Japanese Bell and Bell House

After typhoons in 1959 severely damaged crops, homes, and farmlands of Yamanashi prefecture in Japan, citizens of Iowa generously sent breeding hogs and feed corn to aid that district. This program began a friendship culminating in a sister-state relationship, the first of its kind between the United States and Japan. As a sign of their appreciation, the citizens of Yamanashi presented this monument to Iowa1962. The 2,000-pound temple bell of peace and friendship and the structure that houses it were made in Japan