Avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama’s Yellow Pumpkin, a symbol of Naoshima, an island dedicated to contemporary art, was unfortunately swept away by the waves when the strong winds of Typhoon Lupit hit the coast.
Battered by the high tide waves, the iconic sculpture smashed against the pier while the Benesse Art Site staff stood by powerless. The pumpkin eventually reached the shore but sustained some severe damages. It has now been recovered and is under the care of the Benesse Art Site.
No one knows yet why Art Site employees didn’t move the pumpkin as they usually do when the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) announces nasty weather. Still, Japan Twitter was buzzing with tweets of the poor pumpkin being tossed by waves.
Poor pumpkin
直島
朝のかぼちゃ
波がやばい
“Naoshima.
The pumpkin this morning.
The waves are awful!”
Is Naoshima ok?
草間彌生のカボチャが流されたようだ…。
直島がー
画像は流される前。
直島大丈夫かな。
“Looks like Yayoi Kusama’s pumpkin got washed away…
Naoshima!
The picture is before it was washed away.
I wonder if Naoshima is okay.”
The symbol of Naoshima
直島のシンボルが…..#
“The symbol of Naoshima is… #Typhoon9”
They didn’t carry it away?
そういえば自分も初めて聞いたときはえっ！？と思ったが直島の黄色いかぼちゃって地面に接着されて固定されとるもんかと思っていたが、台風の時等に流されないようにカポッと持ち上げて運べるんだとか。
“By the way, when I heard about this, I was like, ‘What?!’ I thought the yellow pumpkin in Naoshima was glued to the ground, but I heard that it can be lifted and carried away during typhoons to prevent it from being swept away.”
Typhoons don’t have names in Japan
While the English media reported on Typhoon Lupit, you may have noticed that Japanese news referred to Typhoon N°9. In Japan, typhoons are not named but numbered. Thus, Typhoon N°9 is the ninth typhoon of 2021.
The only exception to the rule is when a typhoon has been particularly powerful and devastating, in which case the Japan Meteorological Agency will give it a memorable name. That was the case twice in September and October 2019, with Faxai and Hagibis typhoons. The JMA has officially named only a handful of typhoons since 1954.
Vocabulary
直島 naoshima Naoshima 波 nami Wave 草間彌生 kusama yayoi Artist Yayoi Kusama 流される nagasareru Be swept away 画像 gazou Picture 台風9号 taifuu kyuu gou Typhoon N°9 初めて聞いたとき hajimete kiita toki The first time I heard… 地面 jimen Ground 接着される secchakusareru Be glued 固定される koteisareru Be fixed 持ち上げる mochiageru Raise, lift 運べる hakoberu Can be carried
