Cultural Celebration
38th Annual Japanese New Year Bell-Ringing Ceremony
Come celebrate with your museum community for an experience the San Francisco Chronicle calls “a great way to end a year and start a new year.”
Ring in the New Year by taking a swing at a 2,100-pound, 16th-century Japanese temple bell. Led by Reverend Gengo Akiba, this inspiring ceremony will include a purification ritual and chanting of the Buddhist Heart Sutra. Visitors will have an opportunity to ring the bell to leave behind any unfortunate experiences, regrettable deeds, or ill luck from the year. The bell will be struck 108 times to usher in the New Year and curb the 108 mortal desires (bonno) that, according to Buddhist belief, torment humankind.
SCHEDULE
10 AM: Doors open
10:30 AM–12 PM: Member Bell-Ringing
12 PM: Touch Tour of the bell for Blind and Visually Impaired Community (preregistration required)
12:30–2 PM: Public Bell-Ringing
We encourage visitors to purchase general admission tickets prior to arriving at the museum. An admission ticket guarantees entry, but visitors interested in joining the Bell-Ringing Ceremony must pick up separate tickets to ring the bell at the entrance to Samsung Hall.
Members can attend an earlier Bell-Ringing Ceremony at 10:30 AM before the public ceremony begins. Learn more about member benefits.
ACCESSIBILITY
The Asian Art Museum is committed to making its events accessible to all. This program is wheelchair accessible and assistive listening devices (ALDs) will be provided. ASL interpretation is available upon request; please email [email protected] two weeks prior to the event to request an ASL interpreter.
We invite our blind and visually impaired community to engage in a tactile experience as part of this annual celebration. Join us for a touch tour of the temple bell and receive priority seating for the ceremony. Space is limited and preregistration is required. Email [email protected] to register.
This program is free with general admission. If you wish to view the special exhibition Murakami: Monsterized please preregister your timed exhibition ticket as space is limited.
Organizers & Sponsors
Cultural Celebrations are made possible by Bank of America. Support for the Asian Art Museum’s Japanese Bell-Ringing Ceremony is provided by The Henri & Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation.
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