Playground of the Gods
While these wooden totems bear a striking resemblance to First Nations artwork of British Columbia, their actual origins lay on the opposite side of the Pacific Ocean.
Perched atop a mountain, with spectacular views of Vancouver and her surrounding environs, Playground of the Gods draws on Ainu animist tradition, with animal totems representing the gods descending to create the world, while the smaller surrounding poles represent the Ainu’s intertwined relationship with the divine. The overall overlapping associations among humans, gods, animals, & nature symbolizes the friendship between Burnaby and Kushiro.
The Ainu are an indigenous people native to northern Japan (as well as Sakhalin & the Kuril Islands, both part of Russia). At the heart of their traditional territory is the Japanese island of Hokkaido; on its southeastern coast is the City of Kushiro, home of Toko Nuburi & sister City to Burnaby, British Columbia.
Toko: an internationally renowned artist, visited Burnaby on special delegation in 1985.
During his visit, he happened upon this mountainside spot, it inspired him. After successfully pitching his idea for a large wooden sculpture, Toko & his son Shusei began work on the project in 1989, using facilities & logs provided by the City of Burnaby. Playground of the Gods (or Kamui Mintara, in Japanese) was completed & unveiled in 1990, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the special relationship between the two cities.
