Kakidai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsMuseum & venue · Kyoto
Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art
京都市京セラ美術館
The Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art opened in 1933 and is Japan's oldest public art museum building still in use. After a big renovation it reopened in 2020 with a sunken glass entrance and a new wing, the Higashiyama Cube, for major exhibitions.
It sits in Okazaki beside the giant torii of Heian Shrine. Inside, the grand staircases and central hall feel like the 1930s, while the Collection Room shows Kyoto painting and crafts in changing seasonal displays. The Triangle, a small free gallery at the entrance, shows young artists.
What to see and do
The 1933 hall, with its grand central space and staircases, restored and reused.
Seasonal displays of the city collection of modern Kyoto painting and crafts.
A small free gallery for contemporary artists, next to the glass entrance.
Heian Shrine, ROHM Theatre and the canal are all a short walk away.
What’s on
Good to know
- Buy tickets online for big shows such as Zen and Ghibli; the museum may bring in timed reservations if it gets crowded.
- Pair it with Heian Shrine and the Okazaki canal, all within a few minutes' walk.