Whispered Shadow·Rakuchū / Nishijin

Kyoto's Bell That Is Never Rung

The temple bell of Hōon-ji in Nishijin is an unusual one, its Sanskrit letters set out the four Buddhas of the Diamond Realm, and it is a Heian-era Important Cultural Property. By tradition a weaving girl and an apprentice once quarreled one night over whether the bell had sounded, and the girl lost her mind and died; from then the bell was left silent except on New Year's Eve (accounts vary). The details of the sad tale shift in the telling, but the long silence is said to be the source of its name.

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These notes come from desk research. Local traditions vary.