''Temple Bell'', also known as ''Japanese Temple Bell'', is a bell and

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

by Suzuki Magoemon, installed in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Back Bay Fens The Back Bay Fens, often simply referred to as "the Fens," is a parkland and urban wild in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1879. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to serve as a link in the Emerald Necklace park syst ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Cast in 1675, the bell was originally installed in Manpukuji Temple, in

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

, Japan, before being salvaged by USS ''Boston'' sailors. It was presented to the City of Boston by the sailors in 1945, before being officially presented by Japan as a symbol of peace in 1953. The bell was also previously installed in

Boston Common The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charl ...

Description

The cylindrical

is approximately tall and has a diameter of . It rests on a

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

base that measures approximately by by . It features etchings of Japanese figures and writings.

History

The bell was cast in 1675. It was originally installed in

, Japan's Manpukuji Temple. The bell was salvaged from a scrap yard (where it had been taken to be melted down for ammunition) by sailors from USS ''Boston'', then presented to the City of

in 1945. It was officially presented to the city by Japan in 1953 as a symbol of peace. The work was previously installed in

. It was restored in 1992, and surveyed by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

's "

Save Outdoor Sculpture! Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) was a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. The program was initiated in 1989 and ended in 1999. History Save Outdoor Sculpture! was initiated by Heri ...

" program in 1993.

References

External links

* 1670s sculptures Boston Common Bronze sculptures in Massachusetts Fenway–Kenmore Granite sculptures in the United States Individual bells in the United States Outdoor sculptures in Boston Buddhist art {{Massachusetts-sculpture-stub