 The bell of the Nishi @-@ Arai Daishi Temple in Tokyo was removed in 1943 , to be melted down as part of the Japanese war effort . The crew of the USS Pasadena found it on a scrap heap and took it with them to the US as a war trophy , donating it to the city of Pasadena ; the city council returned the bell to Tokyo in 1955 . A similar story accompanies the bell of <unk> @-@ ji , which was taken to the United States on the USS Boston after the war ; in this case , however , the Sendai authorities allowed the bell to remain in Boston as a symbol of friendship between the two cities . The Boston bell is the last WWII bonshō in the United States . 
