Japanese Peace Bell Garden

Japanese Peace Bell Garden. . , This garden celebrates Duluth's sister city relationship with Ohara Isumi-City, Japan., The Peace Bell , During World War II, the Japanese government instructed villages to donate metal to be melted down for ammunition. Ohara Isumi-City dismantled their city's prized Buddhist temple bell. By the end of the war, the bell was still intact and a naval crew from the USS Duluth carried it to Duluth and it became a gift to the City., In 1954, the ancient Buddhist temple bell was returned to Ohara Isumi-City. In 1993 Ohara Isumi-City presented Duluth with a replica of the bell, which now resides in this park., The Japanese Garden , The Japanese garden was created to commemorate 20 years of friendship with Duluth's Sister City. The garden's design is based on Japanese gardens of past centuries., There are four basic elements to a tradition Japanese garden: stones, water, plants and man-made objects. The structure of this garden is based on natural rock formations and stones arranged to visually represent streams, ponds and lakes. The lake is actually dry, but it is filled with small rocks raked to look like waves., The manufactured objects include a covered entryway, a bridge, two stone lanterns, a stone pagoda and a few stone benches, which encourages walkers to linger and reflect.