The symbolic cauldron used in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics will grace the state-of-the-art national stadium to be constructed in the heart of the Japanese capital for the 2020 Games.
The 2.1-meter-high cauldron along with a plate bearing the names of Japan’s Olympic gold medalists will be housed at the new national stadium for the ceremonious sporting event.
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry made the decision in response to growing calls for preserving the cauldron as a heritage of the 1964 Games.
The cauldron was made in 1958 by Kawaguchi craftsmen, Mannosuke Suzuki and his son Bungo, and is currently enshrined at the National Stadium. The ministry is considering lending the cauldron to other cities until the construction of 80,000-seat stadium is finished by 2019. The stadium designed by award-winning architect Zaha Hadid will replace the old stadium, but it has also been the subject of some controversy.
Bungo had polished the cauldron every autumn since the 1964 Games. He was later joined by Athens Olympics gold medalist and hammer thrower Koji Murofushi after he learned of Suzuki’s dedication to the Olympic fixture.
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