Pine Trees and Cranes (Shokaku-zu), painted cedar doors by a Tsurusawa School artist, 1800, Honmaru-goten Palace

Pine Trees and Cranes (Shokaku-zu): Sugito-e at the Honmaru-goten Palace

Now showing21 October 2026 – 14 March 2027¥1,000

Painted cedar doors of pines and cranes by a Tsurusawa School artist (1800), from the Goshoin's western corridor, one of the palace's 14 door sets shown one at a time.

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On now All of November 2026

These cedar doors were painted in 1800 for the south end of the western corridor in the Goshoin, the reception rooms of the Katsura-no-miya imperial palace, moved to Nijo Castle in 1893-94. The castle credits them to the Tsurusawa School, Kyoto painters in a line founded by a pupil of Kano Tan'yu, known for clear compositions built on empty space and light colour.

The palace keeps 14 sets of doors in storage and brings out one every six months, so seeing all 14 takes seven years of advance booking. This set hangs in the Second Room of the Unkaku-no-ma, named for the cloud-and-crane pattern on its paper. You leave your shoes in a locker, watch an eight-minute video with about 15 others, and walk the corridors in socks.

Entry is by timed web ticket, 1,000 yen on top of 800 yen castle admission, on sale 30 days ahead. Allow 15 to 20 minutes to walk from Higashi Ote-mon Gate. No photos inside. Bamboo and A Tiger follows on 17 March.

Look for

Cranes among the pines
Look at how much bare cedar is left around the cranes and pine branches: the castle singles out that open composition, with its light colour and brushwork, as the Tsurusawa School's mark.

Good for

Locals Who've Seen It All
Nerding Out

Skip if

You want photos: cameras and video are banned throughout the Honmaru-goten Palace.

With kids

The palace ticket is 300 yen for junior and senior high students and 200 yen for elementary pupils, plus castle admission; under elementary age are free. Shoes come off and socks are required inside.