Urban Mine-Born ‘Life Orb’ Monument with Kanazawa Gold Leaf, Produced by Shoji Kawamori, Emerges from Discarded PCs and Mobile Phones!
On Thursday, April 3, 2025, the inochi-dama monument—measuring 3.5 meters in diameter and rising 5 meters above ground—was unveiled at the LIVE EARTH JOURNEY pavilion, produced by renowned creator Shoji Kawamori.
The unveiling ceremony was attended by Mr. Kawamori himself, key partners of the LIVE EARTH JOURNEY pavilion, and special guest Mr. Miyata, producer of the signature pavilion Better Co-Being.
The inochi-dama Monument
Elephants and whales, trees and mushrooms, ants and humans—no lifeform is above or below another. Life knows no hierarchy, no scale. The inochi-dama represents this spirit of biodiversity, a symbolic fusion and transformation of all living beings.
Mr. Atsushi Okamura, CEO of Minami Metal Co., Ltd. (based in Kanazawa, Ishikawa), which handled the recycling process, announced that the project repurposed the equivalent of approximately 200,000 discarded mobile phones. Each device was carefully dismantled by hand to extract precious metals.
The gold leaf used to coat the monument is made entirely from urban mine-sourced gold, without harming any natural mountains. Its champagne-gold tone was custom blended to match the vision of producer Shoji Kawamori, adjusting the gold-silver ratio specifically for this project.
The gold leaf used on the inochi-dama was crafted by Hakuichi Co., Ltd. (Kanazawa, Ishikawa). The donated gold was transformed by master artisans into ultra-thin sheets—just 1/10,000th of a millimeter thick—before being carefully hand-applied, one by one, to the surface of the monument.
Tatsuya Asano, President of Hakuichi, commented:
“We brought together the finest craftsmanship to imbue the monument with the essence of traditional Japanese beauty. We also applied special techniques to ensure the gold’s brilliance remains vivid and lasting throughout the event.”
The surface of the monument proudly retains the unique texture of gold leaf—its wrinkles and “haku-ashi” (the overlapping edges between sheets)—and has been given a deep, layered glow using advanced aging techniques.
Producer Shoji Kawamori shared a personal memory from the project, saying,
“It was a special moment placing just a small piece of gold leaf on the monument with our sponsor partners in Kanazawa. I applied mine to the giant salamander—please take a look!”
The transportation of the massive inochi-dama from Kanazawa to Osaka was handled by Nippon Express Co., Ltd. Plans are also underway to repurpose the monument after the event, ensuring that its symbolic presence lives on beyond the exhibition.
