Why Inujima
Inujima, whose name translates literally as Dog Island, is an island situated in Japan's Seto Inland Sea near the coast of Okayama Prefecture. Administratively, this island forms a portion of Higashi-ku within the city of Okayama. According to demographic figures recorded in 2017, the local population residing on the island was 47.
The modern history of Inujima is closely connected to its early twentieth-century industrial activity. A copper refinery was established and opened on the island in 1909. Although industrial operations ceased when the facility was shut down in 1919, the original brick-built refinery was largely left undemolished on the site.
In April 2008, the island became the site of a major regional initiative known as the Inujima Art Project. Organized by the Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum Foundation as a project of the Benesse Corporation, this island-wide rehabilitation scheme was designed to stimulate tourism by converting the island's industrial heritage into a destination for modern culture.
The primary phase of the project focused on transforming the historic seirensho copper refinery into a model of contemporary art and architecture centered on recycling industrial structures. Created through the coordinated efforts of architect Hiroshi Sambuichi and artist Yukinori Yanagi, the museum venue reuses structural components from the former copper refinery as well as elements from the former house of Yukio Mishima, a Nobel-nominated writer recognized for his vocal dissent against the modernization of Japan.
In addition to its contemporary art installations and historical industrial ruins, Inujima has served as a media backdrop, notably functioning as a film location for Seibu Keisatsu in July 1984. Travelers visiting the island can access the destination from the mainland via a ferry service that operates directly between Hōden and Inujima.
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