Inujima Seirensho Art Museum

Inujima, Japan

An art museum that was built in the ruins of a former copper refinery. The refinery was built in 1909 and shutdown in 1919 after a decline in copper prices. The art was inspired by the late novelist Yukio Mishima, a controversial figure who opposed Japan's modernization and movements away from its culture and traditions. The abandoned copper refinery is symbolic of how modernization at the expense of culture and heritage leaves a society empty and without identity. The museum is mostly underground and incorporates local materials. The museum only has a few exhibits, including a tunnel of mirrors and pieces of Yukio Mishima's residence suspended in mid-air.