By KENSAKU NISHIDA/ Staff Writer
December 28, 2022 at 18:27 JST
Monks at Chion-in temple in Kyoto test its hanging bell on Dec. 27. (Kenta Sujino)
KYOTO--Monks at Chion-in temple in Higashiyama Ward here did a test run of its famed hanging bell on Dec. 27 to prepare for the traditional bell-ringing ceremony on New Year’s Eve.
In the test that started around 2 p.m., one monk held a thick rope while 16 others each held thinner ropes.
Amid chanting, the monk with the thick rope fell to the ground on his back, enabling a 4.5-meter-long wooden hammer, which was tied to the ropes, to strike the bell.
The loud sound reverberated through the temple grounds.
The hanging bell was cast during the early years of the Edo Period (1603-1867).
It is 3.3 meters tall, 2.8 meters wide and weighs 70 tons. It is regarded as one of Japan’s three most distinguished hanging bells.
On New Year’s Eve, the monks will start striking the bell around 10:40 p.m.
Over two hours, they will ring the bell 108 times, the number of worldly desires that humans have according to the teachings of Buddhism.
The temple has restricted visitors on New Year’s Eve to 1,000 people, who have made advanced bookings, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
It will livestream the New Year’s Eve bell-ringing ceremony on its YouTube channel.
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