Journeys in Japan

Naoshima, Kagawa: Island of Art (1x4)

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The navigator for this episode of "journeys in japan" is opera director Dario Ponissi. His destination is Naoshima of Kagawa Prefecture, a small island in the Seto Inland Sea, with a population of some 3300. Naoshima has gathered global attention as a center of contemporary art. Some 30,000 tourists now visit this island from Japan and abroad every year. The Red Pumpkin created by Yayoi Kusama welcomes visitors at Naoshima's main port of Miyaura. The island showcases many pieces of contemporary art in harmony with the island's natural environment. The first place Dario visits is the Honmura District in the eastern part of the island. Here, many old houses and a shrine have been transformed into pieces of art, to form the Art House Project. The old meets contemporary art, coming alive again today with new value. A local volunteer guide Terunori Takahashi takes Dario to see interesting pieces of art around the island, and Dario learns about the relationship between the islanders and art. With contemporary art so embedded in their lives now, some people of the island have even been inspired to create themselves. Akira Kojima who lives in the Honmura District has been making dolls with empty cans for five years now. Though it is a simple idea, it has become one of the signature pieces of Naoshima. The Naoshima Slag Ceramic Art Experience Studio was also set up to offer people the chance to experience art for themselves on the "island of contemporary art." Dario also tries his hand at pottery, following the instructions by the local women, as a wonderful souvenir of this trip. Naoshima is alive with contemporary art. The defining moment for the "island of contemporary art" was the opening of the Chichu Art Museum. As the name "Chichu" (literally meaning "in the ground") suggests, most of the building is submerged in the ground. It is indeed a unique museum, housing works by three masters of light, Claude Monet, Walter De Maria, and James Turrell. The piece