The Gin-no-Suzu silver bell installation, a piece of art that sits in JR Tokyo Station's well-known meeting place in the underground passage near the Yaesu gate, in June will mark the 50th anniversary since the first bell was installed.
Prior to the occasion, a display featuring four Gin-no-Suzu silver bells comprising the one from the current installation, two bells previously used and a reproduction of the first was unveiled on Monday at a square in the station near the Yaesu Underground Central Gate.
The Gin-no-Suzu installation was unveiled on June 10, 1968 -- the first bell was handmade by a station employee using bamboo, washi Japanese paper and silver-colored paper to serve as "a landmark meeting spot." The original bell no longer exists, but station staff have recreated it for the event, which runs until June 17.
The fourth Gin-no-Suzu was designed by Cultural Affairs Agency Commissioner Ryohei Miyata when he was president of the Tokyo University of the Arts.
"I didn't know the first bell was handmade," said a 70-year-old company employee from Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
