Exhibitions in Kyoto
January 2027
January at a glance: 5 exhibitions opening, 10 closing, and 5 more on view across the city.
Opening in January
- Early Inhabitants of Wazuka Valley: Discovering Who Was Buried in the Harayama Tumulus2 Jan
Kyoto National Museum
Special viewing in the archaeology gallery (3F-2) on the people buried in the Harayama Tumulus in the Wazuka Valley.
[2026 Winter] Collection Room – Special Display: Painting Time — Modernity Reflected in Kyoto Lacquerware15 JanKyoto 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.
Fujino Yumiko15 JanKyoto 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.
- Kyoto Art for Tomorrow 2027: Selected Emerging Artists of Kyoto Prefecture23 Jan
The Museum of Kyoto
Annual showcase of emerging artists with ties to Kyoto, chosen for outstanding creativity and technique.
- TRADITION for TOMORROW: 3rd Kyoto Crafts and Design Competition Exhibition23 Jan
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.
Closing in January
Indestructible Power: Go Nagai – Go Nagai Memorial Museum Revival11 JanThe Museum of Kyoto
Original manga art and figures by Go Nagai that survived the 2024 Noto earthquake fire at his Wajima memorial museum, plus new drawings made for the show.
Hakuin's Zen (Hakuin-san no Zen) – Kyoto Exhibition, produced by Studio Ghibli11 JanKyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art
Studio Ghibli-produced follow-up to Zen and Ghibli: calligraphy and paintings by Edo-period Zen monk Hakuin Ekaku, paired with new video content.
The 119th Nitten-Kyoto Exhibition16 JanKyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art
Kyoto leg of Japan's largest public juried exhibition: about 500 works in nihonga, Western painting, sculpture, crafts and calligraphy.
- 3rd Collection Gallery Exhibition 202617 Jan
The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (MoMAK)
The next rotation of MoMAK's collection displays, running alongside the jewellery exhibition; themes include the museum's outdoor sculptures.
Forms of Love – Legendary Shunga Scroll Chigo Sōshi on Display17 JanFukuda Art Museum
The museum's first shunga show debuts the 14th-century Chigo Sōshi scroll, with Hokusai's Nami Chidori and love-themed works by Uemura Shōen. Ages 18+ only.
Reflections in Jewellery: Memory and Identity17 JanThe National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (MoMAK)
About 350 pieces tracing post-war Japanese art jewellery, from the JJDA founders to contemporary makers, with works by Otto Künzli and others.
A Magnificent Banquet Setting: Ichi-no-ma and Ni-no-ma (First and Second Rooms) of the Kuroshoin17 JanNijo Castle (Nijo-jo)
Original murals from the Kuroshoin, where the shogunate feasted the imperial court in 1626: cherry blossoms and pheasants in full spring colour beneath ink landscapes of ancient China.
Children Who Grew Up with Manga: 40 Years of Manga in Europe19 JanKyoto International Manga Museum · Free
Four decades of manga reception in France, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Germany, plus work by European artists who grew up reading it. A 20th-anniversary show.
- Railways and Architecture: Beauty and Function24 Jan
Kyoto Railway Museum
Kyoto Station 150th anniversary show on railway architecture: four generations of Kyoto Station and their architects, roundhouse drawings and historic station buildings.
Fairy Tales Painted by Master Heinz Werner: The Porcelain Art of Modern Meissen31 JanHosomi Museum
Storybook-themed porcelain designed and painted by Heinz Werner, master artist of the modern Meissen manufactory.
Also on through January
Goats and Lambs, Ewes and Rams: Celebrating the Year of the Sheepto 7 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.
Jimmy Onishi "Hometown" Kyoto Exhibitionto 7 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 Picturesto 28 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.
- 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.
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".
Stay in the loop on Kyoto
A short note now and then when something new opens worth your time.