Even as an Important Cultural Property, It's an Explosion! Taro Okamoto and the Tower of the Sun

Wow! How wonderful!!
On May 16, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report to the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology recommending that the "Tower of the Sun," a masterpiece by artist Taro Okamoto built for the 1970 Osaka Expo, be designated as an Important Cultural Property.
It was designated as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2020, but there were even plans to demolish it after the Expo ended. In fact, very few of the pavilions and structures from that time still exist today.
I firmly believe that this is all because the overwhelming presence and artistic intensity of Taro Okamoto's work moved people.

The interior is currently open to the public, so you can enter if you make a reservation.
The Tree of Life is on display, but it feels like a monument that retains the festive atmosphere of the Expo, and nothing more.
However, the true highlight inside the Tower of the Sun is something else.
It is...

This is it, this is it!
This is a view of the arm section from the inside; the base is steel-reinforced concrete, and the arm is a steel structure with a reinforced concrete shell as the outer skin. Shotcrete was used there.
It seems Takenaka Corporation was involved, but since it was an unprecedented construction project (naturally), they seem to have struggled quite a bit.
The person in charge of the construction even said in later years, "If it were today, I would refuse and say it couldn't be done."
Still, this spiral of steel! It looks like a staircase to the afterlife, and it feels like it might lure you somewhere far away. While looking at it on-site, I even had the illusion that I was being sucked into it.

Now that it has become an Important Cultural Property, we won't have to worry about its preservation in the future, but I hope they keep it in a state where we can touch and enjoy it as we do now.
Personally, I think it's a work that wouldn't be out of place as a National Treasure, but it would be a problem if we could no longer touch it freely.
During his lifetime, Taro Okamoto created "Myth of Tomorrow," a masterpiece that pairs with the Tower of the Sun, and this is currently displayed in a busy underground walkway at Shibuya Station.
The reason it is displayed despite the harsh environment, including train vibrations and exhaust fumes, is due to the policy of those who carry on Taro's will, starting with Toshiko Okamoto.
Taro's works should be close to people. This sentiment is something I want to see carefully passed on.