What a bonshō is
A bonshō is a large bronze temple bell hung in a bell tower and sounded by striking it with a swinging wooden beam. It is also called tsurigane, hanging bell, and is rung to tell the time and to announce services.
Its parts have names. The loop at the top is the ryūzu, or dragon head, and the domed top below it is the kasa. The body is divided by vertical and horizontal bands into the chi-no-ma, a zone of small raised bosses, the ike-no-ma, often bearing an inscription, and the kusa-no-ma below. Where the beam strikes is a striking seat, often in lotus form, and the flared rim is the koma-no-tsume. The record for the bell of Saikoji, designated by Chofu City, Tokyo, details its four panels of bosses, 108 in all, and an inscription across four ike-no-ma panels.
Reading the records and the bell
Bells are usually designated as craft objects in metalwork, and records describe the form of each part and the inscription. Form helps with dating: the commentary on a Shizuoka Prefecture bell inscribed with a date in 1160 judges it to be of the late Heian period from the relation between dragon head and striking seats and the shape of the bosses. The bell of Chotokuji in Chiba, dated 1449, is recorded with two striking seats set parallel to the dragon head. Inscriptions often give the date, founder, donors and later moves of the bell.
Building records mention bells as hung in bell towers. The bell tower of Renjoji in Nantan, Kyoto, is recorded with a curved hanging beam under the ridge from which the bell hangs. Bell towers and bells are often designated separately, so articles should make clear which is the cultural property.
References
- 梵鐘（西光寺、調布市指定）｜文化遺産オンライン
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/230821
- 梵鐘（平治二年の陽鋳銘あり）｜しずおか文化財ナビ
- https://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/kankosports/bunkageijutsu/bunkazai/1002825/1041003/1041889/1004977/1055048.html
- 梵鐘（宝徳元年在銘）｜千葉市
- https://www.city.chiba.jp/kyoiku/shogaigakushu/bunkazai/bonshohoutokugan.html
- 蓮乗寺鐘楼｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013135
Last verified: 2026.09.26