Tweet of the Week #144: Naoshima’s Pumpkin Blown Away by Typhoon Lupit

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 pic.twitter.com/MWtuDV9K36

— takaaoki (@aomizuki2007) August 9, 2021

直島（なおしま）

朝（あさ）のかぼちゃ

波（なみ）がやばい

“Naoshima.

The pumpkin this morning.

The waves are awful!”

Is Naoshima ok?

https://twitter.com/makiyoga39/status/1424661993378631682?s=20

草間（くさま）彌生（やよい）のカボチャが流（なが）されたようだ…。

直島がー

画像（がぞう）は流（）される前（まえ）。

直島大丈夫（だいじょうぶ）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…..#台風9号 pic.twitter.com/7l9b65ivSe

— 歪みっぱなしの帝国. (@ppdisundia) August 9, 2021

直島のシンボルが…..#台風（たいふう）9（きゅう）号（ごう）

“The symbol of Naoshima is… #Typhoon9”

They didn’t carry it away?

https://twitter.com/HatsuMode/status/1424612044712550402?s=20

そういえば自分（じぶん）も初（はじ）めて聞（き）いたときはえっ！？と思（おも）ったが直島の黄色（きいろ）いかぼちゃって地面（じめん）に接着（せっちゃく）されて固定（こてい）されとるもんかと思（おも）っていたが、台風（たいふう）の時（とき）等（など）に流されないようにカポッと持（も）ち上（あ）げて運べ（はこべ）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

Photo: iStock: Olaser

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

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