Joya no Kane: Why Japanese Temples Ring Bells 108 Times

As the old year dies in Japan, the country does not count down with fireworks alone. It listens. In temples from Hokkaido to Okinawa, a great bronze bell swings, a wooden beam strikes, and a deep, resonant tone rolls out across the winter night — once, then again, then again, until it has sounded 108 times. This is joya no kane, the New Year’s Eve bell-ringing, and it is one of the most profound answers any culture has devised to the question of how a year should end. In this guide to joya no kane — why Japanese temples ring their bells 108 times — we will explore the meaning behind the number, how the ritual unfolds on the night, where to hear it, and what is myth and what is fact.

The bell in question is the bonsho, the massive bronze temple bell found at Buddhist temples across Japan. Some weigh many tons; the largest require teams of monks to swing the beam. The sound is not a bright peal but a deep, complex hum that seems to come from the ground itself — a tone that listeners describe as felt as much as heard. On New Year’s Eve, that sound becomes the soundtrack of the entire nation: broadcast on television, streamed online, and heard live by the thousands who gather at temple gates in the cold. If you have ever wondered what 108 bell strikes are for — and why the last one lands after midnight — read on.

What Is Joya no Kane?

Joya no kane (literally “the bell of the passing year,” with “joya” meaning New Year’s Eve) is the Buddhist ritual of ringing the temple bell 108 times on the night of December 31. The ringing typically begins in the late evening and continues through midnight, with the 108th and final strike landing just after the new year begins — so the old year’s last sound and the new year’s first sound are the same bell.

The ritual’s purpose is purification. In Buddhist teaching, human beings are afflicted by 108 bonno — often translated as earthly desires, worldly passions, or delusions — the cravings, angers, jealousies, and attachments that cloud the mind and cause suffering. Each strike of the bell is said to dispel one bonno, cleansing the listener’s heart. By the 108th strike, the slate is spiritually clean: you enter the new year unburdened.

What makes the ritual so affecting is its pacing. The strikes are slow — often a minute or more apart — which means the full sequence takes well over an hour. You do not just hear 108 bells; you inhabit the time between them. In the cold dark, with breath visible and the bronze hum fading into silence before the next strike, the night becomes a kind of meditation. Many Japanese people describe listening to joya no kane, whether at a temple or on television at home, as the moment the year truly turns.

Why 108? The Meaning of the Bonno

The number 108 is one of Buddhism’s most significant figures, appearing across rituals, rosaries (the juzu prayer beads have 108 beads), and temple architecture throughout Asia. But why should human suffering come in exactly 108 varieties? The traditional explanation breaks the bonno down arithmetically:

• The six senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and mind (consciousness) — the six channels through which we experience the world.
• Three reactions: to each sensory experience we respond with liking, disliking, or indifference.
• Two states: each combination can be pure or impure in its expression.
• Three times: past, present, and future — the temporal dimensions in which these afflictions operate.

Multiply them — 6 × 3 × 2 × 3 — and you get 108. It is a scholastic formula, the kind of elegant systematizing that Buddhist philosophy loves, and whether you take it literally or symbolically, its message is clear: human delusion is thorough, multifaceted, and inescapable by willpower alone. Hence the bell. The sound does what the mind cannot do for itself — it washes the heart clean from the outside in.

The bonno themselves are not exotic sins. They include the familiar roster: greed, anger, envy, arrogance, doubt, laziness, and attachment to comfort, status, and pleasure. In other words, the bell is rung for the ordinary mess of being human. That universality is a large part of the ritual’s emotional power. You do not need to be Buddhist to feel the weight lift as the strikes accumulate — you only need to have lived through a year.

There is also a beautiful symmetry in the timing. The standard practice is to ring 107 times on December 31 and let the 108th strike fall after midnight — so the final bonno, the last trace of the old year’s affliction, is dispelled in the new year itself. The year does not just end clean; it begins clean. It is a small detail, but it transforms the ritual from a farewell into a welcome.

How the Ritual Unfolds on New Year’s Eve

While customs vary by temple, the general shape of the night is consistent across Japan:

1. Evening gathering (around 10–11 PM). Worshippers begin arriving at the temple, often after the family New Year’s Eve dinner and the traditional bowl of toshikoshi soba. The temple grounds are lit with lanterns and candles; the air smells of incense.
2. Preliminary observances. Some temples hold a short service or sutra chanting before the ringing begins. Visitors may offer incense, pray before the main hall, and warm themselves with amazake (sweet warm sake) served by the temple.
3. The ringing begins (around 11 PM–midnight). The head priest or designated strikers take up the wooden beam (shumoku) and begin. At large temples, teams of monks work in rotation; at smaller temples, parishioners are often invited to take a turn striking the bell themselves — a cherished honor.
4. The slow count. Strike by strike, the minutes pass. The crowd listens, prays, or simply stands in the cold letting the sound move through them. At temples that allow visitor participation, a line forms at the bell platform, each person waiting for their single, resonant moment.
5. Midnight and the 108th strike. As the count approaches its end, anticipation builds. The 107th strike falls in the old year; then a pause; then the 108th rings out in the new year. Applause is not customary — the proper response is silence, or a deep bow.
6. After the bell. Many worshippers proceed directly to hatsumode, the first shrine or temple visit of the year, drawing their omikuji fortunes in the small hours. Others head home to sleep before a daytime visit. Either way, the bell is the hinge on which the whole holiday turns.

A Brief History: From Ancient China to Edo Japan

The bonsho bell itself arrived in Japan with Buddhism, via China and Korea, more than a millennium ago. Large bronze bells were already being cast in Japan by the Nara period (8th century), and their deep tones marked time for temple communities — dawn and dusk services, meditation periods, funerals. The specific custom of ringing 108 times on New Year’s Eve developed later, taking its classic form during the Edo period (1603–1868), when urban temple culture flourished and the ritual spread from major monasteries to neighborhood temples.

The Edo-period version is recognizably the modern one: the slow overnight count, the 107-plus-1 structure, the invitation for laypeople to participate. What changed in the modern era is scale and media. In the postwar decades, the national broadcaster NHK began featuring temple bells in its New Year’s Eve programming, and the annual broadcast “Yuku Toshi Kuru Toshi” (The Old Year Goes, the New Year Comes) — which visits famous temples and shrines across the country through the night — made joya no kane a shared national experience even for those who never leave home. Today, millions hear the bell through television, radio, and streaming, making it arguably Japan’s most-listened-to religious ritual.

It is worth noting what joya no kane is not: it is not a countdown in the Western sense, it is not celebratory in tone, and it is not about noise driving away evil (as with some Lunar New Year firecracker traditions). The bell does not frighten anything away. It cleanses. The distinction matters — it is the difference between slamming a door and opening a window.

Where to Hear It: Japan’s Most Famous Temple Bells

A few temples are legendary for their New Year’s Eve ringing. If you want the definitive experience, these are the names to know:

• Chion-in, Kyoto: Home to one of Japan’s largest temple bells — a bronze giant weighing around 70 tons, so massive that it takes a team of monks (traditionally 17) to swing the beam. The Chion-in ringing is the most famous in the country, broadcast nationally every year, and attending in person requires planning: the temple runs a lottery for the privilege of striking the bell, and spectators gather in huge numbers.
• Zojoji, Tokyo: The great temple at the foot of Tokyo Tower offers the capital’s signature experience — the ancient bell and the illuminated modern tower in a single frame. Its countdown event draws big crowds and heavy media coverage.
• Senso-ji, Asakusa, Tokyo: Tokyo’s oldest temple pairs its bell-ringing with the festive Nakamise street atmosphere, making it the liveliest option — solemnity up front, street food steps away.
• Higashi Honganji and Nishi Honganji, Kyoto: The great Honganji temples of the Jodo Shinshu school hold deeply attended services with powerful congregational chanting alongside the bell.
• Your neighborhood temple: Do not underestimate the local option. A small temple’s bell, heard across a quiet residential street at midnight with a few dozen neighbors gathered, can be more moving than the televised giants. Ask at your hotel or accommodation — many can point you to a nearby temple that welcomes visitors.

Can visitors strike the bell? At many temples, yes — and it is unforgettable. Policies vary: some temples let anyone in line take a turn, others hold lotteries (like Chion-in), and some reserve striking for monks and parishioners. Arrive early, ask politely, and follow instructions exactly. When your turn comes, grip the beam firmly, swing with your whole body, and let the bronze do the rest. The vibration travels up the wood into your arms and chest — you will feel the bonno leaving.

Myth vs. Fact: What People Get Wrong About Joya no Kane

Myth: The bell is rung 108 times because there are 108 sins.
Fact: The 108 are bonno — earthly desires, delusions, and afflictions — not “sins” in the Western moral sense. The concept is closer to “the 108 ways the mind clouds itself” than a rap sheet. Greed and anger are in there, but so are subtler afflictions like doubt and restlessness.

Myth: All 108 strikes happen at midnight.
Fact: The ringing is a slow sequence spread over an hour or more, typically starting around 11 PM. The artful detail is that 107 strikes fall on December 31 and only the final, 108th strike lands after midnight — cleansing the last bonno in the new year itself.

Myth: Only monks can ring the bell.
Fact: At many temples, lay visitors are invited — even encouraged — to take a turn. Lottery systems at famous temples like Chion-in exist precisely because demand from the public is so high. If you attend a neighborhood temple, your chances of striking are excellent.

Myth: The tradition is ancient, dating back over a thousand years.
Fact: Temple bells themselves are ancient, but the specific 108-strike New Year’s Eve ritual took its classic form in the Edo period (1603–1868). That is still centuries old — but it is a product of early modern urban temple culture, not of ancient Buddhism.

Myth: You have to be Buddhist to appreciate it.
Fact: Millions of non-Buddhist Japanese people treat joya no kane as a cultural and emotional ritual rather than a religious obligation. Visitors of any background are welcome at most temples on New Year’s Eve. Respectful quiet is the only requirement.

Myth: The bell’s purpose is to scare away evil spirits with noise.
Fact: Unlike firecracker traditions meant to frighten away malevolent forces, the bell’s purpose is inward purification — each strike dispels one bonno from the listener’s own heart. The sound does not attack anything; it cleanses.

Experiencing Joya no Kane as a Visitor: Practical Tips

• Arrive by 10–10:30 PM for major temples; earlier if you hope to strike the bell. Neighborhood temples are more flexible — 11 PM is usually fine.
• Dress for standing in the cold. You will be outdoors and mostly stationary for one to two hours. Thermal layers, a heavy coat, gloves, hat, and warm boots are essential. Convenience-store hand warmers are a lifesaver.
• Bring cash. Offerings, incense, amulets, and the temple’s amazake stand are cash affairs. Small bills and coins are ideal.
• Observe the quiet. Conversation should drop to a murmur as the ringing begins. Phones on silent — and think twice before filming; many temples discourage it during the ritual itself.
• Do not applaud. When the 108th strike fades, the appropriate response is a bow or simply silence. This is a purification rite, not a performance.
• Plan your next move. Many attendees flow straight into hatsumode at a nearby shrine in the small hours. Others head home. Either way, arrange transport in advance — trains stop running around midnight, and taxis are scarce. If you are staying in for the night, our practical New Year’s Eve at-home plan can help you build a meaningful evening around the broadcast instead.
• Watch the broadcast if you cannot attend. NHK’s annual New Year’s Eve programming features the bells of famous temples live, and it is a genuinely beautiful way to experience the ritual from your living room — many Japanese families do exactly this, bowl of soba in hand, as the year turns.

The Sound Itself: What the Bonsho Teaches About Listening

It is worth pausing on the acoustic experience, because the bonsho does not sound like any bell most Westerners have heard. A church bell peals — bright, rhythmic, declarative. The bonsho hums. The strike produces a deep fundamental tone wrapped in slowly decaying overtones, a sound with a physical presence you feel in your sternum. The initial impact is almost soft; the resonance blooms afterward, swelling for a moment before fading across thirty seconds or more into a silence that feels charged.

Temple bell makers describe the ideal tone as having “a beginning, a middle, and an end” — the clean strike, the full resonance, and the long fade — mirroring, some priests say, the arc of a life or the arc of a year. Standing in the cold between strikes, you become aware of how rarely modern life offers true silence. The pause between the 40th and 41st strike is not empty; it is full of held breath, distant traffic, someone’s quiet prayer, your own heartbeat. The ritual trains attention the way meditation does, except the bell does the training for you. All you have to do is stand there and listen.

There is a reason so many Japanese people, asked about their most vivid New Year memory, name the bell rather than any party. Fireworks dazzle and vanish; resolutions are made and broken; but the sound of the bonsho rolling across a sleeping neighborhood at midnight — heard from your futon through the walls, counting along half-asleep — lodges in memory the way only sound can. Long after the year it welcomed has faded, the hum remains. That is the quiet genius of joya no kane: it does not mark time so much as it gives time weight, one resonant strike at a time, until the old year has been fully, audibly, laid to rest.

In Pictures: Joya no Kane in Japan

On New Year’s Eve, temple bells across Japan ring 108 times — Joya no Kane — to cleanse the year’s 108 worldly desires.

A great bronze temple bell and its wooden beam at night — visitors lining up to strike the bell at midnight.

Watch: Joya no Kane in Japan

Joya no Kane at a Tokyo temple — visitors taking turns to ring the New Year bell.

At a Glance: Joya no Kane in Japan

Joya no Kane essentials — the 108 rings, their meaning and their history.

Fact	Detail
Joya no Kane	‘New Year’s Eve bell’ — rung 108 times as the year turns
Why 108	Buddhist teaching counts 108 worldly desires (bonnō); each strike cleanses one
Origins	The custom began in Song-dynasty China and reached Japanese Zen temples in the Kamakura period (1185–1333)
Chion-in	Kyoto’s Chion-in temple holds one of Japan’s most famous ceremonies, with monks swinging the great bell
On air	NHK has broadcast the bells since 1927 — the TV version, ‘Yuku Toshi Kuru Toshi’, since 1955

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do Japanese temples ring their bells 108 times on New Year’s Eve?

The 108 strikes of joya no kane correspond to the 108 bonno — earthly desires and delusions described in Buddhist teaching. Each bell strike is said to dispel one bonno, purifying the listener’s heart. By the final strike, which traditionally falls just after midnight, the new year begins spiritually clean.

What are the 108 bonno?

Bonno are often translated as earthly desires, worldly passions, or delusions — the cravings, angers, envies, attachments, and doubts that cloud the human mind and cause suffering. Traditional Buddhist scholasticism derives the number 108 from the six senses × three reactions × two states × three times (past, present, future). The 108 beads of the Buddhist juzu rosary reflect the same number.

What time does joya no kane start?

Most temples begin ringing around 11 PM on December 31, with strikes spaced a minute or more apart so the sequence extends past midnight. The custom is to complete 107 strikes before midnight and let the 108th and final strike ring out in the new year. Timings vary by temple, so check locally if you plan to attend.

Can tourists participate in joya no kane?

Yes. Visitors of all backgrounds are welcome at most temples on New Year’s Eve, and many temples invite laypeople — including tourists — to take a turn striking the bell. Famous temples like Chion-in in Kyoto use a lottery system due to high demand. Arrive early, follow staff instructions, and observe the quiet, respectful atmosphere.

What is the difference between joya no kane and hatsumode?

Joya no kane is the Buddhist bell-ringing ritual on the night of December 31, focused on purifying the old year’s afflictions. Hatsumode is the first shrine or temple visit of the new year (typically January 1–3), focused on praying for the year ahead. Many people do both in sequence: hear the bell at midnight, then visit a shrine in the small hours or on New Year’s Day.

Where is the best place to hear joya no kane?

Chion-in in Kyoto is the most famous, with its enormous 70-ton bell rung by a team of monks and broadcast nationally. Zojoji in Tokyo offers the iconic bell-and-Tokyo-Tower view. For a more intimate experience, any neighborhood Buddhist temple will hold its own ringing — often with a better chance for visitors to strike the bell themselves.