The Great Bell at Chion-in Temple in Kyoto

A black and white portrait photograph showing the Great Bell at Chion-in Temple in Kyoto. It hangs in the Daishoro (Great Bell Tower) and is visible at the centre of the image. A group of vertical relief bands (Tatsuki) runs down its central axis, intersecting four groups of horizontal bands (Tatsuki). Four rows of knobs (Chi) are arranged across its upper third. Two rectangular wooden plaques hang on separate knobs at its front, and around six paper talismans are visible dispersed along its central axis. The talisman positioned at the circular striking point, are the suspended beam rings the bell. These display two large Japanese characters meaning 'flat bed'. On the right side of the image, a man standing underneath the bell raises his right hand inside it. His shaved head and clothes (samue) suggest he is a Buddhist monk. In the left foreground, a boy wearing a hat and light-coloured clothes stands beneath the bell with his back facing the camera. In the background, another boy, his head shaved and dressed in samue, stands centred against three bamboo railings, with plants and a stairway visible behind him. The wooden structure of the Great Bell Tower is also visible behind the bell. Original caption (handwritten beneath the photograph): 'Bell of Chionin Weight 74 Tones'.