This New Year’s Day, festivalgoers descended on the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum to hear the resonant tolls of a sacred Japanese temple bell resound for the first time in Washington, D.C.
Video: Scenes from the bell dedication at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum within the U.S. National Arboretum during the 2024 National Bell Festival on Jan. 1, 2024.
At one o’clock precisely, the gates were opened to the three pavilions and special exhibits gallery that comprise the museum, allowing visitors into the space to explore the artistically-formed and centuries-old trees. To greet them and brace them against the chilly weather, the National Bell Festival tapped D.C.-based fine teahouse Teaism to pour four traditional Japanese brews.
Image: Teaism, a D.C.-based teahouse, serves four traditional Japanese brews during the 2024 National Bell Festival on Jan. 1, 2024.
As guests sipped on green, toasted rice, and buckwheat teas, they were free to roam the incredible bonsai and penjing specimens in the Chinese and American pavilions, or to stake a seat at the Japanese pavilion in anticipation of the bell’s reveal. By 1:30pm, temperatures were plummeting but spirits were soaring as festival supporter Maureen Macfadden stepped up to the podium.
Remarks on a place and on a bell
Ms. Macfadden brought New Year greetings and welcomed festivalgoers to the space before introducing Dr. Richard Olsen, director of the U.S. National Arboretum, who spoke of the incredible work his team is achieving at the nation’s preeminent botanical collection and research center. Established in 1927 by an Act of Congress, the U.S. National Arboretum stretches across 451 acres in northeastern Washington, D.C.
With a mission to increase the aesthetic, environmental, and economic importance of landscape and ornamental plants, the Arboretum curates picturesque gardens and exhibits, funds long-term botanical research, and leads conservation programs. It is also home to an extensive herbarium, the National Grove of State Trees, and 22 Corinthian columns which were once part of the east portico of the U.S. Capitol.
Image: Dr. Richard Olsen, director of the U.S. National Arboretum, speaks during the 1798 hanshō dedication ceremony during the 2024 National Bell Festival on Jan. 1, 2024.
Dr. Olsen then turned over the mic to Paul Ashe, director of the National Bell Festival, to speak on the provenance of the sacred bell. Acquired by the National Bell Festival and donated to the Arboretum, the bell was cast in 1798 in the area of present-day Hachiōji, west of the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Image: The 1798 hanshō, or Japanese temple bell, installed at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum within the U.S. National Arboretum during the 2024 National Bell Festival on Jan. 1, 2024.
The hanshō, or Buddhist temple bell, was cast in the ninth month of Kansei 10 (1798) by Katō Jinemon from Yokokawa, who came from a family of bell makers. A monk named Myōdō led a fundraising campaign for the bell's casting. It stands 27 inches tall and weighs 80 lbs. Cast in bronze, the bell was to ring out over the temple grounds to indicate the time and to call monks to prayer. For 70 years it gave such service, before the monastery was closed and incorporated into another temple complex. That, too, was shuttered in time.
Mr. Ashe provided insight into the rarity of having such an exceptional old bell. By World War II, bells across Japan were being requisitioned by the Imperial armed forces to be melted down and turned into armament for war. In four short years, some 70,000 bells, representing almost 90 percent of Japan’s bells then in existence, were destroyed. Remarkably, the hour bell from the Daisen temple survived.
A sacred dedication and first ring
With a sweep, the crimson cover veiling the bell was pulled aside to enthusiastic applause. Mr. Ashe invited members of the All Beings Zen Sangha, led by Myōshin Carlos Moura, Rev. Seidō David Sarpal, and Rev. Inryū Poncé-Barger, Sensei, to lead the bell’s dedication. After briefly speaking of the importance of this bell in the Zen tradition, the Buddhist leaders began a traditional blessing with sacred chants, consecrating the bell to its new space.
Image: Rev. Inryū Poncé-Barger, Sensei, of the All Beings Zen Sangha sounds the 1798 hanshō three times at a dedication event for the bell at the U.S. National Arboretum during the 2024 National Bell Festival on Jan. 1, 2024.
Incense, water, fresh flower petals, a sprig of evergreen, and Buddhist instruments were integral to the ceremony. Festivalgoers were delighted to see the faith leaders enter the crowd, spreading blessings and good cheer before circling the bell and striking it three times. The reverberations resounded throughout the courtyard and were echoed with even more applause.
Image: Rev. Inryū Poncé-Barger, Sensei (left) and Myōshin Carlos Moura bless festivalgoers during the 1798 hanshō dedication ceremony at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum within the U.S. National Arboretum during the 2024 National Bell Festival on Jan. 1, 2024.
As the ceremony concluded, festivalgoers vied for a photograph beneath the bell with gathered dignitaries. As snow began to fall, flower petals tumbled across the flagstone and the bell fell into a comfortable silence. But it will be sounded again! At moments of importance or significance throughout the year, the bell will ring to life. Until then, it hangs in honorable repose, a testament in bronze to the incredible heritage of Japanese campanology.
Image: Festivalgoers stop for a photo beneath the 1798 hanshō installed at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum within the U.S. National Arboretum during the National Bell Festival on Jan. 1, 2024.
Cover image: Dr. Richard Olsen, director of the U.S. National Arboretum (left), Paul Ashe, director of the National Bell Festival (second from left), and Rev. Inryū Poncé-Barger, Sensei (center) pose for photographs with the 1798 hanshō installed at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum within the U.S. National Arboretum on Jan. 1, 2024.
