The traditional New Year’s Eve bell-ringing ceremony at Kyoto’s Chion-in Temple is called Joya no kane.
Chion-in, the head temple of Japan’s Jōdo-shū school of Pure Land Buddhism, is famous for its enormous bell and its New Year’s Eve ceremony. The bell is traditionally struck 108 times during Joya no kane, the Buddhist year-end bell ritual. The large bell requires teams of monks to operate it safely and effectively.
The 108 strokes represent the earthly desires or attachments that Buddhism associates with human suffering. Ringing the bell is therefore a spiritual act of purification as well as a public New Year custom. Visitors gather to hear the deep sound and take part in the transition into the new year.
Hatsumode is a different term: it means a person’s first shrine or temple visit of the new year. Gion Matsuri is also different, because it is Kyoto’s major summer festival. Chion-in’s bell ceremony is one local example of the wider Joya no kane tradition practiced at temples throughout Japan.