“Zen and Ghibli” Under Way at the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art: Its Link to December’s “Hakuin’s Zen” and the Reservation-Priority System

The exhibition “Zen and Ghibli,” organized by Yomiuri Telecasting, Kyoto City and others, is being held at Higashiyama Cube, the new wing of the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art. It runs from Saturday, October 3 to Sunday, December 6, 2026. Taking as its starting point “Zen and Ghibli,” a book of dialogues between Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki and Zen monks, it is an immersive exhibition that introduces Zen ways of seeing through Ghibli films. After it closes, the Kyoto showing of “Hakuin’s Zen, Planned and Produced by Studio Ghibli,” which the museum positions as the second part, begins at the same venue on Thursday, December 17.

Highlights of “Zen and Ghibli”

The exhibition space is organized around the film “The Boy and the Heron” (2023), which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 96th Academy Awards. The organizers focus on the ambiguity in Ghibli films, which do not divide good and evil, and on their willingness to leave space rather than rush to answers. They say these resonate with the Zen ideas of “not dividing,” “not jumping to conclusions” and “seeing things as they are.”

The exhibition has six chapters. Chapter 2, centered on “The Boy and the Heron,” is an immersive space in which visitors are led by the grey heron into another world. In Chapter 3, Totoro and the Heron Man greet visitors, and exchanges between director Hayao Miyazaki and Suzuki are introduced. Chapter 4 presents words born of the dialogues alongside film stills, and displays “Ghibli Zen paintings,” in which Shinsuke Hosokawa, head priest of Ryuunji in Nozawa, added inscriptions to Suzuki’s pictures.

Chapter 5 displays the daily implements of training monks, as well as calligraphy and personal effects of D.T. Suzuki, who introduced Zen to the world, and Kazuo Inamori, founder of Kyocera. The final chapter shows many works of calligraphy and painting by Toshio Suzuki, who has written the title lettering for Ghibli films and posters. Note that the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art’s exhibition page carries a notice from Studio Ghibli “regarding the Chapter 2 display.” Check it before visiting.

Its relationship with the second-part exhibition “Hakuin’s Zen”

The museum is holding the Kyoto showing of “Hakuin’s Zen, Planned and Produced by Studio Ghibli” as the second part of the Kyoto showing of “Zen and Ghibli.” It runs from Thursday, December 17 to Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday). The organizers and the planners and producers (Studio Ghibli and Nippon Television Network) are the same as for “Zen and Ghibli.”

Linking the two exhibitions is the Edo-period Zen monk Hakuin Ekaku (1685–1768). The official website of “Zen and Ghibli” explains that Toshio Suzuki’s fascination with Hakuin’s Zen paintings was what gave rise to “Zen and Ghibli.” According to the museum, “Hakuin’s Zen” was conceived from the idea that if Hakuin were alive today, he might have made anime to convey Zen teachings.

Hakuin is known as the restorer of Rinzai Zen and spread Zen teachings among ordinary people through his calligraphy and paintings. “Hakuin’s Zen” displays fine works by Hakuin and expresses the messages contained in them through video content. The museum’s page shows Hakuin Ekaku’s “Kannon of the Lotus Pond” (Edo period, 18th century, Seiso Memorial Museum), but does not give the number of works on display.

Tickets, the reservation-priority system and how to avoid crowds

Admission to “Zen and Ghibli” is 1,900 yen for adults and university students, 1,500 yen for junior high and high school students and 1,100 yen for elementary school students. Advance tickets and groups of 20 or more are 1,700 yen for adults and university students, 1,300 yen for junior high and high school students and 900 yen for elementary school students, and preschool children are free. There is a reciprocal discount of 100 yen each, valid on the same day only, with the museum’s exhibition “Yamaga Seika, Textile Artist: Imagination Soaring Through Space – 140th Anniversary of His Birth.”

From Saturday, October 31, the exhibition switches to a reservation-priority system. Date-and-time reservations have been accepted on the ARTPASS entry reservation page since 10:00 on Friday, October 16. The system also applies to those who already hold tickets and to holders of disability certificates. Visitors can normally enter without a reservation, but when crowded they may have to wait or may be unable to enter.

The organizers expect crowds on weekends, national holidays and toward the end of the exhibition, and recommend making a date-and-time reservation. Until October 30, numbered entry tickets are distributed on weekends, and may also be distributed on weekdays depending on crowding. From Sunday, November 1, opening time moves up to 9:00 on weekends and national holidays, except Sunday, November 8, Sunday, November 15 and Saturday, November 21. Congestion information is posted on the official X account.

Admission to “Hakuin’s Zen” is 1,700 yen for adults and university students, 1,100 yen for junior high and high school students and 700 yen for elementary school students. Advance tickets and groups of 20 or more are 1,500 yen for adults and university students, 900 yen for junior high and high school students and 500 yen for elementary school students. A set ticket for one visit to each exhibition (adults and university students 3,000 yen) is on sale until 16:00 on Sunday, December 6.

Editor’s perspective

Following the exhibitions in order, encountering Suzuki’s calligraphy and paintings and Zen words in “Zen and Ghibli” before facing Hakuin’s works and the video content, makes it easier to follow the flow of the project. If you plan to see both, note the sales deadline for the set ticket.

In Kyoto in the same period, “The Tale of Genji: The Radiance of the Court” is on at the Kyoto National Museum until November 29. Autumn and winter exhibitions in Kansai are summarized in our guide to exhibitions in Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Hyogo.

Overview

Name: Zen and Ghibli / second-part exhibition “Hakuin’s Zen, Planned and Produced by Studio Ghibli,” Kyoto showing
Dates: Zen and Ghibli: Saturday, October 3 – Sunday, December 6, 2026 / Hakuin’s Zen: Thursday, December 17, 2026 – Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday)
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30). From Sunday, November 1, Zen and Ghibli opens at 9:00 on weekends and national holidays only (except Sunday, November 8, Sunday, November 15 and Saturday, November 21)
Closed: Mondays (open if a national holiday). Hakuin’s Zen is also closed over the year-end and New Year holidays (December 28 – January 2)
Venue: Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, New Wing “Higashiyama Cube”
Address: 124 Okazaki Enshoji-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto
Admission: Zen and Ghibli: adults and university students 1,900 yen, junior high and high school students 1,500 yen, elementary school students 1,100 yen / Hakuin’s Zen: adults and university students 1,700 yen, junior high and high school students 1,100 yen, elementary school students 700 yen. Free for preschool children and holders of a disability certificate or similar plus one caregiver at both
Organizers: Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation, The Yomiuri Shimbun, PIA Corporation, Kyoto City
Planning and production: Studio Ghibli, Nippon Television Network
Official websites: https://zen-ghibli.jp/kyoto/ (Zen and Ghibli), https://hakuin-ghibli.jp/ (Hakuin’s Zen)
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Display image for “Hakuin’s Zen, Planned and Produced by Studio Ghibli” (from a press release by Nippon Television Network Corporation)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on information on the organizers’ official exhibition websites and the official website of the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art (as of October 19, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team