A. A hanging scroll suffers if it is shut away and it suffers if it is left out. Take it out from time to time, hang it, and put it away again in good measure. How long to leave it up cannot be laid down as a rule, but a season at the outside is about right. Changing the scroll with the season is good both for the work and for the sense of the year turning.

Keep it out of direct sunlight. It suffers from damp too, so it is better not to hang one through the rainy season (and better to avoid a humid day when you put it away). In summer, insect droppings will damage it, so avoid a room that insects get into.

Where you store it need not be fussed over. Away from damp, at ordinary room temperature, it will be fine. Damp rises, so near the floor is not the place; the upper shelf of a cupboard is better.

Only take care not to shut it away and forget it. We would recommend bringing it out once a year for mushiboshi, an airing (but never air it in direct sunlight).

It matters greatly, both for the keeping of the work and for its value, that it sits in a proper box. Take care that box and contents do not become separated. Where there is thin paper in the box, it is sometimes said the scroll should be wrapped in it; our own view is that it is well enough for carrying, but that in storage the paper draws damp and is better left off.

We often see people using naphthalene or another chemical repellent. Please never do this: it causes staining instead. Shops selling incense carry something called bochuko, an insect-repelling incense. If you are going to use anything, that is the one said to suit painting and calligraphy.