City of San Jose
A statue of Momotaro, accompanied by a pheasant, a dog and a monkey, was taken.
SAN JOSE — A bronze statue symbolizing the friendship between San Jose and its Japanese sister city was reported stolen on Oct. 15.
Located in Guadalupe River Park, near the Center for Performing Arts, the statue was gifted to San Jose in 1993 by the city of Okayama. An identical statue stands at Okayama Station.
It depicts Momotaro, a folk hero with roots in Okayama. Born from a giant peach, he goes on a quest with a dog, a monkey and a pheasant, also depicted in the sculpture, and they defeat a group of oni (demons or ogres) who have been terrorizing the townsfolk.
San Jose-Okayama Sister Cities said on social media on Oct. 17, “It was sawn off the concrete and the plaque was stolen also. Whether the statue was stolen as a prank or whether it was stolen to be melted down for the money, the statue represents the near 70-year relationship between the City of San Jose and the City of Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan.
“Goodwill in reporting anything you might know is appreciated.”
“This art is not just the city’s, it’s the community’s, it’s ours and this was stolen from us,” Carlos Velazquez of San Jose’s Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs told ABC7 News.
The sister-city relationship, among the first between the U.S. and Japan, was established in 1957 under the citizen diplomacy movement started by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956.
Anyone with information about the statue’s whereabouts is asked to call the San Jose Police Department’s non-emergency line at (408) 277-8900.
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