Equally renowned were the great temple-bells of Kioto, and of Miidera, and various other monasteries. Some of these were ten feet high, and adorned with sacred texts from the Buddhist Scriptures, and images of heavenly beings, or Buddha on the sacred lotus in Nirvana, in high relief. As usual, the nimbus, or halo, surrounds his head.
The bell was struck on a raised round spot, by a hammer of wood - a small tree-trunk swung loosely on two ropes. After impact, the bellman held the beam on its rebound, until the quivering monotone began to die away. Few sounds are more solemnly sweet than the mellow music of a Japanese temple-bell. On a still night, a circumference of twenty miles was flooded by the melody of the great bell of Zozoji. The people learned to love their temple-bell as a dear friend, as its note changed with the years and moods of life.
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From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
