Awata Gallery & Library

Highlight

Savor the local delights of Awata across five themes in five booths “Local History”, “Pottery (Awata Ware), “Swords”, “Akechi Mitsuhide (Military Commander under Nobunaga)” and “Gardens (Ogawa Jihei)

A gallery within a library introducing the culture that flourished in Awata, the main entrance to Kyoto

Directly connected to the Tokaido (the Edo period Edo-Kyoto Highway), Awataguchi has long been known as the main entrance to Kyoto, And this Awata facility - opened in July 2022 in part of a local community center newly established on the site of a defunct elementary school - serves as a regional information hub, functioning as a gallery and library to introduce the various cultures that have flourished in the Awata area through exhibits and open-shelf books.
Inside the facility, there is an exhibition space along the wall and a round table and chairs in the center, so that after viewing the exhibition, visitors can read the related books to further deepen their knowledge. The exhibiting setup also has five booths: "Local History", "Pottery (Awata Ware)", "Swords (of the Awataguchi School)", "Akechi Mitsuhide (Military Commander under Nobunaga)", and "Gardens (Ogawa Jihei)", which, underpinned by local history, tell the stories of Awata Ware, a form of pottery that has produced many master craftsmen and whose tradition continues to this day; sword masters such as the swordsmith Sanjo Munechika, re-popularized by the sword boom found in recent animation productions; the Akechi Mitsuhide booth, added due to his connection to the area through items such as the burial mound for severed heads, features a 3D model of the original Honno-ji Temple, recreated from documentary materials and excavation results, which has added a new dimension to the discussion on Nobunaga's final days, and, in the last booth, the "gardening" of Ogawa Jihei (Ueji), who is considered to be the founder of modern gardens and worked on a number of famous gardens around Nanzen-ji Temple, is introduced. Each booth will surely be a time-consuming delight, and fans of swords and ceramics will be more than satisfied to just visit the booths they are interested in. However, the only drawback is that the route to the gallery is a bit confusing. Visitors can reach it by passing through the courtyard of Hotel Higashiyama, which also is built on the site of the same defunct elementary school, or by going south from Sanjo-dori and passing through the entrance reception of the community center.