"ATAMA DAIBUTSU To a new world of prayer."
(From the brochure we picked up) "The concept: showing the whole by showing only a part.
This Buddha statue is known as the symbol of Makomanai Takino Cemetery. (I'm so sorry I didn't photograph the crazy largeness of the cemetery! It made me think of U.S. cemeteries.)
The recently created Hill of the Buddha, with the Atama Daibutsu at the center for worship, was created by world-famous architect Tadao Ando. 'How does a statue become a more solemn, attractive figure?' Ando asked himself...
His bold answer was to cover the statue with a hill of lavender...(there are 150,000 of these plants swirling the hillside. At this season, each one is cut back and TIED to withstand the winter snow)
Surprisingly, one only sees the head of the statue surrounded by the landscape of the hill. Atama Daibutsu (The Buddha's Head) was named for its novel, impressive appearance. It stands in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape in all seasons.
Thus has a new symbol of the cemetery been established.
Water garden This is a sacred boundary. By detouring around the water garden instead of making a straight approach, one purifies the soul, and one's mindset switches from the ordinary, to the extraordinary.
After walking the long path,
one arrives at a moving, astonishing scene.
One sees the head of the Buddha, but one can't reach it quickly. This design is Mr. Ando's intention. The idea comes from his experience of being impressed when looking up at Buddha statues glistening in the dim sunlight deep in the caves of India and China. A water garden that makes visitors bypass the straight route...a dim, 40 meter tunnel: These stir anticipation of encountering the unseen statue. Depending on the day's weather, one experiences sunny skies, floating clouds, wind, rainfall or snowfall, seen through the unroofed space. Such natural elements make the statue all the more celestial."
On our way away... and exiting the cemetery, we found these:
