Last modified: 2026-08-15 by 
zachary harden
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![[Worlds Fairs: Osaka 1970]](../images/i/int-fr70.gif)
image by Zachary Harden, 07 August 2026
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The "Japan World Exposition, Osaka, 1970" (日本万国博覧会, Nihon Bankoku Hakuran-kai) or Expo '70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, between March, 15 and September, 13 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as Ōsaka Banpaku (大阪万博). It was the first world's fair held in Japan as well as in Asia. The City of Osaka was selected as the host venue for the Expo during the 59th BIE Assembly held on May 11, 1966.
Sources: https://www.bie-paris.org/site/en/1970-osaka , https://www.logohistories.com/p/expo-70-logo-design-history-cherry-blossom , https://taiyounotou-expo70.jp/en/about/expo70/ , https://www.worldsfairphotos.com/osaka70/index.htm , https://www.expomuseum.com/copy-of-expo-2010-shanghai , https://www.worldsfairphotos.com/osaka70/booklets/expo-70-guidebook.pdf , https://www.logohistories.com/p/expo-70-logo-design-history-cherry-blossom and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_%2770
Esteban Rivera, 31 July 2026
![[Worlds Fairs: Osaka 1970]](../images/i/int-fr70)-0-1.jpg)
image located by Esteban Rivera, 31 July 2026
In 1965 the committee of the Japan World Exposition Association (Tokyo Olympics Fund Foundation) began its work to select the theme for the Osaka Expo: 15 individual Japanese practitioners and 2 studios were invited to submit work. These included designers Yusaku Kamekura, Ikko Tanaka, Kazumasa Nagai and Shigeo Fukuda. Many of these early proposals carried with them the original name of the exhibition, tentatively titled ‘Jexpo ‘70’ ("J" as in Japan), which would have been a departure from the convention of previous expos. Other submissions came from KAK Co. Ltd, Ryuichi Yamashiro, Koji Kato and Masayoshi Nakajo. And finally, proposals were also received from Iwao Hosoya, Tadashi Ohashi, Tetsuo Katayama and Yuichi Nishiwaki.
Out of 48 entries, 16 were selected in the first round, 5 were selected in the second round and finally 1 in the third round. "石坂泰三" (English: Taizo Ishizaka), chairman of the Expo Association, rejected the proposal of two interlinked globes depicting East meeting West and a sun above, dismissing it as “too conceptual, difficult for a general audience to grasp”.
The Expo Association asked the designers to submit further work. Ishizaka and three vice-chairmen joined the selection committee. In April 1966, the now instantly recognisable form of the cherry blossom logo by local Osaka-based Designer "大高猛" (English: Takeshi Otaka) was selected in an ‘almost unanimous’ decision. Writing in Issue 85 of ‘Design’ Vice-chairman Masaru Katzumie described the logo as very “Osaka-like, delicious and cheerful, and with a symbolism suitable for the mark of the World Expo. On the logo itself, the central motif was derived from the Sakura tree, more widely known as cherry blossom, the national flower of Japan. It was felt that this would be easily recognised by an international audience and clearly associated with Japan. Its five petals represented the five continents, interlinked by their circular arrangement, participating in the Japan World Expo. The circle at its centre was Japan with the surrounding space being a place in which ideas flourished between collaborative partners.
Although designed by Takeshi Otaka, much of its power came from the work of Yūsaku Kamekura who designed the international poster ( https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Gx0x!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1e1fb203-3ab7-47b6-8fbd-fec7e75e35ef_2000x2000.jpeg ). Although Kamekura did submit a logo to the competition, he is often incorrectly credited as the designer of the cherry blossom logo.”
Esteban Rivera, 31 July 2026