Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art
Imperial crown-style museum blending a European stone facade with a Japanese tiled roof, reborn with a glass-fronted contemporary wing.
This guide to the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art traces the building from its 1933 construction for Emperor Hirohito's enthronement, when architect Kenjiro Maeda blended a European stone facade with a Japanese tiled roof and added a private imperial entrance. It follows what happened to that grand hall after Japan's defeat, when American occupation forces requisitioned the space for an unlikely new use, and the exhibitions Kyoto later welcomed there, including a loan of the Venus de Milo. Maeda's design also included a lavishly paneled VIP room with its own private washroom, built for a family that rarely used it.
Audio guides are written and narrated by AI.