Rarely found today, here’s a beautiful and unique way to accent your indoor or outdoor garden space with this treasure from Japan!

Dating with full temple inscriptions to the Genroku period and specificly 1696, this 300 year old plus solid bronze casting of a wonderful larger scale temple bell Bonsho was sourced from an old Central Japanese collection recently. Early temple inscriptions like these are uncommon and often elaborate the donor family name and temple name.

This bell possesses a fine original dark patina.

It emits a strong resonating sound when struck.

Dimensions: Bell is 18 inches tall and 10.5 inches wide

We will include a complimentary striker as well (photo)

Quality: Fine dark patina, old and original surface casting marks are visible which is not unusual for these instruments

This bell is a hard to find in this size; most found today are larger and heavier in scale.

The inscriptions make this one quite unique.

History of Japan’s temple bells:

Rather than containing a clapper, bonsho is struck from the outside, using either a handheld mallet or a beam suspended on ropes.

Antique Japanese bronze temple bells have a handle of dragon heads called ryuzu, protrusions called chi chi or nyu and to improve resonance of sound, protruding, tsuki-za, striking panels and in some instances possess a mei-bun inscription of the bell’s history.

Bonsho or Buddhist bells known as tsurigane (hanging bells) or great bells are large bells found in Buddhist temples throughout Japan, used to summon the monks to prayer. The Genroku period in Japanese history, is an era from 1688-1704, and characterized by a rapidly expanding commercial economy and the development of a vibrant urban culture centred in the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo (Tokyo).

Lifetime guarantee of authenticity: All of our Asian works of art come with our lifetime authenticity guarantee.