World Art Utopia

Pumpkin

Yayoi Kusama’s yellow Pumpkin sculpture with rows of black dots on a concrete pier with the sea behind it on Naoshima, Japan.
Artwork FileNaoshima · Japan

Pumpkin

SeenOctober 2022

Yayoi Kusama · Naoshima, Kagawa

Photo: Rahil Chadha on Unsplash (Unsplash License), as used in Street Art Utopia, media 118017. Artwork: Yayoi Kusama. Capture date not recorded.

Yayoi Kusama’s yellow, black-dotted Pumpkin was installed on an old pier jutting into the sea on Naoshima. A typhoon washed it away in August 2021; a restored Pumpkin returned to the same spot on 4 October 2022. Source Checked

CNN reports that the pumpkin had stood there since 1994 and that the new version's shell is 10% thicker than the original. Source Reported

💡 4 things to know

  1. On the pier since 1994The Art Newspaper says the pumpkin was installed in 1994; CNN says it had been there since 1994. Source Checked
  2. Lost to a typhoonIn August 2021 Typhoon Lupit swept the sculpture off the pier and severely damaged it; the owners collected the parts. Source Checked
  3. Remade, not repairedAccording to CNN, a new pumpkin was built in spring 2022 with a shell about 10% thicker than the original. Source Reported
  4. Back on the same pierBenesse Art Site announced that Pumpkin was exhibited again on the pier from 4 October 2022. Source Checked

📍 Where it is

On an old pier by the sea near Benesse House Museum, Naoshima, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. Source Checked

Open in Maps

Map search for the pier; no coordinates are given by the sources.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 202110 Aug

    The Art Newspaper reports the typhoon damage and the recovered parts.

  2. 20224 Oct

    Benesse Art Site: the restored Pumpkin goes back on display on the pier.

  3. 20227 Oct

    CNN reports the remade sculpture back on Naoshima.

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps are reports or records. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Artist
Yayoi Kusama Source Checked
Year
Installed 1994 Source Checked
New version
Built in 2022, shell about 10% thicker (CNN) Source Reported
Place
Old pier near Benesse House Museum, Naoshima Source Checked
Material
Fiberglass-reinforced plastic Source Reported
Size
About 2 m tall and 2.5 m wide Source Reported
Damage
Washed off the pier by Typhoon Lupit, August 2021 Source Checked
Reinstalled
4 October 2022 Source Checked
Latest dated photograph
No dated photograph found; newest dated record is October 2022 Source Unconfirmed

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: Rahil Chadha on Unsplash (Unsplash License), as used in Street Art Utopia, media 118017. Artwork: Yayoi Kusama. Capture date not recorded.

Last checked: 25 October 2026 · How we verify art