The clapper has a tanzaku (短冊) suspended from it to catch the wind so that it can produce sound. The glass is painted on the inside to protect the design from the elements.
The custom of hanging bells outside of buildings originated from China, and was brought to Japan during the Heian period. Japanese articles about fuurin say that it was derived from a Chinese fortune telling instrument called the senfutaku (占風鐸).
One origin story says that during the Tang dynasty, a king suspended precious stones at the four cardinal points in a bamboo grove and used the sound of the stones and direction of the wind to perform divination. At some point, the practice changed to using bells in place of precious stones.
I couldn't find any references to this practice in Chinese sources, but the purported function (both then and now) seems to have been more in line with how bells are used for feng shui (to dissipate negative energy).
The first bells were known as futaku (風鐸), and made of bronze. They produced a deep note that was supposed to prevent misfortune and ward off evil spirits within range of the sound. They were primarily used by temples and the nobility due to their cost.
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| Pagoda in Gotokuji with bells at corners of eaves. |
It is said, that later in the Kamakura period, the first fuurin were developed. These bronze bells produced a higher pitched chime than the futaku.
Glass fuurin appeared in the Edo period after glass-making techniques were introduced to Edo from Nagasaki. At that point, cheap glass products could be produced, making fuurin affordable to the masses.
The sound of the chimes were heard in every corner of Edo, and the glass wind chimes came to be known as Edo fuurin (江戸風鈴) to distinguish them from other types of fuurin such as Nambu fuurin (南部風鈴) and Hibashi fuurin (火箸風鈴).
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| Fuurin peddler, Meiji 30 (1897) |
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| Fuurin peddler, Showa 8 (1933) |
Anyway, I had wanted to get a fuurin for a long time, but could never find any places where they were sold when I've been to Japan. It was only during my most recent trip that I finally came across a small shop in the Satake Shotengai (佐竹商店街) that I was finally able to buy a fuurin.
The shop is called Shinohara Maruyoshi Furin (篠原まるよし風鈴), with the proprietor Mr. Shinohara being a second generation artisan.
The Shinohara family has dedicated themselves to preserve the traditional art of the Edo fuurin, and teach classes on how to make them as well.
I chose a traditional goldfish design for my fuurin, and it is currently hanging in the front courtyard.
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