drawing or similar. This indicates the composition of the holdings at that museum; it is not a figure that proves the evaluation or surviving numbers worldwide. Even so, it serves as one example of Gallé’s glass being collected and presented more than his ceramics.
(Source: Works of Émile Gallé｜The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston)

How World’s Fairs and Media Shaped Gallé’s Image

When introducing a craftsman, media and search services tend to condense the person into a short title. Labels such as “ceramicist,” “glass artist,” or “textile artist” serve as a way in to understanding, but they can also narrow the full picture of a maker who worked across several materials or with a division of labor.

The fact that many exhibitions centered on Gallé’s glass works have been held is also thought to influence the general image of the artist. By contrast, the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum held an exhibition presenting around 90 ceramic works in 2020, and in 2026 planned a second installment with the works changed over.

These two exhibitions show that Gallé’s ceramics are not a one-off curiosity but have a breadth that can make up more than one special exhibition.
(Source: Gallé’s Ceramics: Fin-de-Siècle Brilliance — Insects, Plants, Japonisme｜Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum)

Gallé’s Ceramics and Glass — What Is the Difference?

In ceramics, opaque mass, vessel form, and the surface produced by glaze and coloring matter; in glass, transmitted light, reflected light, and layers of color become major elements of expression.

The difference between Gallé’s ceramics and glass is not simply whether the material is clay or glass. Even when he handles the same plants, insects, or waterside creatures, the way form and decoration are assembled changes with the material.

Faience is generally used as a term for glazed pottery, but the range of what the material label covers can differ by region and by holding institution. Rather than explaining all of Gallé’s ceramics with a single technique, it is important to check the material recorded on each work’s label.

The Musée d’Orsay explains that Gallé, up to the end of the 1880s, used aquatic motifs in decoration first in ceramics and then in glass. What matters is that he did not mechanically transfer the same design from ceramics to glass, but converted it into a form suited to each material.
(Source: Hand With Seaweed and Shells, Emile Gallé’s Artistic Testament｜Musée d’Orsay)

How Does Japonisme Appear in Gallé’s Ceramics?

Gallé’s Japonisme appears not only in Japanese-derived imagery but in how he frames nature, in asymmetrical composition, and in the relationship between vessel form and decoration.

Japonisme is a phenomenon in the later nineteenth-century West in which the imagery, composition, forms, and expression of nature of Japanese art were taken up and reconstructed into painting, ceramics, glass, furniture, and more.

At the 1867 Paris world’s fair, Gallé helped with his father Charles’s entries and stayed in Paris for about half a year. Many Japanese works of art and craft were presented at that fair. In 1871 he stayed in London and is said to have visited the South Kensington Museum — now the Victoria and Albert Museum — where he closely studied the Asian and Oriental holdings.
(Source: In Special Cooperation with the Musée d’Orsay: Émile Gallé, 170th Anniversary — Exhibition Structure｜Suntory Museum of Art)

That said, explaining Gallé’s Japonisme only as “imitating Japanese patterns” is not enough. There was a process of selecting the imagery he could obtain, re-placing it to suit the vessel’s curved surface and use, and combining it with French decorative culture and Gallé’s own observation of nature.

Analyzing Motifs in Specific Exhibited Works

The main works in the 2026 exhibition include “Bowl with Dragonfly Design,” “Plate with Fish Design,” “Jar with Landscape Design,” “Chrysanthemum-Form Flower Vessel,” “Bamboo-Form Planter,” and “Insect-Form Lidded Piece.”

The dragonfly, fish, chrysanthemum, bamboo, and insect are motifs that also appear repeatedly in Japanese art. But the mere fact that the same motif is used cannot establish all of it as a direct influence from Japanese art.

The title “Jar with Landscape Design,” for example, calls to mind a relationship with East Asian landscape expression, but the specific source referred to and any direct relationship with Japanese art need to be checked against the work’s description and the exhibition catalogue.

On the other hand, for works quoting the Hokusai Manga, their inclusion is announced in the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum’s official materials. At the venue, looking at which of Hokusai’s images were chosen and how they were reconstructed to suit the vessel’s curved surface and use brings Gallé’s editorial judgment — which is not mere imitation — into view.

Works are also on display whose direct relationship with Japanese art is not made explicit, such as the cat figurines that were a long-selling item for the Gallé firm. Rather than lumping everything together under Japonisme, it is important to read the imagery, form, and production background of each work separately.
(Source: Special Exhibition “Gallé’s Ceramics II: A World of Fantasy and Invention”｜Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum)

Glossary Box

Why Is Gallé Said to Have Withdrawn From Ceramics? — A Workshop-Management View

Gallé’s ceramics activity is said to have declined in the 1890s, but this article has not confirmed a primary source that would establish the reason as a single management decision.

The development of the glass division, demand for the ceramic works, relations with commissioned manufactories, and the allocation of technicians and equipment may all have played a part. But it cannot be stated as fact that “he stopped ceramics in order to concentrate management resources on glass.”

Looking at the confirmable work information, the three faience plates held by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston are given production dates of 1880–1892. That museum, meanwhile, holds several glass works from the 1890s onward. This is only one museum’s holdings, but it does give material for thinking about how, in Gallé’s production, glass came to weigh more heavily in his later years.
(Source: Works of Émile Gallé｜The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston)

The Business Logic of Concentrating on One Material

In craft businesses today, too, whether to maintain several materials or concentrate on a particular technique is an important management decision.

Concentrating on a single material has advantages: it is easier to deepen the technique, easier to consolidate capital investment, and easier to convey a brand image. On the other hand, work in other materials that an artist or workshop took on in the past can become hard to see, and later evaluation may become fixed on the representative material alone.

That the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum planned Gallé ceramics exhibitions twice, in 2020 and 2026, shows that his ceramics are a body of work worth reconsidering. But it cannot be concluded from those two showings alone that the reappraisal of the ceramics required a long time.

What matters for artists and workshops today is not that they must always work across several materials. It is to put into words whether their identity as makers lies in a particular material or technique, or in the design, view of nature, and story that remain across materials.

Those who present exhibitions and craft brands also need to avoid reducing a maker to their best-known product. Kogei Japonica welcomes inquiries about coverage and information dissemination in Japanese and English, regarding museum and gallery exhibitions, craft and brand management, and collaboration with artists and workshops.

Where, When, and What Can You See at “Gallé’s Ceramics II”?

The exhibition runs from July 11 to September 23, 2026, at the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture.

If you use public transport, the main starting points are Tomobe Station on the JR Jōban Line or Kasama Station on the JR Mito Line. The official guidance notes about 70 minutes by limited express from Ueno Station to Tomobe Station, then 40–60 minutes from Tomobe Station connecting via the Kasama sightseeing loop bus, or about 15 minutes by taxi.

From Kasama Station it is about 5 minutes by taxi, or you can use a route bus or the Kasama sightseeing loop bus. By car, it is about 10 minutes from the Tomobe interchange on the Kita-Kantō Expressway, or about 15 minutes from the Kasama-nishi interchange. For parking, you can use the 300 spaces at the north parking lot of Kasama Geijutsu-no-mori Park.

Bus times and connections may change, so check the official site for the latest information on the day of your visit.
(Source: Special Exhibition “Gallé’s Ceramics II” Access and Transport Guide｜Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum)

Five Things to Know Before Your Visit

• The exhibition runs from July 11 to September 23, 2026. Mondays are generally closed, but it is open on July 20 and September 21, and closed on July 21.
• Around 120 works are presented, different from the first installment in 2020. Even for those who saw the previous show, this is not simply a re-display.
• The highlights are the cat figurines, works quoting the Hokusai Manga, and world’s-fair entries. Try comparing the work titles, materials, who made them, and the sources of the imagery.
• A cross-talk on the background to the ceramic production is planned for September 20. Check the official guidance for how to take part and the capacity.
• The special-exhibition ticket admits you to all displays in the museum. Checking the dates of concurrent exhibitions too makes it easier to plan your visit.

At the venue, checking the following points, not only the rarity of the works, will sharpen your viewing.

• The material recorded on the work’s label
• The use — flower vase, bowl, lidded piece, figurine, and so on
• Glaze, coloring, gilding, and surface relief
• The modeling of the sides and back, not only the front
• The notation of artist, maker, firm, and holder
• Differences from works of the same type or similar works
• Specific explanations indicating a relationship with Japanese art

Summary and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Looking at Gallé’s ceramics shows that “Gallé equals glass artist” is not wrong — but that even a correct shorthand can leave important work unseen.

Gallé was involved in designing pottery from around age seventeen and worked across ceramics, glass, and furniture. His works come into being not through his handwork alone but through the firm, its artisans, and outside production sites.

With Japonisme, too, searching only for Japanese-derived imagery is not enough. You need to look at how nature is framed, at composition, at the relationship between vessel form and decoration, and at how the imagery he referred to was reconstructed.

FAQ

Q1. Gallé is famous as a glass artist, but did he also work in ceramics?

Yes. Gallé began helping with his father’s business in 1863 and started designing pottery around age seventeen. He then developed ceramics and glass in parallel for a certain period.

Q2. How does “Gallé’s Ceramics II” differ from the 2020 exhibition?

It is a second installment presenting around 120 works different from those in the first installment in 2020. Highlights include the cat figurines, works quoting the Hokusai Manga, and world’s-fair entries.

Q3. Where in Japan can Gallé’s ceramics be seen?

In 2026, around 120 works can be seen together at the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum’s special exhibition. Whether there is a permanent display differs by museum and by period, so check each museum’s official information before visiting.

Q4. Which are more expensive, Gallé’s ceramics or his glass?

It cannot be judged uniformly. Price varies by period of making, material, technique, condition, provenance, rarity, signature, and route of sale. To compare specific market rates, you need to examine auction results from the same period, separated into ceramics and glass.

Q5. What influence of Japanese art is there in Gallé’s ceramics?

The official materials present works quoting the Hokusai Manga. Beyond the imagery, look also at asymmetrical composition, how nature is framed, and the relationship between vessel form and decoration.

Q6. Why did Gallé withdraw from ceramics?

His ceramics activity is said to have declined in the 1890s, but this article has not confirmed a primary source that would pin down a single reason. The development of the glass division and the production structure may have played a part, but declaring it a concentration of management resources should be avoided.

Q7. What are the admission fees and closed days for “Gallé’s Ceramics II”?

General admission is ¥950. Mondays are generally closed, but it is open on July 20 and September 21, and closed on July 21. For the latest information, including free days and discount schemes, check the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum’s official page.

(Source: Special Exhibition “Gallé’s Ceramics II: A World of Fantasy and Invention”｜Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum)

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