The New Year's Eve bell-ringing ceremony at Japanese Buddhist temples is called Joya no kane.
Joya no kane is performed on the night of December 31. Buddhist temples ring a large bell, traditionally 108 times, as the year changes. The Japanese name is commonly translated as “New Year's Eve bell,” or more broadly as the bell-ringing observance for the night that removes worldly passions.
The ceremony is linked to the Buddhist idea that human beings are troubled by many earthly desires and attachments. The 108 strokes symbolically cleanse these defilements, allowing people to begin the year with renewed composure. In practice, the ceremony can be a solemn religious service, a community event, or both.
It is distinct from Setsubun, which marks the seasonal transition toward spring and is associated with bean throwing, and from Obon, a Buddhist-influenced period honoring ancestors. Joya no kane is specifically tied to the end of the calendar year and is heard at temples throughout Japan.