Buddhist monks rehearsed ringing a giant ceremonial bell, on Sunday, at Kyoto's Chion-In Temple in preparation for the New Year ceremony known as Joya-no-Kane, which will be closed to the public and live streamed online, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"This year, due to the spread of coronavirus infection, it is unavoidable and unfortunate to cancel 'Joya-no-Kane', said monk Osaki Junkei. "We heard that many people wanted to visit and we thought that if we could live up to that as much as possible. So from around 22.30 in the night of New Year's Eve, we would like to broadcast a live stream on YouTube."
Due to its enormous size, it takes a team of 17 monks to strike the bell, which is one of the most famous in Japan. Ringing it for 108 times is traditionally meant to sweep away the previous year's accumulated desires.
Buddhist monks rehearsed ringing a giant ceremonial bell, on Sunday, at Kyoto's Chion-In Temple in preparation for the New Year ceremony known as Joya-no-Kane, which will be closed to the public and live streamed online, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"This year, due to the spread of coronavirus infection, it is unavoidable and unfortunate to cancel 'Joya-no-Kane', said monk Osaki Junkei. "We heard that many people wanted to visit and we thought that if we could live up to that as much as possible. So from around 22.30 in the night of New Year's Eve, we would like to broadcast a live stream on YouTube."
Due to its enormous size, it takes a team of 17 monks to strike the bell, which is one of the most famous in Japan. Ringing it for 108 times is traditionally meant to sweep away the previous year's accumulated desires.
Buddhist monks rehearsed ringing a giant ceremonial bell, on Sunday, at Kyoto's Chion-In Temple in preparation for the New Year ceremony known as Joya-no-Kane, which will be closed to the public and live streamed online, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"This year, due to the spread of coronavirus infection, it is unavoidable and unfortunate to cancel 'Joya-no-Kane', said monk Osaki Junkei. "We heard that many people wanted to visit and we thought that if we could live up to that as much as possible. So from around 22.30 in the night of New Year's Eve, we would like to broadcast a live stream on YouTube."
Due to its enormous size, it takes a team of 17 monks to strike the bell, which is one of the most famous in Japan. Ringing it for 108 times is traditionally meant to sweep away the previous year's accumulated desires.