Close by Nishi Honganji Temple are the Ryukoku Museum, the Buddhist goods shops of Shomen Dori Street, and a number of interesting old buildings. If you are interested in Buddhist art and history then you might want to try the Ryukoku Museum, and then take a look at some of the shops selling Buddhist goods on Shomen Dori Street. Let’s take a look at each of these locations in turn.
A scene from Heian period court life as depicted in the Costume Museum
Ryukoku Museum
On the eastern side of Horikawa Street, across from Nishi Honganji Temple, you can see a large modern building with huge ceramic blinds. This is the Ryukoku Museum, the largest museum in the world completely dedicated to Buddhist artifacts.
The Ryukoku Museum: the ceramic blinds give it a distinctive Kyoto appearance
Ryukoku Museum was built to showcase the enormous collection of Buddhist art and historical treasures owned by Ryukoku University and opened in 2011. Ryukoku University was established by Nishi Honganji Temple in 1639 which makes it Kyoto’s oldest university. During the early 20th century the university amassed a huge collection of historical and artistic items from archaeological expeditions along Central Asia’s Silk Road.
The museum presents Buddhist art and history through series exhibitions and special exhibitions, drawing on these university collections and on material connected with Silk Road research. Most notable is the digital recreation of the cave paintings of Bezeklik. Deep in the Taklamakan Desert in China, is an ancient complex of grottos, once completely decorated with colorful Buddhist murals, which over time have been terribly damaged and are in very poor condition. Scholars at Ryukoku University have digitally recreated a portion of this grotto, and visitors can walk through a passageway in the museum decorated from the floor to the ceiling with these glorious images.
A digital recreation of a Bezeklik cave painting in Ryukoku University Library
On the first floor is the Maeda Coffee Ryukoku Museum branch, which can be used without entering the exhibition area and also sells past catalogues and original museum goods. At the reception desk they have English pamphlets which list the various exhibits and give some basic information about their age, material and place of origin. More detailed information however, is written solely in Japanese, so you may want to bring a Japanese guide with you. Within the exhibition rooms, photography is forbidden.
The Museum café & shop
Ryukoku Museum Location
Ryukoku Museum is located northwest of Kyoto Station on Horikawa Street. You can walk there in about 12 minutes, take a taxi, or take Kyoto City Bus #9, #28, or #75 to Nishi Honganji-mae Bus Stop, which is about 2 minutes from the museum. The easiest way to get there on foot is to walk north from the station on Karasuma Street until you reach Shichijo Street. Then turn left and head west until you reach Horikawa Street. Turn right and walk north on Horikawa until you see the museum’s distinctive blinds on the right side of the street. Here is a map.
Entrance Fees:
Admission varies by exhibition.
Check the museum’s exhibition information before you visit.
Opening Hours:
10:00 – 17:00 (Last entry: 16:30)
Closed on Mondays. If Monday is a national holiday, the museum opens that day and closes the following day. The museum may also close on other days it sets, including between exhibitions. Check the museum visitor guide before you visit.
The Somon Gate
Walk north from the Ryukoku Museum on Horikawa Street and you will see an enormous wooden gate, which stands directly across from the main gate of Nishi Honganji Temple.
The Somon gate viewed from Nishi Honganji Temple
This is the Somon, which was originally a gate of Nishi Honganji and is believed to date from 1711. Built to mark a division between the secular and sacred spheres inside and outside the temple, it seems that there was originally more than one Somon gate, but today only this one remains. What is more, this gate has been moved three times.
The first time was in 1898, when it was moved a little to the east of its original position to make way for a fountain in the temple garden. Then in 1911, there was an important religious celebration at Nishi Honganji, and it was believed the gate would obstruct the flow of pilgrims. At that time the fountain was removed, and the gate returned to its original position. Finally, in 1959, Kyoto City officials appealed to the temple to move the gate once more, so that they could expand Horikawa Street for increasing traffic. In response, the gate was moved 6 meters east and 45cms north, so that it would fit snugly to the entrance of Shomen Dori Street. A fence that used to flank it on either side was removed too, so that the gate stands isolated from any other structure. Looking at it from the Nishi Honganji side we can see shops selling Buddhist goods, and from the Shomen Dori side we can see the traffic on Horikawa Street and the temple. Without knowing anything about its history or circumstances it might seem a little strange, but actually this gate tells us a lot about the peculiar ways in which both Nishi Honganji and the city itself have changed over time.
The view of Nishi Honganji from the Somon gate
Shomen Dori Street
If you go through the Somon Gate onto Shomen Dori Street you can see many old machiya style wooden townhouses, containing shops selling Buddhist paraphernalia. As machiya buildings are becoming increasingly rare, this area gives you a little flavor of life in old Kyoto.
A machiya building on Shomen Dori
Selling statues, beads, candle sticks, family altars and other religious regalia, some of these shops are family businesses that have stood here for generations.
The Dendoin was built in 1912
One building on the street, that will certainly catch your eye, is the Dendoin. An odd blend of Eastern and Western influences it is topped with an unusual domed roof, and encircled by posts topped with gargoyles. Designated a Cultural Asset by Kyoto City, it was built by Ito Chuta (1867–1954) a leading architect of the early 20th century. The building is owned by Nishi Honganji Temple and is not open to the public.
The Costume Museum
The Costume Museum is another site connected with the history of Kyoto’s Heian-period court culture. The museum has been closed since 1-Apr-2025 for a planned relocation and rebuilding project, with the new site and reopening date to be announced by the museum. It opened in 1974, originally to display a number of life sized Japanese traditional costumes, dating from ancient times to the present day.
Life sized costumes on display at the museum
Before the closure, the museum’s displays centered on detailed one-quarter-scale scenes from Murasaki Shikibu’s “Tale of Genji” – the world’s first novel, with a smaller selection of life sized court-costume displays.
Young Lady Tamakazura, one of Prince Genji’s many loves
The models were wonderfully detailed and gave a lot of insight into the costumes and customs of Heian era life. In contrast to the Ryukoku Museum, there was also no restriction on photography, and there was plenty of detailed English language information on hand to help you understand each scene. Because the museum is closed for relocation, check its official announcements before planning a visit.
Ladies playing the board game Go
A scene from the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
The Costume Museum Location Map
Until the 2025 closure, the Costume Museum occupied the 5th floor of the Izutsu Samegai Building on the east side of Horikawa, just south of Hanayacho Street. The building is easily recognized by the Lawson’s convenience store on the 1st floor. The map below records that location, but the museum has said that its relocation destination will be announced separately.
The Izutsu Samegai Building
Status:
Closed from 1-Apr-2025 for a relocation and rebuilding project.
The museum says the new site and reopening date will be announced on its official website.
Pre-closure guide information:
Opening hours were 10:00 – 17:00.
Admission was 800 yen for adults, 300 yen for junior high school, high school, and university students, and 200 yen for elementary school students.
Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved. Last updated 03-Jul-2026.
