“Bell of Nanban Temple”

Within Shunkoin of Myoshin Temple, a bell that is believed to be the one of Nanban Temple is preserved. On its surface, a cross, letters of “IHS”, the coat of arms of Jesuit- which is the combination of three nails, surrounded by flame pattern, and year 1577 were engraved. An episode was told that during the World War II, when the military authorities demanded the priest of the time to provide metals, he hid the bell burying it underground saying, “This was the bell that Christians treasured” and, instead, he submitted the bell of his own temple.

Japanese