In the misty islands of Japan’s Seto Inland Sea, over the past 30 years an art mecca has slowly sunk into the hills and cascaded down into abandoned wooden fishing villages with ageing populations. As I roamed the islands’ art museums, I entered the trance of the art pilgrim. My mind quietened. Other people walked around me, but they were dark shadows, mystical silhouettes illuminated by the precise openings carved in the building’s body. The museums pulled me into their spell, revealing themselves slowly, layer by layer, room by room.