The International Friendship Bell is a nearly seven-foot-tall, five-foot-wide, 8,300-pound bronze bell that symbolizes peace and reconciliation between the United States and Japan. Its concept began after Oak Ridge residents Dr Ram Uppuluri and his wife, Shigeko, visited Japan in 1987 and, after seeing the value of a bonshō bell hanging in Buddhist Gannyu-ji Temple, launched Project Peace Bell. Designed in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in 1991 by Suzanna Harris and cast in Kyoto, Japan, in 1993 by Japanese bell-maker Sotetsu Iwazawa, the bell bears relief panels with peaceful images inspired by Tennessee and Japan as well as tragedies of war between the two nations. Citizens and foundations in communities in Japan and Oak Ridge ultimately raised $750,000 to design, fabricate, deliver, and install it. When it was dedicated in 1996, it drew controversy over possible noise and over some interpretations of it as an apology for destroying Hiroshima. It was built to honor the workers of the Manhattan Project, commemorate Oak Ridge's 50th birthday, and serve as a symbol and everlasting monument for peace, and visitors are encouraged to ring it in times of celebration and remembrance.