Contemporary Craft Exhibition “Aikyakuko” at Kyoto’s Ginkaku-ji Ran Until November 10, with Tomioka Tessai’s Sliding-Door Paintings in a Normally Closed Study Hall

The contemporary craft exhibition “Aikyakuko” was held for three days, from Sunday, November 8 to Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at Higashiyama Jishoji (Ginkaku-ji) in Kyoto. Organized by the Japanese Art and Crafts to the World Executive Committee, it was announced on October 21. Works by 16 artists using clay, lacquer, wood, metal, glass, natural fibers and other materials were shown in the temple’s study hall (shoin) and the Shuhoken. During the exhibition, Tomioka Tessai’s sliding-door paintings “Fishing on the Great River” were specially shown in the normally closed study hall. Admission was ¥3,000 including Ginkaku-ji entry, and advance registration was required.

Tomioka Tessai’s “Fishing on the Great River” specially shown in the normally closed study hall

The two venues are Jishoji’s study hall and the Shuhoken. The study hall is normally closed to the public, and the official website also refers to this venue as the “Tessai Room.” The exhibition treats Tomioka Tessai’s sliding-door paintings in the study hall as one more “itchu” (a single burning of incense), showing them together with works by contemporary artists. According to the official website, “KOGEI ARTIST LEAGUE” is also held concurrently at the Saishian.

Why Ginkaku-ji? An exhibition guided by the etiquette of “listening to incense”

The press materials introduce the exhibition as one in which contemporary crafts of different materials and generations share the same seat. Of the venue, Jishoji, they write, “This place, where Ashikaga Yoshimasa built a mountain villa in Higashiyama and which became a temple after his death, is where the act of appreciation took shape as an institution.”

The exhibition sets out to present new encounters between works and viewers, guided by the etiquette of appreciation in Japanese culture known as “listening to incense.” “Aikyaku” in the title refers to guests who happen to share the same seat. Overlaid with “kyaku” (guest), the term in kumiko incense games for an incense not offered in the trial round, it is the name of a newly composed incense.

The exhibition is also part of the “Five-Year Serial Plan to Attract Visitors to the Regions by Tracing Japanese Art and Crafts and Their Sources: Building Wide-Area Inbound Routes from Five Great Kyoto Temples to the Regions,” selected for the Japan Cultural Expo’s subsidy program for creating region-specific cultural content. During the exhibition, information and consultation on high-quality travel packages touring the regions will also be offered, providing a path from the exhibition onward to further travel. By showing crafts at a great Kyoto temple and inviting visitors to travel to the regions, it is an attempt to position the exhibition as a gateway to tourism.

What can be seen? The 16 exhibiting artists and their works

The exhibiting artists and the works introduced in the press materials are as follows: Eri Asano / Mirei Seki, “Layer - Cube”; Tomoko Eri, “Kirikane Decorative Box ‘The Moon Rises’”; Kazuki Sagawa, “Sulfur”; Naoko Serino, “Generating-4”; Kyu Tani (TaniQ), “Shigaraki Uzukumaru (Crouching Jar)”; Kazuha Toya, “Transforming Relics”; and Kanon Nozu, “Oasis III.”

They are joined by Hosai Matsubayashi XVI, “Tea Bowl, Moon-White Glaze with Flowing Gold”; Michiko Matsumoto, “Plique-à-Jour Cloisonné Bowl ‘Sky II’”; Nao Mizutani, “Intangible: What Is Here (Box)”; Takaharu Minowa, “Crystalline Ash-Blue Raku-Glazed Jar”; Yasushi Yamachika, “Flower Vessel with a Sacred Rhinoceros”; Kazue Wakabayashi, “Overglaze Enamel and Silver Lacquer Bowl ‘Listening to Ripples’”; and Akira Watanabe, “Layered Platinum-Painted Cut Glass ‘Rinpu’.” For Hideki Goto and Akio Niisato, the press materials introduce the reference works “Sea God” and “Light Vessel Water Jar.”

Supervised by Hiromi Kurosawa: the history of “Japanese Art and Crafts to the World”

Supervisor and curator Hiromi Kurosawa, after graduating from Boston University, worked at Art Tower Mito and the Sogetsu Art Museum before joining the preparatory office for the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, in 2003. From the museum’s inaugural exhibition in 2004, she served as its chief curator, and in 2018 she was general curator for Culture City of East Asia (Kanazawa). She left the museum in March 2025 and since April has served as Chief Art Officer (CAO) of HERALBONY Co., Ltd.

Exhibitions under the “Japanese Art and Crafts to the World” banner have continued with “The Depths of Light” in 2023 and “Where Craft-Like Beauty Goes: Vessels, Wrapping, Ornament” in 2024, followed in 2025 by “Sensorium,” curated by Kurosawa, at Sennyuji Temple in Kyoto. The press materials also cite a 2022 art and craft exhibition at Hogonin, a subtemple of the Tenryuji head temple, among the committee’s past work.

Tickets, admission and access

Admission is ¥3,000 including Ginkaku-ji entry. Advance registration is required via the ArtSticker event page. Hours are 9:30–16:30, and the day before, Saturday, November 7, is for VIP invitees only. To protect the venue, visitors must wear socks, and those whose feet are wet are asked to change into fresh socks. Photography is prohibited inside. Reception is set up on the left just before Ginkaku-ji’s main gate (Somon).

There is no parking at the venue, and visitors are asked to use public transport. It is about a 5-minute walk from the Ginkakuji-mae city bus stop and about a 10-minute walk from Ginkakuji-michi. Around the same time in Kyoto, the art fair ACK 2026 is held from Saturday, November 7 to Monday, November 9 at the Kyoto International Conference Center and elsewhere, and CURATION⇄FAIR Kyoto from Friday, November 6 to Sunday, November 8 at three temples in Nishijin.

Editor’s perspective

The exhibition is open for only three days, with entry by advance registration. Placing Tessai’s sliding-door paintings and contemporary crafts in the same normally inaccessible study hall makes the temple space itself, not just the works, part of what is being appreciated. With art fairs following in Kyoto the same week, it is also easy to plan an itinerary taking in a succession of events dealing with crafts and antiques.

Overview

Name: Aikyakuko
Dates: Sunday, November 8 – Tuesday, November 10, 2026 (advance registration required). Saturday, November 7 for VIP invitees only
Hours: 9:30–16:30
Venue: Higashiyama Jishoji (Ginkaku-ji), study hall and Shuhoken
Address: 2 Ginkakuji-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto
Admission: ¥3,000 (including Ginkaku-ji entry)
Organizer: Japanese Art and Crafts to the World Executive Committee
Co-organizer: Kansai Innovation Center
Supported by: Kyoto Prefecture, Warehouse TERRADA, Landream Co., Ltd., TOUCH GROUP Inc.
Sponsor: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.
Cooperation: Higashiyama Jishoji; Kyoto Buddhist Association
Subsidy: Fiscal 2026 Japan Cultural Expo program (Japan Arts Council / Agency for Cultural Affairs)
Supervisor and curator: Hiromi Kurosawa
Official website: https://artkogei.com/
*Information as of October 21, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: From the exhibited works, Kyu Tani (TaniQ), “Shigaraki Uzukumaru (Crouching Jar)” (from TOUCH GROUP Inc.’s press release)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the Japanese Art and Crafts to the World Executive Committee distributed by TOUCH GROUP Inc. (October 21, 2026) and information on the official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team