Learn Hardcore Japanese: hondana no itibanue ni kazoku no syasin ga kazatte arimasu. - Family photos are displayed on the very top of the bookshelf.

の is linking 本棚 (bookshelf) and 一番上 (top / very top) in a possessive or “of” relationship.
So 本棚の一番上 literally means “the very top of the bookshelf.”

In English we usually say “the top shelf of the bookcase” or “the top of the bookcase”; in Japanese this kind of “of” relationship is very often expressed with A の B.

Why is に used after 一番上 (一番上に) and not で?

Here 一番上に marks the location where something exists / is placed.

に is used with verbs of existence / placement (ある, いる, 置いてある, 飾ってある, etc.):
- 本棚の一番上に写真があります。 – There is a photo on the top of the bookshelf.
で marks where an action happens:
- 本棚の一番上で写真を飾りました。 – I decorated (something) on the very top of the bookshelf.

Since 飾ってあります describes a state of being placed / displayed, not the action of decorating itself, に is correct.

Why is が used after 写真 (写真が) and not は?

が marks 写真 as the grammatical subject and often introduces new or focused information.

家族の写真が飾ってあります。
It is a family photo that is displayed (there).

If you use は, you are making 写真 the topic, something already known or established:

家族の写真は本棚の一番上に飾ってあります。
As for the family photo, it is displayed on the top of the bookshelf.

Both are grammatically OK, but:

が: “What is on the top of the bookshelf?” → A family photo (is).
は: “About the family photo we’ve been talking about…” → “It’s on the top of the bookshelf.”

What exactly does 飾ってあります mean grammatically?

飾ってあります is:

飾る (to decorate, display) → 飾って (te-form)
plus ある (to exist for inanimate things) in its polite form あります

The pattern 〜てある expresses:

A resulting state that exists
As the result of someone’s intentional action

So 家族の写真が飾ってあります literally means:
“The family photo exists in a displayed/decorated state (because someone has put it there on purpose).”

Natural English equivalents:
“A family photo has been put on display” / “is (neatly) displayed there.”

How is 飾ってあります different from 飾っています?

Both describe something that is “displayed,” but the nuance is different:

飾っています (〜ている form)
- Focuses on the current state / ongoing condition
- Roughly: “is (being) displayed / is up”
飾ってあります (〜てある form)
- Emphasizes that someone deliberately put it there, and now that resulting state remains
- Roughly: “has been (deliberately) put on display and is there now”

In many everyday situations both can be understood similarly, but 飾ってあります more strongly suggests intentional arrangement as a completed action with a result that still holds.

Why is it あります and not います with 写真?

Japanese uses two different verbs for “there is / to exist”:

ある for inanimate things: objects, buildings, events, plants, etc.
いる for animate beings: people, animals, some personified characters

A photo (写真) is an inanimate object, so ある → あります is used.
That’s why you get 飾ってあります and not 飾っています with いる in this pattern.

What is the dictionary form and meaning of 飾って?

The dictionary form is 飾る.

Basic meanings include:

to decorate
to adorn
to display (in a decorative way), to put on show

In 家族の写真が飾ってあります, 飾る is used transitively:

(someone) 飾る (something)
→ “(someone) decorates / displays (something)”

Here, 家族の写真 is the thing that has been decorated/displayed.

Whose family is meant by 家族の写真? Does 家族 usually mean “my family”?

By default, when a speaker says 家族, it often refers to their own family, unless context clearly indicates otherwise.

So in most situations, 家族の写真 in a neutral sentence like this will be understood as:

“a photo of (my/our) family” when said by the person who owns the room / bookshelf.

But context can change it:

In a narration about someone else: it could mean “a photo of his/her/their family.”
If needed, Japanese can be explicit:
- 私の家族の写真 – a photo of my family
- 田中さんの家族の写真 – a photo of Mr. Tanaka’s family

Is the word order flexible? Can I say 家族の写真が本棚の一番上に飾ってあります instead?

Yes, that sentence is perfectly natural:

家族の写真が本棚の一番上に飾ってあります。

Japanese word order is quite flexible, especially with particles attached. Both:

本棚の一番上に家族の写真が飾ってあります。
家族の写真が本棚の一番上に飾ってあります。

are natural. The difference is slight:

Version 1 can feel like it first sets the place (“On the top of the bookshelf…”) and then tells what’s there.
Version 2 first introduces what (“A family photo…”) and then tells where it is.

In many contexts, they are effectively interchangeable.

Could you just say 写真が本棚の一番上にあります? What changes?

Yes, you can say:

写真が本棚の一番上にあります。
There is a photo on the top of the bookshelf.

Differences in nuance:

あります: simply states existence / presence. A photo is there, that’s all.
飾ってあります: adds the idea that it is “put up / displayed”, not just left there randomly. There’s more of a feeling of neat arrangement or decoration.

So 飾ってあります sounds more like a framed or intentionally arranged photo, while あります could even be a photo just lying there.

Can I say 本棚の一番上に家族の写真が飾られています instead of 飾ってあります? How is it different?

You can say:

本棚の一番上に家族の写真が飾られています。

This uses the passive form 飾られています (“is being decorated/is decorated”).

Nuance:

飾ってあります (〜てある)
- Focus: resulting state from someone’s deliberate action
- Very common when talking about how things have been arranged / set up.
飾られています (passive)
- Grammatically: “The photo is decorated / is being decorated (by someone)”
- Feels a bit more formal or descriptive, and less like the everyday “things have been set up for you” nuance of 〜てある.

In everyday speech, 飾ってあります is more natural for “A family photo has been put (up) on the top of the bookshelf and is there now.”