Hyakumanben Chionji
Hyakumanben Chionji is a head temple of the Jodo sect at 103 Tanaka Monzen-cho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto; its formal name is Chotokuzan Kudokuin Hyakumanben Chionji. According to its official site, Honen, founder of the Jodo sect, once lived at the Kamo shrine temple from which this temple descends, and his disciple Genchi named it Chionji in gratitude to his teacher. In 1331 the eighth abbot, Zen'a Kuon, led seven days and nights of one million nembutsu recitations while turning a great strand of prayer beads; when the epidemic then subsided, the temple received the name Hyakumanben. After several moves it was re-established on its present site in 1662, and its Mieido hall was rebuilt in 1756 entirely in keyaki wood. Nine Edo-period buildings in the precinct were designated Important Cultural Properties in 2017, and the communal rite of turning the great prayer beads, the Hyakumanben Dai-nenju-kuri, continues today, with a strand of 1,080 beads hanging in the Mieido.
Good to know before you go
- notice.topic.q_who:hyakumanben-chionji
- At Hyakumanben Chionji, after the service starting at 22:30 on December 31, members of the public may also ring the bell. ↗
- notice.topic.q_ticket:hyakumanben-chionji
- Hyakumanben Chionji: the City of Kyoto's official 2026 New Year's Eve bell list does not say whether numbered tickets or advance booking are needed. ↗
- notice.topic.q_cost:hyakumanben-chionji
- Hyakumanben Chionji: the City of Kyoto's official 2026 New Year's Eve bell list does not say whether ringing the bell or visiting costs anything. ↗
- notice.topic.q_all_night:hyakumanben-chionji
- Ringing at Hyakumanben Chionji starts at 23:30 and reception ends at 00:30; it is not an all-night opening. ↗
- notice.topic.q_access:hyakumanben-chionji
- Hyakumanben Chionji: the City of Kyoto's official 2026 New Year's Eve bell list says nothing about transport to the temple on New Year's Eve. ↗
- notice.topic.q_rules:hyakumanben-chionji
- Hyakumanben Chionji: the City of Kyoto's official 2026 New Year's Eve bell list gives no on-site rules on photography, belongings or alcohol. ↗
- notice.topic.bell:hyakumanben-chionji
- Hyakumanben Chionji's bell is a rare Korean-style bell: a tubular sound vent beside its dragon-shaped crown and auspicious clouds and Buddhas on its surface set it apart from Japanese bells, and its belfry dates to 1703. New Year's Eve centres on the great rosary — the Mieido's 1,080-bead rosary is passed round by monks and laypeople chanting during the service from about 22:30. After a rite at the bell tower from about 23:30 the bell is rung — no reservation needed, one strike per group — with amazake served in the precinct; the queue closes at 0:30 (times from the temple's 2026 notice). ↗
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