- Address: 103, Shichi-jo, Goshonouchi Minamimachi, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan
- Phone: +81 075 321 9221, +81 075 321 8011
- E-mail: info@kci.or.jp
- Website: www.kci.or.jp
- Opening hours: 8: 00-17: 00 daily
- Year of foundation: 1974
Kyoto Costume Museum is one of the four best fashion museums in the world. Calling it a mere museum would be wrong - it's a real research center, where not only collect garments, but also study the fashion trends and the impact on them of various historical processes.
It was opened in 1974 and during this time not only managed to collect a vast collection of historical and modern costumes, but also to become one of the most significant of such museums . None of the historical exhibitions held in the world is considered complete if it does not feature items from the museum in Kyoto.
History of the museum
The idea to create a fashion museum arose from the vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kyoto and the director of the company that produces the most popular brand of linen in Japan - Wacoal. The impetus was the exhibition "Inventive clothes: 1909-1939", which was brought to Kyoto by the Metropolitan Museum.
Exposition of the museum
Initially it was planned that the exposition of the museum will be devoted to the West European historical costume. However, in the future the collection expanded. Today it contains more than 12 thousand items of clothing, both Western and Eastern, and old and modern, as well as an extensive collection of linens, accessories and more than 176 thousand various documents telling how there were some trends in fashion or some specific items.
Most of the exposition is made up of old women's clothing in Western style. In 1998, there was an addition - two rooms, in which, in the context of The Tale of Genji, clothing and household items of the Heian nobility are represented. Furniture, character figures and clothes are reproduced on a scale of 1: 4, and part of one room is on a 1: 1 scale. Here you can see the outfits that were intended for a particular season, as well as the accessories that are relying on them.
The oldest exhibit of the museum - a metal corset with an embroidered corsage - dates from the 17th century. The newest ones appear constantly, as most of the world's leading fashion houses, including Christian Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, regularly present their new or iconic models.
How to visit the museum?
The museum is open from Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 17:00. On national holidays it is closed. In addition, from 1.06 to 30.06 and from 1.12 to 6.01, maintenance is carried out there.
Visiting the museum will cost 500 yen (about 4.40 US dollars). A children's ticket costs 200 yen (about 1.80 USD). It is very easy to get to the museum: it is three minutes from the bus stop Nishi-Honganji-mae (Nishi-Honganji-mae). From Kyoto station , you can also take a train from a local line, get off at Nishioji station and from there, walk to the museum in about 3 minutes.