The two main types of bell tower in Japan

The or is the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

of a Buddhist temple in Japan, housing the temple's . It can also be found at some

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

s which used to function as temples (see article '' Shinbutsu shūgō''), as for example Nikkō Tōshō-gū. Two main types exist, the older , which has walls, and the more recent or , which does not.

History

During the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

(710–794), immediately after the arrival of

Buddhism in Japan Buddhism was first established in Japan in the 6th century CE. Most of the Japanese Buddhists belong to new schools of Buddhism which were established in the Kamakura period (1185－1333). During the Edo period (1603–1868), Buddhism was cont ...

bell towers were 3 x 2 bay, 2 storied buildings. A typical temple '' garan'' had normally two, one to the left and one to the right of the ''

kyōzō in Japanese Buddhist architecture is a repository for sūtras and chronicles of the temple history. It is also called , , or . In ancient times the ''kyōzō'' was placed opposite the shōrō, belfry on the east–west axis of the temple. The ea ...

'' (or ''kyō-dō''), the sūtra repository. An extant example of this style is

Hōryū-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in Ikaruga, Nara, Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Built shortly after Buddhism was introduced to Japan, it is also one of the oldest Buddh ...

's Sai-in Shōrō in

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

(see photo in the gallery). During the following

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

(794–1185) was developed a new style called ''hakamagoshi'' which consisted of a two storied,

hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, or sand clock) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) from the ...

-shaped building with the bell hanging from the second story. The earliest extant example is Hōryū-ji's Tō-in Shōrō (see photo in the gallery). Finally, during the 13th century the ''fukihanachi'' type was created at

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. The construction of the temple was an attempt to imitate Chinese temples from the much-admir ...

by making all structural parts visible. The bell tower in this case usually consists of a 1-ken wide, 1-ken high structure with no walls and having the bell at its center (see photo above). Sometimes the four pillars have an inward inclination called . After the Nara period, in which temple layout was rigidly prescribed after the Chinese fashion, the position of the bell tower stopped being prescribed and began to change temple by temple. Roofs are either or .

Gallery

Chion-in bell 1 by MShades in Kyoto.jpg, Great Bell at Chion-in Gousyouzi 11.jpg, Goshoji-Temple Horyuji-L0337.jpg, Hōryū-ji's Sai-in Shōrō, an example of Nara period bell tower Horyu-ji37s3200.jpg, Hōryū-ji's Tō-in Shōrō, a typical ''hakamagoshi'' type Takidani-hudoumyououji-syourou.jpg, Takidani-hudōmyōō-ji Shōrō Todaiji shoro.jpg, Tōdai-ji's bell tower, an example of the ''fukihanachi'' type, although much larger than the average Komyoji01s3200.jpg, Sometimes the bell is installed in the '' rōmon''. 崇福寺 (岐阜市)-鐘楼soufukuji007.jpg, Taipei City Tone-Wa Tample Bell tower.jpg, ''shōrō'' in Taipei, Taiwan. 臨濟護國禪寺舊鐘樓山門.jpg, ''shōrō'' in Taipei, Taiwan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoro Japanese architectural features Japanese Buddhist architecture Bell towers Shinto architecture Traditional East Asian architecture

History

Gallery

See also

References