Kyoto National Museum in Kyoto
Asia

Kyoto National Museum

Kyoto · Japan · Founded 1897

Kyoto's principal museum of pre-modern Japanese art, in the Higashiyama district.

About Kyoto National Museum

The Kyoto National Museum opened in 1897 in Tokuma Katayama's brick neo-Renaissance Imperial Museum building. The Heisei Chishinkan Wing by Yoshio Taniguchi opened in 2014 to display the permanent collection.

The museum focuses on pre-modern Japanese art produced in or related to Kyoto, including paintings, sculpture, calligraphy, ceramics, lacquer, and metalwork.

Collections & Highlights

National Treasure paintings and sculpture
Tea ceremony utensils
Heian Buddhist sculpture
Heisei Chishinkan Wing by Taniguchi

Frequently Asked Questions

A small ask before you go

You've just explored one of humanity's greatest collections of beauty. Art has the power to move us, inspire us, and change how we see the world. But millions of people will never see beauty like this — not because the art isn't there, but because they can't see at all.

Preventable blindness, caused by conditions like cataracts and trachoma, affects people of all ages across the world's poorest communities. A small gift — for the cost of a museum ticket — can provide a simple surgery to restore someone's sight and transform their life.