Special Exhibition
Kitano Tenjin: Legends of a Shinto God

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General Information
Description of Exhibition

General Information

Exhibition Title: Special Exhibition
Kitano Tenjin: Legends of a Shinto God

Period: April 18–June 14, 2026
The exhibition has two installations:
Part I: April 18–May 17, 2026
Part II: May 19–June 14, 2026
Some artworks may be rotated during the exhibition period.

Venue: Kyoto National Museum, Heisei Chishinkan Wing

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

Closed: Mondays
*Open May 4. Open continuously from April 28 through May 10, 2026.

Special Exhibition Hours: 9:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. (entrance until 5:00 p.m.)
Fridays, 9:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. (entrance until 7:30 p.m.)

Special Exhibition Admission

Adult	2,000 yen (1,800 yen)
University Student	1,400 yen (1,200 yen)
High School Student	900 yen (700 yen)

The discounted prices in parentheses ( ) are advance ticket and group ticket rates.
Group ticket rates apply to groups of 20 people or more.
Advance tickets will be on sale between January 16 and April 17, 2026 at the official online ticket site and major ticket outlets.
See the official exhibition website (in Japanese only) for more information about tickets.
Please show student ID for student admission.
Admission is free for junior high school students and other youths age 0–15, as well as for visitors with disabilities and one caretaker. Please show ID.
Admission is reduced by 500 yen for Campus Members (including faculty) able to produce ID (applicable only to the purchase of same-day tickets at the South Gate ticket office).

Special Exhibition Lecture: See the Japanese page.
*The Special Exhibition Lecture will be conducted in Japanese.

Organized by: Kyoto National Museum; Kitano Tenmangū Shrine; The Yomiuri Shimbun

With the Special Cooperation of: Zenkoku Tenmangū Baifūkai

Special Exhibition Official Website

https://kitano-tenjin2026.com/ (Japanese only)

Special Exhibition Official Social Media

X: @KitanoTenjin26 (Japanese only)

Description of Exhibition

The Shinto shrine of Kitano Tenmangū, located in northwestern Kyoto, is dedicated to Tenjin, the deified incarnation of the erudite Heian-period aristocrat Sugawara no Michizane (845–903). In 2027, Kitano Tenmangū is hosting the Hanmantōsai, a festival in which thousands of lanterns are lit to commemorate the 1125th anniversary of Michizane’s death. To mark this occasion, the Kyoto National Museum is organizing a special exhibition showcasing treasures related to Tenjin worship from shrines across Japan. At the heart are 17 National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties preserved over centuries in Kitano Tenmangū Shrine.
For this milestone exhibition, the National Treasure Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine (Kitano Tenjin engi emaki), Jōkyū version, is being exhibited in full for the first time in history, with every scene on display at some time during the exhibition. Other slightly later versions of the Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine—including the Kōan, Mitsunobu, and Mitsuoki versions, all designated Important Cultural Properties—will also be on view, depicting scenes of the origin of the Kitano deity and shrine.
The exhibition also features works recently uncovered through joint research by the Kyoto National Museum and the Kitano Cultural Research Institute, as well as masterpieces passed down in Tenmangū and Tenjin shrines and temples across Japan. Through these objects, the exhibition sheds light on the diverse and previously underexplored dimensions of Tenjin veneration, revealing the significant role it has played in shaping Japanese culture.

National Treasure
Illustrated Legends of Kitano Tenmangū Shrine (Jōkyū version), Volume 6
Kitano Tenmangū Shrine, Kyoto
[this scene on view: May 19–June 14, 2026]

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Special ExhibitionKitano Tenjin: Legends of a Shinto God

General Information

Description of Exhibition

Special Exhibition
Kitano Tenjin: Legends of a Shinto God