Nyo (Ritual Handbell)

An Ancient Ritual Handbell

The Nyo (Ritual Handbell), in Japanese 鐃 (nyō), is a bronze Buddhist ritual instrument thought to date from the early Heian period, owned by Enpukuji Temple in Babacho, Choshi City, Chiba Prefecture, and designated an Important Cultural Property in 1959. It is now kept at the Nara National Museum.

According to Chiba Prefecture, the nyo was one of the musical instruments that reached Japan from China in the Nara period and is thought to have served as an esoteric Buddhist implement. The rounded part at the bottom of the handle, the bell section, once held a loose pellet, and the instrument was sounded by shaking it.

Ancestor of the Vajra Bell

The usual bell in esoteric Buddhist ritual is the kongorei, or vajra bell. Chiba Prefecture suggests the nyo may be the instrument from which it developed, and counts it among the oldest ritual implements, in use from the Nara period.

Very few survive. Chiba Prefecture cites comparable pieces excavated at Futarasan Shrine in Nikko and kept at Todaiji in Nara and Kashima Jingu in Ibaraki. The Nyo at Enpukuji is a rare example of such an early implement handed down in the Kanto region.

A Three-Pronged Handle and a Petalled Bell

The Nyo (Ritual Handbell) is 20.3 cm long. Two large and two small rounded petals decorate the bell section, and the top of the handle ends in three prongs, the sanko form. Its date is uncertain, but Chiba Prefecture places it in the early Heian period.

A crack about 6 cm long runs across one side of the bell. The bell has warped open, and its pellet has been lost; it no longer rings, but it keeps the shape of an early ritual instrument.

It seems to have been a temple treasure since the Edo period: the diary of the headman of the local village of Iinuma records that in 1831 the nyo was shown to the shogunate's district intendant.

Visiting

According to Chiba Prefecture, the Nyo is kept at the Nara National Museum and cannot be seen at Enpukuji. It is shown only occasionally, so check the museum's website for its exhibition schedule.

The Nara National Museum is at 50 Noboriojicho, Nara, about a 15-minute walk from Kintetsu Nara Station. Enpukuji, the owner, is at 293-1 Babacho, Choshi.