This autumn, the World Heritage-listed Nijo Castle in Kyoto marks 400 years since the Kan'ei Gyoko (Imperial Visit to Nijo Castle in 1626), and the experiential art exhibition NAKED meets Nijo-jo Castle 2026, planned, directed and produced by NAKED, INC. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President: Ryotaro Muramatsu), reveals the full lineup of its productions and installations in its second wave of details.
400 Years of History, Passed to the Next Generation: Free Admission for Junior High Students and Under
Held at the World Heritage site of Nijo Castle, the exhibition invites visitors to experience history and culture through contemporary art. To give more children the chance to visit a cultural property and take an interest in the history and culture behind it, junior high school students and under will be admitted free of charge for the first time.
Kyoto City's "Kyoto Basic Concept," which sets the course for the city from 2026 to 2050, envisions a city where the children and young people who will shape its future develop rich sensibilities through Kyoto's nature, history and culture. Held at the World Heritage site of Nijo Castle, this exhibition also uses art as a gateway for the next generation to encounter and take interest in Kyoto's history and culture.
Students and Kyoto City residents can also receive a ¥500 cash-back on the day at the venue. Regular tickets, normally ¥2,000 Monday to Thursday and ¥2,400 on Fridays, weekends and holidays, come down to ¥1,500 and ¥1,900 respectively after the discount, widening the opportunity for all generations to experience art on an autumn evening at Nijo Castle.
Unlocking 400-Year-Old Japanese Beauty and Design Through Tokugawa Masako's Sensibility
In 1626, Emperor Go-Mizunoo was welcomed to Nijo Castle for a five-day imperial visit known as the Kan'ei Gyoko (Imperial Visit to Nijo Castle in 1626), an event that symbolizes the Kan'ei era, when court and samurai society mingled and a wide range of culture, from tea and flowers to fashion and garden design, flourished.
Tokugawa Masako, who was present at the Kan'ei Gyoko, experienced both court and samurai culture as empress consort to Emperor Go-Mizunoo, and later, as Tofukumon-in, supported a wide range of culture including kimono design. The exhibition takes Masako as its key figure, unpacking the sensibility and design cultivated in the Kan'ei era through contemporary art.
The exhibition is presented as a collaborative project tied to the 400th Anniversary of the Kan'ei Gyoko commemorations.
Three Highlights of NAKED meets Nijo-jo Castle
01 | Entering the World of Tokugawa Masako's Beauty and Design
The experience opens with an introduction to Masako's life and her connection to Nijo Castle and Kan'ei culture. At the Karamon Gate that follows, lighting brings out the beauty of its carvings while patterns and colors inspired by Kan'ei culture spread out in light, guiding visitors from the people and era they have just learned about into the story that continues beyond.
Featured works:
- Introduction – Encounter with Masako
- Important Cultural Property: Karamon Gate, Culture in Bloom
02 | Tracing the Sensibility of the Kan'ei Era Through Words, Design and Color
Moving from the Ninomaru Palace through the garden, the inner moat and Seiryu-en, the exhibition traces the sensibility cultivated in the Kan'ei era from multiple angles: narration drawing on Masako's own waka poems and letters, light and sound expressing negative space, the inherent beauty of the Ninomaru Garden's design, and colors inspired by Kan'ei-era patterns and the Gosho-zome dyeing tradition. Layering the scenery of Nijo Castle itself with contemporary art, the exhibition invites visitors to sense what moved people of the time and the beauty they found.
Featured works:
- Ninomaru Palace, Kuruma-yose (Carriage Porch): Masako's Words
- Ninomaru Palace, Ohiroma-mae (Front of the Grand Hall): Resonance in the Margin
- Special Scenic Site: Ninomaru Garden, Illumination
- Inner Moat: Tapestry of Design
- Koun-tei: Saika (Fragrant Colors)
- Seiryu-en: Time's Interval
03 | Experiencing Kan'ei Culture Through Your Own Senses
Toward the end of the experience, the exhibition turns to hands-on encounters inspired by Kan'ei-era fashion and tea culture: "Kosode no Aya," in which visitors choose a pattern from a kosode pattern book and see it projected onto a white kosode robe, and "Masako's Night Tea Gathering," inspired by Masako's own sensibility and enjoyed together with food and art. After taking in Kan'ei culture throughout the castle grounds, visitors move from watching to experiencing it firsthand.
Featured works:
- Kitchen Front Garden: Kosode no Aya (Patterns of the Kosode)
- Kitchen Front Garden: Masako's Night Tea Gathering
Event Overview
| Event Name | NAKED meets Nijo-jo Castle 2026 |
| Venue | Former Imperial Villa Nijo Castle (541 Nijojo-cho, Nijo-dori Horikawa-nishi-iru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City) |
| Event Dates | October 23 (Friday) to December 5 (Saturday), 2026 *Open throughout the period (held in rain, may be canceled in severe weather) *In case of cancellation, announcements will be made on the official website and official X (@nijojo_autumn26). *Content is subject to change without notice. |
| Operating Hours | 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM (Last admission: 9:00 PM) |
| Ticket Prices (tax included) | Early Bird Tickets (on sale through 11:59 PM, October 22) [Monday–Thursday] High school age and up: ¥1,600 [Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Holidays] High school age and up: ¥2,000 Regular Tickets [Monday–Thursday] High school age and up: ¥2,000 [Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Holidays] High school age and up: ¥2,400 *Students (high school, university, graduate school and vocational school) and Kyoto City residents, high school age and up, receive a ¥500 cash-back. Please bring identification confirming your current address or student status (driver's license, My Number card, resident record, student ID, etc.). The discount is refunded at a special booth after entry, not at the time of ticket purchase, and only during the booth's hours on the day of admission; refunds cannot be issued later. *Preschoolers, and elementary and junior high school students are admitted free of charge; no ticket purchase is required. Elementary school students may not enter alone, and junior high school students and under should be accompanied by a guardian or a responsible adult aged 18 or over. Age may be confirmed at entry, and junior high school students should bring proof of enrollment or age (student ID, My Number card, etc.). *Disability discount tickets are available for individuals with a physical disability certificate, rehabilitation certificate, mental health and welfare certificate, Mirairo ID, or similar, and up to one caregiver. Please present the certificate at the entrance gate. *Tickets are available through various ticket agencies and at 7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart and Ministop nationwide. *No refunds or changes to tickets will be made except in cases of suspension or cancellation by the organizer. *Entry restrictions may be implemented depending on congestion. *Last admission for this event is 9:00 PM. Depending on the queue situation, admission may close before 9:00 PM. In such cases, entry will not be permitted even with a valid ticket. *Admission is not available with Nijo Castle entrance certificates (such as "World Heritage Nijo Castle Ichigu Joshu Donation" benefits or Kyoto City resident annual passports). *Use of monopods and tripods inside the venue is not permitted. *Pets are not allowed. *Separate paid content is available inside the venue. |
| Official Website | https://event.naked.works/nijojo/autumn/ja |
| Inquiries | Kyodo Information: 0570-200-888 (Available September 3 – December 5, 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM, excluding weekends and holidays) NAKED meets Nijo-jo Castle Operations Office: 050-1750-3979 (September 3 – October 22: weekdays 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, weekends and holidays 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM; October 23 – December 5: weekdays 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM and 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM, weekends and holidays 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM) |
| Organizer | NAKED meets Nijo-jo Castle Production Committee |
| Co-organizer | Kyoto City |
| Sponsor | THERATIS |
| Cooperation | WILLER ACROSS Co., Ltd. |
| Support | Kyoto City Tourism Association |
| Planning, Direction, Production | NAKED, INC. |
