Featured Events in Kyoto in December, 2025 (July Updated)

The Mingei movement began through gatherings in Kyoto between philosopher Yanagi Soetsu, and potters Kawai Kanjiro and Hamada Shoji. During a research trip to study Mokujiki’s wood-carved Buddhist statues , their discussions deepened, leading to the coining of the term “mingei” (“folk art”) in 1925. To mark the 100th anniversary of the term’s inception, we are holding the special exhibition,The 100th Anniversary of Mingei: Kyoto’s Legacy of Everyday Life,which reveals the relationship between Mingei and Kyoto.

What exactly is the nature of a child? Adorable and pure. Free yet bearing a sense of fragility. These perceptions of children are, in many ways, discoveries that were made anew in the modern era. The Meiji period saw the establishment of schools, leading to the development of children’s education. By the Taisho period, a distinct children’s culture had been established, including children’s magazines and nursery rhymes, and many cultural figures, such as authors and composers, turned their attention to children. In this climate, many modern painters also began to observe and depict children in their works—as symbols of purity, expressions of youthful vitality, or as beloved family members. Numerous works featuring children are also housed in the Museum Collection. This Special Display, centered on paintings themed around children, will reflect on the “gaze towards children” in the modern era

This year, the museum will once again host Japan’s largest comprehensive public exhibition, “Nitten.” Visitors can enjoy approximately 500 works in five categories: Japanese painting, Western painting, sculpture, arts and crafts, and calligraphy, including basic works that tour the country and works related to the local area created by artists in Kyoto and Shiga.

Samata Kazuki is an unconventional artist who, alongside her artistic practice, is also a professional disc golf player. While participating in the sport as a player, she has used unique strategies to address various issues facing sports, such as sponsorship, society and politics, nationalism, and gender. Furthermore, she expands on these issues to suggest that they are of the same nature as the challenges facing the art world today. Samata’s perspective, gained by illuminating art through the practice of sports, is original and persuasive precisely because of her dual identity as athlete and artist. This is the artist’s first exhibition at an art museum. Examining the Museum from multiple angles through the lens of sport, Samata will deliver a unique viewpoint while posing humorous questions to visitors.

This exhibition showcases the elegant dolls of Maruhei Oki, a doll maker founded in Kyoto during the Meiwa Era in the Edo period, displayed alongside paintings depicting Gosekku (“the five seasonal festivals”) and other seasonal events. Maruhei has a long doll-making tradition rich in exquisite craftsmanship, from costumes through to furnishings, based on the customs of the Imperial Court. Focusing on Hina dolls, which have long been loved by the Imperial household and other important families, and comprising Gosho dolls, Isho dolls, Ichimatsu dolls, and other dolls unique to Maruhei displayed alongside the works of modern painters from the Collection, this exhibition will reflect on the enduring beauty of tradition in Kyoto.