New Year’s Feature Exhibition Pony Tales: Celebrating the Year of the Horse

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New Year’s Feature Exhibition Pony Tales: Celebrating the Year of the Horse

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General Information
Description of Exhibition

General Information

Exhibition Title: New Year’s Feature Exhibition
Pony Tales: Celebrating the Year of the Horse

Period: December 16, 2025–January 25, 2026

Venue: Heisei Chishinkan Wing, Galleries 2F-1, 2, 3

Transportation: JR, Kintetsu Railway, Keihan Railway, Hankyu Railway, City Bus / Map

Closed

Mondays, except January 12, 2026
December 29, 2025–January 1, 2026
January 13, 2026

Museum Hours: 9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (entrance until 4:30 p.m.)
Open until 8:00 p.m. on Fridays (entrance until 7:30 p.m.)

Admission

Adult	700 yen
University Student (ID required)	350 yen

Admission fee includes admission to all galleries in the Heisei Chishinkan Wing.
Admission is free for high school students and other youths age 0–17, seniors over 70, visitors with disabilities and one caretaker, and for Campus Members (including faculty). Please show ID.
Admission for school groups: Admission to the Collection Galleries is free for elementary school, middle school, and high school students on school fieldtrips as well as teachers serving as their guides.

Description of Exhibition

2026 marks the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac. Have you ever seen a horse up close? Although there are less chances to encounter them these days, in the past horses were a part of everyday life in Japan. They carried people, hauled heavy loads, and completed all kinds of hard work. A fast and beautiful horse was every warrior’s dream.
This exhibition showcases cultural properties depicting horses. We invite you to take a worksheet and enjoy the many kinds of horses galloping through the galleries.

1. The Horses of Our Dreams

Horses, which carry people and transport things, have long been important partners of humans. That’s not all——owning an elegant horse was once a sign of an elegant person. Let’s take a look at some of the magnificent horses that people of the past admired.

Important Art Object
Horse Tomb Figures
Kyoto National Museum

2. Horsing Around

Here you’ll find horses in action, such as racing or competing in sports. In Japanese, a horse and rider in perfect harmony can be described using the phrase “horse and rider as one” (jinba ittai). Try to spot the places here where horses and their riders are perfectly in sync.

Yang Guifei Playing Polo
Kyoto National Museum

3. Prayers and Horses

The horses here are related to people’s wishes and prayers. Why were these horses made? What kinds of things did people of the past pray for?

Horse
Excavated in Nara
Kyoto National Museum

4. All Kinds of Horses!

Wild horses, life-sized horses——all sorts of different horses are in this gallery! Each one seems to be living a life at ease. Do you have a favorite horse here?

Horses
By Unkoku Tōgan
Minami Hokke-ji Temple, Nara

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