My Personal Story of the Makomanai Takino Cemetery

My Grandfather died before I was born and even before my mother met my father in the United States. Since I was a child I have visited his grave whenever my mom and I were in Sapporo. Now, it’s where the bones of my grandmother and uncle’s wife have been laid to rest as well.

Makomanai is the district of Sapporo where my grandma resided and where the Makomanai Takino Cemetery is located. It was never a frequently touristed area of the city. Aside from some old venues from the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics, it is perhaps the quietest suburb of Sapporo. My mom tells me when she grew up there it was a thriving area with many young families, but in the past few decades it has become a micro-level example of what Japan has been experiencing in its small towns all over the country: absence of young people, stale business, and an air of monotony.

Regardless, or perhaps because of this, I have always held a special place in my heart for Makomanai. The birch trees, the river, the green mountains in summer, the old Olympic facilities…or maybe it’s just the nostalgia of my grandma’s house. As for the cemetery, it scared me a bit as a small child due to its many statues, but I came to love it as I grew older as it is quite an interesting place as far as cemeteries go. In December 2015 the famed architect Tadao Sando debuted his “Hill of the Buddha,” which is ultimately the thing that transformed this cemetery into a tourist attraction — so much so that 90% of visitors are foreign, according to Japanese tourism officials.

Still, it has shocked me in recent years seeing people from outside Japan visiting this place. A few years ago I saw a tv segment in the Japanese news showing this phenomenon of foreigners suddenly arriving there — which has always just been our family cemetery to us. The big draw of this particular daibutsu is in the early part of summer, there is a field of lavender surrounding the Buddha head, which sticks out through the open dome. It truly is a unique design, exuding tranquility and spirituality. I understand why people would be fascinated with it. I just thought it would remain our little Sapporo secret…but nothing is truly secret anymore. And maybe in this particular case, for this period of time, it is for the best. This might help Makomanai revive itself, awakening from hibernation like the bears of Hokkaido in springtime.