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Kobe is a beautiful city with many beautiful parks and gardens being built in
and around the city. As many as 1450 public parks have been constructed as per
an estimate made on the 1st of April 2002. Overlooking the bay of the Setonaikai,
Japanese Mediterranean Sea, these parks and gardens provide ample opportunity
for the natives and the tourists to enjoy a proximity to nature and to enjoy the
greenery of the region. The Sumaura Park in Suma, South Kobe is one such
park, attractive to the tourist and full of significance to the natives Japanese.
The Suamura Park surrounds the memorial in which the mortal remains of Lord
Atsumori have been laid to rest. A stupa has been built where his body parts
have been entombed. This stupa is an astonishing 3.95m high, five-storied structure.
On the same grounds an epitaph has been raised in memory of all those who laid
down their lives in the Ichinotani Battle. This epitaph reads, "Beach of
battle between the Genji clan and the Heike clan". A view of the Ichinotani
Battlefield can be overwhelming, especially when seen from the peak behind Sumaura
Park. The steep slopes fooled the Heike clan into a false sense of security
and a surprise attack from behind, led by the Genji general Minamoto sealed
the fate of the war. The Sumaura Park is the homage paid to the martyrs of this
war.
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