Kahitsukan・Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art

This private art museum opened in 1981. Located in Kyoto's lively Gion district near Yasaka Shrine, it displays modern and contemporary art. The name Kahitsukan reflects the wish to maintain a free spirit that questions accepted theories by asking, “Must it necessarily be so?” rather than being bound by ideas considered correct in scholarship or art.

The collection centers on works by three leading 20th-century artists: Rosanjin Kitaoji, Kagaku Murakami, a Japanese-style painter, and Kaoru Yamaguchi, an oil painter. It also includes modern and contemporary paintings, crafts, and photographs from Japan and abroad. The museum's collection of works by Kagaku Murakami, which inspired its establishment, is among the finest and most extensive in Japan.

The fifth and top floor features a tea room and a small courtyard called the “Sun Garden.” The contrast between its greenery and the silhouettes cast by natural light, which change over time, is breathtaking. Designed by museum director Yoshitomo Kajikawa, the building offers a tranquil setting where visitors can take their time engaging with the art.