Yayoi Kusama: key obituary facts
Is Yayoi Kusama dead? Yes. Yayoi Kusama died on August 14, 2026, at age 97.
Cause of death: Yayoi Kusama's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Yayoi Kusama known for?
She was a Japanese artist (born 1929).
More about Yayoi Kusama
Born: 22 March 1929.
Place of birth: Matsumoto.
Place of death: Tokyo.
Gender: female.
Occupation: conceptual artist, sculptor, novelist, painter, writer, draftsperson, photographer, installation artist.
Nationality: Japan.
Education: Kyoto City University of Arts.
Notable work: A Message of Love, Directly from My Heart unto the Universe.
Awards: Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class, Praemium Imperiale, Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award, Person of Cultural Merit, Order of Culture, Asahi Prize, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.
Also known as: Kusama Yayoi.
Known for: Painting, drawing, sculpture, installation art, performance art, film, fiction, fashion, writing.
Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese installation and performance artist whose work helped define postwar avant-garde art, died on August 14, 2026, aged 97.
Born in Matsumoto in 1929 and known also as Kusama Yayoi, she trained briefly at Kyoto City University of Arts before building an international career across sculpture, installation, painting, performance, video, fashion, poetry and fiction. Her art drew on conceptual art while incorporating elements of minimalism, surrealism, pop art and abstract expressionism, and often carried autobiographical, psychological and sexual themes.
Kusama became one of Japan’s best-known artists and, by reputation, one of the world’s most successful living female artists. Among her notable works was A Message of Love, Directly from My Heart unto the Universe. She died in Tokyo.