About SAGA HOUSE

Shibunkaku proudly announces the opening of Saga House, the location of our new art-in-residence program in the heart of Sagano, an area in Kyoto famed for its scenic views and its deep connection to Japanese culture.

Sagano became the place of origin of the classical poem anthology Hyakunin isshu (One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets) when the Heian-period courtier Fujiwara no Sadaie selected poems by one hundred of the most celebrated waka poets, one poem each, to write them in graceful calligraphy on shikishi paper and adorn his mountain retreat in Saga’s Ogurayama district.

In tangible and intangible ways, Sadaie’s unique anthology continues to influence the life of the Japanese people to the present day.

The people of Kyoto, who cherish their traditional culture like nowhere else in Japan, at the same time embrace a progressive spirit that nourishes on new cultural developments in Japan and abroad, and aim to to develop such influences further into something of their own.

Our concept of Wanobi—the Beauty of Japan—is born in this area.

We are looking forward to welcoming creative spirits to these surroundings of Kyoto and Sagano, hoping to inspire timeless art that fuses the old with the new, reveals hidden beauty and spurs ideas and ambition.

Visitors

Artist
Ogawa Machiko
Artist
Ernst Yohji Jaeger
Curator
Martin Germann
Artist
Kasper Bosmans
Artist
Honda Takeshi
Artist
Ellen Altfest