The citizens of Yokohama, Japan presented the Friendship Bell to San Diego in May 1958 as part of the Centennial Celebration of formal relations between that country and the United States. It also served to mark the establishment of the sister city relationship between San Diego and Yokohama, which was the first such affiliation on the West Coast. The large bronze bell housed in a pagoda structure was designed by artist Masahiko Katori.
