8 best art and cultural events to look forward to in Kyoto in 2026

One of the largest Zen temple complexes in northern Kyoto, Daitokuji once flourished as a cultural powerhouse during the Momoyama period, when tea master Sen no Rikyu and leading painters of the Kano school were active here. Its sprawling grounds are dotted with sub-temples featuring refined architecture and pristine dry landscape gardens. However, many of these sub-temples are usually closed to the public, opening only briefly in spring, making this short window the best, and often only, chance to explore these lesser-known gems.

The Obai-in sub-temple, closely linked to Sengoku-period warlords, opens from March 21 to May 17 (10am–3.45pm; ¥1,000). You’ll get to stroll through the celebrated Chokuchutei dry landscape garden and step inside the Sakumuken Tea Room. Also not to be missed are the main hall’s sliding-door paintings by Ungo Togan, one of the four great masters of the Momoyama period.

Korin-in, meanwhile, welcomes visitors from March 14 to June 14 (closed March 20 and May 28), from 10am to 4.30pm (¥800). Highlights include the elegant Hojo Garden, a symbolic recreation of the mythical Mount Horai, featuring raked white gravel and carefully placed stone arrangements. This gorgeous Zen garden feels contemplative and is definitely worth taking your time.

Now in its 14th edition, the annual Kyotographie has consistently highlighted pressing issues through photography while showcasing revolutionary ideas that push this versatile medium in unexpected directions. For 2026, the international photography festival’s theme ‘Edge’ feels especially poignant, not just in describing photography but also the state of the world today.

Here, ‘edge’ can refer to the border between opposing forces, a state of tension, or a tipping point of transition. Conceptually, the theme draws on photography’s precarious position on the fringes, often straddling the line between art and documentary, and, with the rise of new technologies such as generative AI, between truth and fiction.

This sense of division, whether it is uncertainty or possibility, is reflected in the works of 13 photographers from eight countries. Here, the featured works address a wide range of subjects including marginalised communities and overlooked places as seen through the lens of colonisation and territorial disputes, the fraught relationship between humans and nature, and conditions of urban decline. Alongside these, you’ll also find exhibitions that focus on experimental approaches to photography, highlighting new ideas and techniques in image-making.

Key exhibitions include: a retrospective on radical Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, a tribute to the late Palestinian photographer Fatma Hassona, a showcase of Dutch photographer and filmmaker Anton Corbijn’s portraiture including celebrities like David Bowie, and Kenyan photographer Thandiwe Muriu’s latest body of work produced during her Kyoto residency. This year, Kyotographie will also highlight three South African photographers whose creations explore the region’s political history and photographic tradition.