Yuho Park, Public park in Oita, Japan.
Yuho Park is a narrow north-south greenway about 400 m long and 10 m wide, running down the centre of the road from Oita Prefectural Office toward Kokubu, south of the former Funai Castle site. Along its promenade stand more than a dozen sculptures and monuments by artists such as Asakura Fumio and Kitamura Seibo, many commemorating the Nanban culture that flourished in medieval Funai.
The municipal government of Oita established the park on March 31, 1951, to create a central recreational area for the growing population. Its creation reflects Japan's post-war focus on developing public green spaces in urban centers.
The monuments recall the Nanban culture that flourished in medieval Funai, present-day Oita: a 1974 relief marks the Western-style play staged at Christmas 1560, and a 1973 sculpture commemorates the orphanage where Luís de Almeida had milk given to infants. A 1975 statue by Kitamura Seibō shows Itō Mansho, the Tenshō embassy's lead envoy, on horseback in Western dress.
The park runs about 400 m north to south and 10 m wide along the median of Yuho Park-dori, from National Route 197 (Showa-dori) at the north end to National Route 10 (Sangyo-dori) at the south. It adjoins Ote Park at its northwest end, and its east side meets the Funai Gobangai, Sansan and Port Sole shopping streets. Traffic on the street is fairly heavy, so cross at the intersections.
The park is also the site where composer Rentaro Taki died; a marker post stands at the spot. Sculptor Asakura Fumio, a junior schoolmate of Taki's at Taketa Higher Elementary School, carved the Taki statue and inscribed a note about their connection on its base.
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