Sugar King Park | |
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Type | Municipal park |
Location | Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands |
Opened | 1930s |
Operated by | CNMI Government |
Status | Open all year |
Sugar King Park is a municipal park located in Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands across from the NMI Museum of History and Culture.[1][2] The park was named in honor of the "Sugar King" Haruji Matsue, director of the South Seas Development Company.
The park has a statue of Matsue;[3] a small, wood-burning locomotive;[4] Komainu; a hexagonal hall of prayer with a peace bell; and a German period concrete stairway.[5] The Saipan Katori Shrine in the park was rebuilt in 1985 to replace the original Katori Jinja from the Japanese period.[6] The Nanmeido or Saipan International House of Prayer is a temple located in the park. Historical sites in the park are listed on the Garapan Heritage Trail, a project of the Northern Marianas Humanities Council with financial support by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Office of Insular Affairs, United States Department of the Interior.[7] The park hosts the annual Japanese Autumn Festival and Katori Jinja ceremony in October.[8] The Northern Marianas-Japan Cultural Center is in the park.[9]
The park is operated by the CNMI government with support from the Marianas Visitors Authority, NMI Museum of History and Culture, Japanese Society of the Northern Mariana Islands, Katori Shrine Association of Japan, and other organizations.[10][11] Local schools have field trips at the park.[12] Students from Japan, China, Korea, and other countries in East Asia visit the park as part of exchange programs.[13][14]
The Sugar King Foundation was established in 1997 under the laws of the CNMI as a non-profit organization to assist in the preservation and maintenance of the park.[15]