The gold, silver, and bronze medals each measured 80 mm in diameter and 9.7 mm in thickness. The gold medals weighed 256 g, the silver 250 g, and the bronze 230 g. The medals were made using a traditional Japanese lacquerware technique known as , in which a brass core is imprinted with the design by layering gold powder onto the wet lacquer using a method called maki-e. On the front of the medals are borders of olive leaves, and in the center, a "maki-e" morning sun rises over a cloisonné emblem of the Nagano Olympics. On the reverse side, the snowflower emblem of the Games sits above a "maki-e" image of the mountains surrounding Nagano glowing in the morning sunrise. The initial lacquering was handcrafted by artisans from the region of Kiso, Nagano, and the medals were completed at the Mint Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Finance.