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| A view of Masan in the early 20th century Robert Neff Collection |
By Robert Neff
According to legend, up until a little over a century ago, residents along the western coast of the Japanese island of Kyushu would often hear the low mournful toll of a bell when storms struck the coast. The sound of the bell did not come from a temple or mountain retreat but, rather strangely, from the bottom of the sea.
This bell soon became part of the fishermen's lives ― not merely as a curiosity but also as an early warning signal. Whenever earthquakes struck the region, the residents listened for the bell. If they heard it ringing wildly then they knew that the arrival of a tsunami was imminent and they would seek higher ground.
Storms were an integral part of this bell's history.
Taira Kiyomori (1118-81) was a great leader of the Heiki clan in the 12th century and, according to Wikipedia, "established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan." He has been described as a ruthless tyrant but a great warrior and judging from the little I read, he was a very interesting character. Perhaps this is what gained him the admiration or respect of his neighbors on the Korean Peninsula.
Supposedly, one of the kings of Goryeo ― either Uijong (reign 1146-70) or Myeongjong (1170-97) ― felt it would be a fitting gesture of respect to send a great bronze bell to Kiyomori. He commanded his artisans to cast a bell 8.8 meters tall, 2.7 meters in diameter and with a circumference of 8.8 meters. It isn't clear why the king decided to send a bell ― especially one so large ― but once it was completed he was faced with the enormous task of transporting it to Japan.
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| A view of Kyoto circa 1890-1907 Robert Neff Collection |
The bell was loaded carefully aboard a huge raft in Masan (now part of Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province) and then, on an auspicious day, began its journey to Japan. Unfortunately, the day wasn't as auspicious as thought initially, and about a kilometer off the coast of Kyushu, the raft encountered heavy seas and the bell toppled over and plunged into the water.
For whatever reason, neither the Goryeo monarch nor the Japanese samurai prince attempted to recover the bell. A newspaper article would later explain that "within 100 years, the descendants of the prince were crossing over the sunken bell in war forays against the kings of Korea and the junks of the Koreans ravaged the coasts of [Kyushu]."
The war forays were actually Kublai Khan's attempted invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1279. Hundreds of the invader's ships and thousands of soldiers were lost mainly due to storms. One can only wonder if the combatants on both sides heard the bell's awful toll as the "Divine Wind" raged ― the defenders emboldened by it and the invaders frightened and disheartened knowing that the bell tolled for them.
For a little over seven centuries the existence of the bell remained relatively unknown except to the fishermen, but this all changed in the summer of 1908. According to a newspaper article: "Yamamoto Kikutaro, a man of wealth of the province and devoted to the province and devoted to the collection of ancient art objects, began to search for the ancient bell."
Through the assistance of the fishermen, divers found the bell 36 meters beneath the surface, resting on the seabed. Except for being covered with masses of barnacles, it was complete and undamaged. The bell was recovered in the summer of 1909 and promptly put on display.
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| Did a Korean bell once grace a temple in Kyoto? Circa 1910-20. Robert Neff Collection |
The article noted that it would soon be taken to Kyoto where it would be "hung in the Hongwanji Temple." Like many articles from the past, this one tantalizes the imagination but provides very few facts that can be verified. This article appeared in several newspapers in the United States (likely copied from one of the English-language newspapers published in Japan) but there were no follow-up articles. The bell does not seem to have been mentioned in the Korean contemporary newspapers ― an odd omission considering its supposed age and history. A brief internet examination of temples in Kyoto (as well as the rest of Japan) reveals no great bell from Korea.
The tale of this bell has the ring of fiction and thus seems like a fitting article for the first weekend following not just April Fools' Day, but also Korea's Day of Fishermen.
I would like to thank Diane Nars for her invaluable assistance.
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
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