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Rose City Fukuyama
"Roses are beautiful. The hearts of those who love and raise roses are also beautiful." -- A City Developed Around Roses
On August 8, 1945, a major air attack burned most of Fukuyama to the ground. After the war, a new city plan was used to reconstruct the city and create a new urban landscape, but it left the residents with a lingering sense of disorientation.
Concerned about the mood of the city, residents in the vicinity of Minami Park (presently the Rose Park) decided, that "Flowers soothe the heart, so let's grow flowers."In the spring of 1956, they planted about a thousand rose seedlings in the open areas of the park. The neighbors tended those seedlings day and night, and eventually a thousand bright red roses blossomed.
Many people were touched by the enthusiasm of these residents, and in 1968 the park won the National Urban Beautification Prize for Excellence. A monument commemorating receipt of the prize stands in the park, inscribed with the words, "Here the flowers of goodwill open." Resonating in the hearts of many, these words became the stimulus of the concept "A City Developed Around Roses." Now it boasts roughly 400,000 rose plants around the city.
In April 1985 the rose became the designated city flower. In The 3rd term Fukuyama Comprehensive Development Plan, the city targeted the image : "Unique Rose City Fukuyama, the core city of exchanging activities of shining Seto Inland" thereby establishing its basic identity.
In this way, the movement spawned by rose cultivation evolved into a joint effort of the people and the govermment administration, and is progressing as a movement to create a vibrant, pleasant "Fukuyama, city of a million roses."
Rose Fukuyama
In 1986, to commemorate the 70th year of city foundation, two varieties of roses named "Takao" and "Pristin" were combined to create the elegant "Rose Fukuyama."
Rose Park
The Rose Park originated in 1956, when the people living near Minami Park (the present Rose Park) planted 1,000 rose seedlings in the park. That led to the positioning of Minami Park as a city project park, and starting in 1961, the park began to fill up with rose terraces and hedges, lawns, and pathways. By 1965 it had taken its present form, and had begun to be called "Rose Park" even by the people. Now the park boasts 4,500 plants, representing 280 varieties.
In the year 2000 Rose Park will be combined with Midori-machi Park on its southern end to create an amenity space under the city's theme of "roses." It will serve as a city fire prevention, recreation, and environmental preservation area.