Martine Franck: A Gaze on Her Time (Kahitsukan Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art)
- Dates
- Oct 3 (Sat) – Jan 17 (Sun)
- Hours
- 10:00 – 18:00 (details on the official site)
- Price
- Adults ¥1,500, students ¥1,300
- Where
- Kahitsukan Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art (Gion-Shijo)
One more nearbyKodaiji Autumn Night Illumination0.7 km · Oct 23 (Fri) – Dec 13 (Sun)More on Kyochika53 more · Art exhibition in KyotoFree audio guidesSights in Kyoto with walk-and-talk audio guides
Candid portraits of Cartier-Bresson that only family could take
Good to know
Sixty signed original prints by Magnum photographer Martine Franck (1938–2012) from the Kahitsukan collection, including candid portraits of her husband, Henri Cartier-Bresson.
- Dates
- Oct 3 (Sat) – Jan 17 (Sun)
- Hours
- 10:00 – 18:00 (details on the official site)
- Venue
- Kahitsukan Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art
- Nearest station
- Gion-Shijo
- Admission
- Adults ¥1,500, students ¥1,300
About this event
Henri Cartier-Bresson famously hated having a camera pointed at him. The person who still managed to photograph him again and again was his wife, Magnum photographer Martine Franck (1938–2012). The Kahitsukan in Gion has chosen 60 of her signed original prints from its collection and shows them in four sections: Children, Portraits, Ireland, and Bresson and Friends. Franck photographed aging as a social issue and returned many times to Tory Island off the coast of Ireland. Family portraits and life on a remote island, taken with the same steady eye, hang side by side in one small museum.
Highlights
- Candid portraits of Cartier-Bresson that only family could take
- Sixty original prints signed by the photographer
- Photos from places she returned to for years, such as Tory Island in Ireland
- How she keeps her distance from children in the Children section
- Good for
- Photography fans, anyone who knows the names Magnum or Cartier-Bresson, and visitors looking for a quiet hour in Gion.
Good to know before you go
- Closed Mondays. When Monday is a national holiday the museum opens and closes the next day instead
- Closed December 28 to January 4
- Last admission 30 minutes before closing
Also nearby
Within walking distance, with dates overlapping
Next stop: book for later today PR
Experiences near here you can book on Klook.
Gion Walking TourGion and Yasaka Pagoda small-group walking tour→Ramen CookingRamen noodle making→Ad: Klook affiliate links.
🍜 Where to eat after
Restaurants near here on Google Maps→Many restaurants in Kyoto take reservations, and some are cash only. Check the restaurant page before you go.
FAQ
- What is Martine Franck: A Gaze on Her Time (Kahitsukan Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art)?
- Henri Cartier-Bresson famously hated having a camera pointed at him. The person who still managed to photograph him again and again was his wife, Magnum photographer Martine Franck (1938–2012). The Kahitsukan in Gion has chosen 60 of her signed original prints from its collection and shows them in four sections: Children, Portraits, Ireland, and Bresson and Friends. Franck photographed aging as a social issue and returned many times to Tory Island off the coast of Ireland. Family portraits and life on a remote island, taken with the same steady eye, hang side by side in one small museum.
- When is Martine Franck: A Gaze on Her Time (Kahitsukan Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art)?
- From Oct 3 (Sat) to Jan 17 (Sun), 2027.
- What are the opening hours?
- 10:00 – 18:00 (details on the official site)
- How much does it cost?
- Adults ¥1,500, students ¥1,300
- Where is it and what is the nearest station?
- Kahitsukan Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art. The nearest station is Gion-Shijo.
More in Kyoto
Live music
Kichirei Kaomise Kogyo (December Grand Kabuki), Minamiza
Minamiza Theatre (Gion-Shijo Sta.)
Dec 1 (Tue) – Dec 24 (Thu) 10:30 – 21:10
Kyoto's year-end kabuki tradition. Matinee from 10:30 AM (ends around 3:15 PM), evening show from 4:00 PM (ends around 9:10 PM). The matinees on Dec 12, 19 and 20 and the evening show on Dec 18 are private bookings.
Details →Nov 1 (Sun) – Nov 23 (Mon) 09:00 – 18:00 (details on the official site)
A City of Kyoto trial linking Pontocho Park to the Kamo River with a temporary staircase, plus chairs and a lawn corner. On Nov 13 and 14 only, food stalls serve craft beer, sake, kamameshi rice, shumai and takoyaki from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Rain date: Nov 15.
Details →Art exhibition
Kyoto Special Opening of Cultural Properties: Kushoin, a sub-temple of Kenninji
Kushoin (Kenninji sub-temple) (Gion-Shijo Sta.)
Nov 13 (Fri) – Nov 30 (Mon) Last entry 16:00
This Kenninji sub-temple opens for the autumn special openings: the abbot's hall and its garden, a statue of founder Sanko Shoeki, the study hall Koshoken, the tea room Enshu Betsugonoseki, and a painting of the Battle of Nagashino by Ukita Ikkei. About 8 minutes on foot from Gion-Shijo Station on the Keihan line.
Details →Art exhibition
Entokuin Temple: Teikan-zu Folding Screens and Autumn Night Light-Up
Entokuin Temple (Kodaiji sub-temple) (Gion-Shijo Sta.)
Oct 23 (Fri) – Dec 13 (Sun) 10:00 – 22:00
The sub-temple of Kodaiji where Nene, the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, spent her final years. It shows the Teikan-zu folding screens handed down in the Toyotomi family, and in autumn lights up its pond-stroll and dry landscape gardens at night. Lights come on at 17:00, last entry is 21:30 and the gate closes at 22:00, with no day/night changeover. Closed December 11 and 12 for temple services.
Details →Art exhibition
Architecture Shaped by Time: TIME'S and Tadao Ando (Kyoto Architecture Center)
Kyoto Architecture Center (inside TIME'S) (Sanjo Sta.)
Sep 2 (Wed) – Nov 23 (Mon) 10:00 – 18:00 (details on the official site)
The first exhibition of the Kyoto Architecture Center, opened in September 2026 inside TIME'S, the 1984 Tadao Ando building on the Takase River. Photos from before and after construction, period magazines, drawings and models trace his design thinking.
Details →Oct 23 (Fri) – Dec 13 (Sun) 17:00 – 22:00
See illuminated autumn gardens at Kodaiji, founded by Nene, the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Projection mapping also transforms the garden in front of the Hojo Hall. Last admission at 9:30 PM.
Details →