The sweet chimes of fūrin bells aren’t just a pretty summer soundtrack! In the dark days before AC was invented, they were one of the major weapons against the relentlessly hot and steamy Japanese summertime.
Everything about them exudes coolness, from the clear airiness of the glass bell…
to their cheery seasonal motifs, recalling warm evenings popping with fireworks, hydrangeas puffing into blue beauty in shady glens, morning glories turning their faces to the sun…
goldfish in their watery bowls…
and cricket cages filled with tinkling bells instead of the chirping insectoid pets of the season.
And—as you can see above—they don’t have to be made of glass to work their cooling magic. They can be made of anything that delivers that lovely little chime, like this one made of porcelain, with the tiny medaka fish that appear every summer.
What makes these bells so dedicated to summer comfort is the long paper streamer attached to the clapper, which is designed to catch even the tiniest of breezes and make a tinkly chime to alert you to the possibility that a puff of air is about to arrive and cool your brow.
Here’s what one sounds like:
And if one bell can deliver that blessed message, imagine what hundreds of them can do! In the month of July, many parks and outdoor attractions like the Shinobazu lotus pond in Ueno Park put up open air tunnels to display rows upon rows of fūrin, so you can walk beneath them and be surrounded by their cooling chimes…
Here’s how they sound!
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly Japanagram newsletter, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
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