Japanese Ōmisoka celebrations traditionally ring Buddhist temple bells 108 times.
The custom is called joyanokane, and it is usually performed on New Year’s Eve. The 108 rings represent the bonnō, or worldly desires and attachments, that Buddhism associates with human suffering. The final ringing is traditionally completed before the new year begins.
Ōmisoka is Japan’s New Year’s Eve, while Shōgatsu refers more broadly to the New Year holiday period. Families often clean their homes before the holiday, eat soba noodles, and prepare osechi ryōri for the first days of January. At midnight or shortly afterward, many people visit a shrine or temple for hatsumōde, the first religious visit of the year.
The number 108 is symbolic rather than a count of days or months. Different temples may organize the ringing slightly differently, but the association between year-end bells and 108 worldly desires is the canonical tradition.