The best things to do in Kyoto in July 2026

Emerging in the wake of the Margaret Thatcher era, the Young British Artists (YBAs) and their contemporaries embraced shock, irreverence and entrepreneurial flair. While the YBA label (applied after the landmark 1988 ‘Freeze’ exhibition organised by Damien Hirst) was often contested, it came to define a generation that reimagined what art could be. Painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation all became tools for probing themes of identity, consumer culture and shifting social structures. 

‘YBA & Beyond: British Art in the 90s from the Tate Collection’ is the first exhibition in Japan devoted exclusively to British art of the 1990s. It debuted in Tokyo earlier this year before arriving at the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art. Featuring around 90 works by some 50 artists, the show captures a turbulent and transformative period in British culture, when politics, society and art collided to spark a wave of radical experimentation.

Highlights include works by Hirst, Tracey Emin, Lubaina Himid, Wolfgang Tillmans and Julian Opie, alongside others who reshaped contemporary art on a global stage...

One of the world’s most renowned design houses, Marimekko is beloved for its iconic style combining joyous prints with vibrant colours. Since its inception in 1951, the Finnish brand has produced more than 3,500 original prints, and its signature cheery designs can be found across all aspects of modern lifestyle from fashion to homeware.

This two-year touring exhibition takes a deep dive into the brand’s heritage, aesthetics and creative vision. It opens in Kyoto before travelling to other cities in Japan, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum in October. Through a diverse collection of artworks, textiles and dresses across the decades, the exhibition sheds light on Marimekko’s design approach as well as its printmaking techniques. 

Highlights include a video installation by multidisciplinary art and design collective plaplax...

Active during the late Edo period (1603–1868), Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) was a talented ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artist whose work crosses multiple genres. While he is best known for his musha-e, or warrior prints, he also painted uniquely styled landscapes incorporating Western painting techniques, as well as portraits of stylish women (bijin-ga) and popular actors. His work was so extensive and prolific that he established a reputation as a super creator in the ukiyo-e world back in the day.

This exhibition brings together about 200 pieces of Kuniyoshi’s work. His extraordinary and versatile talent is showcased across six distinct genres. You can expect to see some of his most iconic artworks including ‘The Takiyasha Witch and the Skeleton Spectre’ (one of the world’s most recognisable ukiyo-e images) and ‘Fifty Three Stations of the Tokaido Road Explained by Cats’.

Aside from the traditional display, the organisers of the immensely popular Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition have transformed roughly 50 pieces of Kuniyoshi’s woodblock prints into a captivating digital art experience...