Just a decade ago, a lithograph by artist Yayoi Kusama would sell for several hundred dollars at best. But now her pieces, some just the size of a magazine, can fetch as much as $74,000.

Japan's long-dormant art market has been turbo-charged by Shinzo Abe's economic policies that have dragged the nation from decades of deflation, as well as by the weakening of the yen, spurring demand for post-World War II and contemporary works both at home and abroad.

Japan's art collectors were once known for their aggressive bidding during the booming 1980s, even before a domestic art auction market was formally established. Collectors bought works directly from museums and galleries, paying sky-high prices without complaint.