Written by JC Team
The Kyoto National Museum is giving The Tale of Genji a full special exhibition this autumn, and the headline loan is the one that matters: the National Treasure Genji Monogatari Emaki, which the organizers describe as the oldest surviving painting of the tale, on loan from the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya. Reports describe it as the museum’s first major Genji show in around 50 years.
What to expect
The 12th-century scroll is the centerpiece, and at the Kyoto venue it is the Hashihime section on display — shown for 13 days only, November 3 to 15. If that’s what you’re coming for, the exhibition dates and the scroll dates are not the same thing, and it’s an easy and expensive mistake to make.
Beyond it, the show includes Tosa Mitsunobu’s Genji Monogatari Gachō, an album covering all 54 chapters, on loan from the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard, and an Important Cultural Property Noh mask, the 17th-century Deigan, from the Tokyo National Museum. The museum notes that some other works rotate during the run beyond the published first- and second-half split.
The timing is the other draw: this lands squarely in Kyoto’s autumn leaves season, when you’ll already be queueing for everything else in the city.
Schedule
The exhibition runs October 6 to November 29, 2026 in the Heisei Chishinkan wing. Opening hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with last entry at 5 p.m., extended on Fridays to 8 p.m. with last entry at 7:30 p.m.
It’s closed on Mondays, except October 12 and November 23, which are public holidays; it closes instead on October 13 and November 24. Works are split into a first half to November 1 and a second half from November 3.
Tickets 2026
General admission is ¥2,200 on the day or ¥2,000 in advance. University students pay ¥1,200 or ¥1,000 advance, high school students ¥700 or ¥500 advance, and junior high school students and younger go free. Advance tickets are on sale from August 6 to October 5.
Buying ahead saves ¥200 and takes about a minute, so there’s no real argument for not doing it.
How to get there
The exhibition is at the Kyoto National Museum in Higashiyama.
If you miss it, the exhibition travels to the Tokyo National Museum, opening January 19, 2027.
Note that dates, opening hours, and prices are subject to change, so make sure to check the official website before you go. Also note that the image used here is not intended to represent the exhibition in any way.
Organizers may cancel events, alter schedules, or change admission requirements without notice. Always check official sites before heading to an event.