Kusama Yayoi's Yellow Pumpkin

photo by Eiji Saito · CC BY-SA 2.0

On the pier since 1994, broken in three by the 2021 typhoon; today it has hooks to keep it safe.

Yellow with black polka dots, 2 metres tall and 2.5 wide, it sits at the end of a pier in the sea, in the grounds of the Benesse House Museum, in direct contact with the water of the Inland Sea. Discreet hooks on the top secure it in bad weather.

The signature work of Benesse Art Site Naoshima, the art project born in 1985 from the meeting between the publisher Fukutake Tetsuhiko and the island's mayor, which led in 1992 to the opening of Benesse House. Yayoi Kusama made it in 1994 for the exhibition ‘Out of Bounds’. On 9 August 2021 Typhoon No. 9 broke it into three pieces; judged beyond repair, it was rebuilt identical and returned on 4 October 2022. Another Kusama pumpkin, red and walkable inside, stands at Miyanoura port, on the opposite side of the island.

ℹ️ It can be seen freely at any time, a few steps from the Benesse House Museum. In strong wind or during a weather warning it is temporarily removed for safety, as has already happened (a brief closure on 4 September 2025, back on display the next day). The next Setouchi Triennale, the art festival involving the nearby islands, is expected in 2028, not in 2026.

🚉 Tsutsuji-so · 2 min walk

Sources: benesse-artsite.jp · benesse-artsite.jp · benesse-artsite.jp · setouchi-artfest.jp

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