Expo '70 "Tower of the Sun" keychain - Okamoto Tarō - still sealed

A souvenir from the Osaka 1970 World Expo, which has remained unopened in its retail packaging for fifty-five years.

The pendant features a bronze-colored medal with a relief of the Tower of the Sun and the inscription EXPO'70 · OSAKA · JAPAN. The sales card is printed with the item number HK1-200 and the characters 万博記念 ("World Expo Commemoration") and remains sealed.

The Tower of the Sun

The Tower of the Sun (太陽の塔) is the architectural landmark of the Osaka World Expo and was created by Okamoto Tarō, arguably the most idiosyncratic Japanese artist of the 20th century. He deliberately placed the seventy-meter-high tower right through the festival roof designed by Kenzō Tange – a break with the architecture that Okamoto understood as a confrontation between archaic power and technical modernity.

The tower bears three faces: one at the top for the future, one on the front for the present, and one on the back for the past. It is the only major structure from the exhibition that has been preserved and still stands today in the Expo Park in Suita.

The medal of this pendant reproduces the two front faces in relief, set against a sunburst.

For distinction: The five-petaled cherry blossom emblem of the exhibition – found on most other Expo souvenirs – was not designed by Okamoto, but by Ōtaka Takeshi. Okamoto was responsible for the tower.

Design

The round medal has an antique bronze patina, which enhances the relief effect: the raised faces and the sunburst background stand out clearly from the recessed base. A fine beaded edge frames the surface.

The pendant is attached to a chrome-plated chain with a key ring, with an enamelled red and yellow tag in between featuring the text EXPO 70. The red sales card carries the same lettering in a curved ribbon.

Dating

1970, for the World Expo in Osaka.

Condition

The pendant is unopened and unused; the clear packaging remains factory-sealed. As a result, the medal, enamel tag, and chain are in their original delivery state.

The packaging itself shows signs of age-related storage: the plastic film is slightly cloudy and shows creasing; the red backing card is rubbed at the edges.

We have deliberately not opened the packaging – for a souvenir of this age, the unopened state is an integral part of the object.

The actual condition is shown unretouched in the product photos.

Technical Data

• Occasion: Osaka World Expo 1970 (Expo '70)
• Motif: Tower of the Sun, design by Okamoto Tarō
• Item number: HK1-200
• Material: Metal, bronze-patinated, with enamelled tag
• Diameter of medal: approx. 34.5 mm
• Weight incl. original packaging: 19 g
• Dating: 1970
• Origin: Japan
• Condition: original factory-sealed, unopened

For whom?

For collectors of World Expo memorabilia and lovers of Okamoto Tarō. As a small, affordable piece of design history. And for anyone who likes the idea of owning an object that no one has unpacked since 1970.

Warranty (used goods)

This is a used item. The limitation period for claims for defects under the statutory warranty is 12 months from delivery.