Entering a New Century at Chion-in, Kyoto

The great temple bell of Chion-in is justly famous: cast in 1633 and weighing some 80 tons, it is the largest in Japan. Here you see it being struck by monks of the Jodo (Pure Land) school, sleeves rolled back. They were fortunate: their seated venerable abbot less so, it being a bitterly cold night with a chilling wind. He looked frail, and I felt for him. Wandering back down to the city, the night was full of the many temple bells, tolling the 108 reminders of the ways of error. It was good to be amongst the crowds again. New Year is of course a good time everywhere, but the Omisoka tradition of being with your family, cleaning, settling debts, grievances, and generally banishing all that is negative, is a fine way to enter the New Year. The change of century was a special time to be in Kyoto, with many unique events, including outdoor Noh on Karasuma-dori. Of course, we were 8 hours ahead of London too!