Some locals were initially sceptical about the general appeal of such artworks. In the 1980s

The island’s evolution into a globally renowned open-air museum and international contemporary arts hub was all but assured in 1994, when Yayoi Kusama’s yellow and black-spotted Pumpkin was added to the landscape’s growing collection of public artworks. This iconic work has since become emblematic of Naoshima itself.

“[The] initial goal wasn’t to promote tourism,” said Soichiro Fukutake’s son, Hideaki, who now helms the Fukutake Foundation. “But rather to revitalise the region through art and help locals feel a renewed sense of pride in their hometown.”

But the mission hasn’t just been about building anew. Since 1998 and the start of the Art House Project in the nearby fishing village of Honmura, “using what exists to create what is to be” has been a guiding principle, leading to many defunct buildings on Naoshima and the neighbouring islands of Teshima and Inujima to be reborn as art. These include two projects by artist Shinrō Ōtake: Haisha, an old dentist’s building transformed with collage, reclaimed materials and a partial giant copy of the Statue of Liberty; and Naoshima Bath “I♥︎湯”, a public bathhouse now plastered in a patchwork of patterned tiles on the exterior to the full-scale model of an elephant striding across the dividing wall between the male and female bathing sections.

Some locals were initially sceptical about the general appeal of such artworks. In the 1980s Toshio Hamaguchi worked for Naoshima’s town office and guided executives from Fukutake’s company around the island when the International Camp was first being planned. “I did not expect that we would attract many people by such a project, and particularly by art,” recalls the retiree. “However, we have so many visitors thanks to art now.”

Since his initial commissions on Naoshima, Andō has designed nine other projects on the island, including the Chichu Art Museum, of which a large portion is built directly into the earth; and the Naoshima New Museum of Art, opening 31 May, which will showcase contemporary art from Japan and Asia. The inaugural exhibition – titled From the Origin to the Future – will feature works by the likes of Japan’s Takashi Murakami and Makoto Aida, Cai Guo-Qiang from China and the Korean artist Do Ho Suh.

Like the Chichu Art Museum, the Naoshima New Museum of Art blends seamlessly with the environment by burying two of its three storeys beneath the ground. “It’s one of the most ambitious and exciting projects we’ve undertaken,” said Hideaki Fukutake.

The success of Benesse Art Site Naoshima in attracting visitors to a once-neglected location has been an inspiration for similar projects in other rural parts of Japan. Art Base Momoshima on the island of Momoshima is helmed by renowned conceptual artist Yukinori Yanagi, while on Ōmi-shima, another Inland Sea island, architect Toyō Itō has established the Toyō Itō Museum of Architecture.

As mayor, Kobayashi notes the economic benefits: “Thanks to the increasing number of visitors, guesthouses and restaurants have flourished, helping make everyday life more vibrant for the locals.”

He added: “That said, we’ve also seen some changes, like more people locking their doors, which wasn’t common in the past… For me, what matters most is that the residents can live cheerfully, energetically and happily.”

Threatening this is the island’s persistent issue of depopulation: Naoshima currently has 3,000 residents, around half the number it had in the 1980s. “Personally, I strongly wish to increase it,” said Kobayashi. “Even if just by one person.”