Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art

About

The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto opened on March 1, 1963, as the Kyoto annex of the National Museum of Modern Art, following a 1962 legal revision that allowed the parent museum to establish branches; it became an independent institution in 1967. The current building dates to 1986 and was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Maki Fumihiko. It has a total floor area of 9,983 square meters and was built lower than the great torii of the neighboring Heian Shrine, out of consideration for the surrounding view. The museum sits in the Okazaki area of Kyoto's Sakyo Ward, next to Okazaki Park. As of March 31, 2025, the collection held 13,813 works: 3,355 in crafts, 2,405 paintings, 4,239 drawings and prints, 118 sculptures, 84 calligraphy pieces, 1,996 photographs, 1,136 archival items, and 480 in other categories. Works from the Kyoto painting circles and the ceramic art of Kawai Kanjiro form a core part of the holdings. The Collection Gallery is open 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. — until 8:00 p.m. on Fridays during special exhibitions — with last entry thirty minutes before closing. It closes on Mondays (or the following day if Monday is a holiday) and over the New Year. Admission is 430 yen for adults (220 yen for groups or evening visits) and 130 yen for university students (70 yen), while visitors of high-school age or younger, those under eighteen, and those sixty-five and older enter free.