Hill of the Buddha explained

Architect:	Tadao Ando
Location:	Makomanai Takino Cemetery, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Native Name:	頭大仏
Native Name Lang:	ja
Opened Date:	December 2015

The is a Buddhist shrine at Makomanai Takino Cemetery in Sapporo, Japan, designed by Japanese modernist architect Tadao Ando.^[1] The shrine features a 13.5m (44.3feet) tall statue of the Buddha encircled by an artificial hill rotunda planted with 150,000 lavender plants.^[2]

The design incorporated the pre-existing Buddha statue, which was sculpted circa 2000 and stood solitary. On approaching the statue, only the head sticks out from the hill, and the shrine is entered through a tunnel for a full view of the statue inside of the open rotunda. The building opened in December 2015.^{[3] [4]}

References

42.9206°N 141.3628°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Architect Tadao Ando builds a lavender-covered hill around a Buddha sculpture. Barba-Court. Kala. 2017-09-26. PLAIN Magazine. en-US. 2019-02-26.
2. Web site: Tadao Ando surrounds huge buddha statue with lavender-covered mound. 2017-08-08. Dezeen. en. 2019-02-26.
3. Web site: Om-believable Buddha in Rings of Lavender. 2017-09-18. Hyperallergic. en-US. 2019-02-26.
4. Web site: Vitra The Hill of the Buddha. Vitra. 2019-02-26.