A Mother Horse and Her Colt Sculpture - Roseburg, OR
N 43° 12.649 W 123° 20.553
10T E 472174 N 4784283
This sister city sculpture resides in front of Roseburg City Hall.
Waymark Code: WMQRHE
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 03/23/2016
Views: 1
Located in front of Roseburg City Hall is a small, metallic sculpture that depicts a horse and her colt. The title of the sculpture as noted on a small plaque reads "A Mother Horse and Her Colt" and was sculpted by Toshio Ogino and presented to Roseburg in July, 1997 in celebration of the Sister City's 5th Anniversary with Shobu Town, Japan.
The city's website explains the meaning of this gift and reads:
Our relationship with Shobu Town Saitama, Japan began as a student/teacher exchange program established by the late Harold Winfield, Joseph Lane Middle School instructor. After seven years of student exchanges, a Sister City relationship was formalized in 1993 and adult exchanges implemented. In 2010, Shobu combined with several other cities to create the new city of Kuki-Shi.
The City has been blessed with beautiful gifts from Japan which are on display throughout City Hall - the most notable is the "A Mother and Her Colt" bronze statue located at the corner of Jackson Street and Douglas Avenue. Artist Mr. Toshio Ogino described his inspiration for the artwork in this manner: "In the past the horse was needed by man to do a lot of his work. There became a unique bond between horse and man. I consider the horse to be a noble beast. The mare and colt depict a strong bond, such as the horse and man had. The love between the mare and colt represents the love that is spawned by cultural exchange. The horse and humans have been intertwined throughout history. The bonding of the mare and colt is the same sort of bonding that should be obtained by the family, by friends, by neighborhood and eventually by the world. It also represents the bonding of the two cities of Shobu and Roseburg."