Museum · Gojo-zaka / Higashiyama

Kawai Kanjiro's House 河井寛次郎記念館

The preserved home, studio and climbing kiln of the great mingei potter Kawai Kanjiro, a warm wooden house full of his ceramics, carvings and furniture.

About

Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966) was one of the founders of the Mingei folk craft movement with Yanagi Soetsu and Hamada Shoji, and a prolific potter, sculptor and writer. He designed this house himself in 1937, in the style of a rural farmhouse from his native Shimane, and lived and worked here until his death. It is kept as he left it: an airy hearth room with a staircase-hole looking up to the second floor, his chairs and woodcarvings, a courtyard with a round seat-stone, and at the back a large eight-chamber noborigama climbing kiln that you can walk inside. His ceramics and pieces of his collection are displayed throughout. Few places in Kyoto capture an artist's sensibility so intimately. It is a short walk from Gojo-zaka and Kiyomizu-dera.

Highlights

• Self-designed 1937 house and studio
• Eight-chamber noborigama climbing kiln
• Kawai's ceramics, carvings and furniture
• Courtyard with a round stone seat
• Calm, intimate atmosphere

Tips

• Closed Mondays and in mid-summer and winter breaks; check the calendar.
• Sit on the chairs: visitors are invited to.
• Combine with Kiyomizu-dera via the pottery shops of Gojo-zaka.
• Photography is allowed for personal use.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Ichikawaya CoffeeCafé & Sweets · 50 m away
• Six Senses KyotoStay · 280 m away
• Four Seasons Hotel KyotoStay · 360 m away
• Rokuharamitsu-jiTemple · 370 m away
• Kyoto National MuseumMuseum · 420 m away
• Azuma ZushiSushi & Seafood · 430 m away
• Yogen-in TempleLocal Secret · 550 m away
• Coin Lockers · Kiyomizu-gojo Station (Keihan)Luggage Storage · 590 m away