Tower of the Sun, Modern art tower in Natural and Cultural Gardens, Suita, Japan
Tower of the Sun is a 70-meter tower made of steel-reinforced concrete in the Natural and Cultural Gardens of Suita. Two faces look in opposite directions from the front side, while a third appears on the back.
The structure was built in 1970 for the Osaka World Exposition and originally stood inside the Festival Plaza building designed by architect Kenzo Tange. After decades outside public access, it reopened in 2018 following extensive renovation.
Artist Taro Okamoto designed this tower as a symbol of progress and life, a vision visitors still experience today in the exterior design and exhibition space. The three faces represent past, present and future, a concept woven throughout the entire structure.
Since the 2018 renovation, visitors climb a staircase instead of the Expo-era escalator, so the ascent through the 45-meter Tree of Life is slower and can be taken at one's own pace. The interior is narrower than in 1970 and holds 183 organism models rather than 292.
The golden mask at the top is not the original: the 337 steel plates of 1970 were replaced in 1992 by a stainless steel replica, and 167 of the original plates are kept in storage in the park. The mask's eyes once held xenon floodlights, lit only during Expo '70 under a special transport ministry permit.
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