A Quiet Place

How one man's vision transformed three Japanese islands from dystopian dumpsites into world-revered art destinations

- Coco Marett

From a post-industrial wasteland to an art-filled utopia, the story of Japan's art islands in the Seto Inland Sea is one of redemption. There are three islands to be exact: Naoshima, Teshima and Inujima, all of which were on the brink of being damaged beyond repair. Naoshima and Inujima were left barren from a booming but destructive copper smelting industry, while Teshima was buried under nearly a million tonnes of illegally dumped toxic waste. That is until Japanese billionaire Soichiro Fukutake stepped in. Horrified by the destruction-namely the reckless environmental damage caused by corporations to the formerly pristine islands, Fukutake took it upon himself to give them a new lease on life, saying in a statement that he "decided to use art to fight against what society had done" while restoring the Shinto values of honouring and finding harmony with nature.

Today, three decades and about US$250 million later, the trio are teeming with art and flora set against picturesque coastlines, bringing in hundreds of thousands of visitors per year who come to enjoy the works of Claude Monet, Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama and David Hockney, to name but a few.

It all began in 1988 when Fukutake, who at that time was the president and representative director of Fukutake Publishing (now Benesse Corporation), approached renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando to help him realise his vision of transforming the neglected and economically stifled islands into a paradise where visitors could come and admire works by some of the world's greatest artists. A sceptical Ando initially turned down the offer but was eventually convinced, and the Pritzker Prize-winning architect went on to design dozens of buildings across Naoshima, the most popular of the three islands.