Exhibitions in Kyoto
February 2027
February at a glance: 3 exhibitions opening, 4 closing, and 6 more on view across the city.
Opening in February
The Thinking Sculptors — Raphaël Zarka and Horiuti Masakazu: A Dialogue on Geometry and Modernity (Tentative Title)6 FebKyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art
Paris sculptor Raphaël Zarka meets Japanese abstract pioneer Horiuti Masakazu: works, sketches, maquettes and a new Zarka series inspired by Horiuti.
Celebrating the Japanese Doll Festival13 FebKyoto National Museum
The museum's annual display of hina dolls for Hina Matsuri, with lavish model palaces popular in Kansai and other dolls made in Kyoto.
Medalist Exhibition20 FebThe Museum of Kyoto
Figure-skating manga and anime Medalist by Tsurumaikada: new illustrations, famous scenes from the manga, recreated settings and highlights from the TV anime.
Closing in February
Goats and Lambs, Ewes and Rams: Celebrating the Year of the Sheep7 FebKyoto National Museum
New Year feature for the 2027 zodiac: how sheep, rarely seen in Japan, were nonetheless pictured in Japanese art. Gallery 2F-2.
- Kyoto Art for Tomorrow 2027: Selected Emerging Artists of Kyoto Prefecture7 Feb
The Museum of Kyoto
Annual showcase of emerging artists with ties to Kyoto, chosen for outstanding creativity and technique.
Jimmy Onishi "Hometown" Kyoto Exhibition7 FebThe Museum of Kyoto
Original paintings by comedian-turned-painter Jimmy Onishi, exploring the places that shape his work, with new pieces painted in Kyoto as his "hometown".
Discover And Enjoy Kyoto Even More Through Pictures28 FebSaga Arashiyama Museum of Arts & Culture
Early-modern and modern paintings of Kyoto's sights, festivals, geiko and vegetables, from Hara Zaichū's Aoi Festival scroll to sweet-shop wrappers by Tomioka Tessai.
Also on through February
- Pine Trees and Cranes (Shokaku-zu): Sugito-e at the Honmaru-goten Palaceto 14 Mar
Nijo Castle (Nijo-jo)
Painted cedar doors of pines and cranes by a Tsurusawa School artist (1800), from the Goshoin's western corridor, the next of the palace's 14 door sets to go on rotating display.
[2026 Winter] Collection Room – Special Display: Painting Time — Modernity Reflected in Kyoto Lacquerwareto 14 MarKyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art
Kyoto lacquerware from the Meiji era to the postwar avant-garde, from Rinpa revival pieces by Kamisaka Sekka to forms that abandoned function.
- Early Inhabitants of Wazuka Valley: Discovering Who Was Buried in the Harayama Tumulusto 22 Mar
Kyoto National Museum
Special viewing in the archaeology gallery (3F-2) on the people buried in the Harayama Tumulus in the Wazuka Valley.
- TRADITION for TOMORROW: 3rd Kyoto Crafts and Design Competition Exhibitionto 22 Mar
Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design
Shortlisted works from the museum's open craft competition, themed "Inherited Future Crafts", with visitor voting for the Audience Award.
Layered Histories: Renowned Tea Utensils and Their Boxesto 22 MarKyoto National Museum
Famed tea utensils shown with the boxes and silk pouches handed down with them, including the National Treasure Ido tea bowl "Kizaemon".
Fujino Yumikoto 18 AprKyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art · Free
Free show in The Triangle: free-standing nihonga by Fujino Yumiko, drawing on research into abandoned houses to layer time and memory in space.
Stay in the loop on Kyoto
A short note now and then when something new opens worth your time.