Furin, Japanese wind chime

The Japanese wind chime is known as “Furin” (风铃), and is usually made of glass, ceramic or metal. It has a clapper with a string and a rectangular card.

In Japan, the furin is a very popular item during summer and is usually hung from the eaves of a house or in front of the windows.

The distinctive sound of the wind chime signifies a breeze, providing some psychological relief from the intensely hot and humid summer.

(Note: In English, there is no difference in the singular and plural form for the word “furin”.)

The furin originated from China. They were already used in many homes, especially in summer, during the Muromachi era (1336-1573). The close association of furin with summer can be seen from the fact that its depiction in Haiku (Japanese 17-syllable poem) indicates that the poem is about summer.

The wind bell later became very popular in the Edo period (1603-1867). Peddlers sold furin along with their other wares, which they carried on shoulder poles. The pleasant sound of the wind bells attracted attention along the way. As the peddlers moved from town to town, the use of furin spread throughout the nation.

In those days, the sound of furin was believed to disperse negative energy from a premise. Wind chimes used to be hung on the four corners of temples, in gardens, or outside a house’s verandah as protection from evils.

Furin is quite different from the Chinese wind chime, though its concept originated from China. While the Chinese ones are usually made of iron, the Japanese wind bells are created using glass, ceramic and metal.

In addition, instead of having rods as in a Chinese wind chime, the furin has a clapper hanging from its centre. The clapper has a rectangular card attached to it by a string. The card is called Tanzaku. Ancient Japanese poems and verses are often written on the Tanzaku.

When there is a breeze, the clapper will hit the sides of the wind chime, producing a serene sound.

Furin come in different sizes and designs. They are normally painted with Japanese images to make them more visually appealing and culturally relevant.

The traditional bell-shaped glass Edo-Furin are relatively small in size, 4 x 5 cm (1.57 – 1.96 ins) or 8 x 7 cm (3.1 x 2.7 ins). They are usually decorated with paintings of flora, fauna, and insects such as hydrangea, sunflower, pine, rabbit, turtle, frog, kingyo (goldfish), koi, dragonfly, etc.

The designs of other types of furin can range from simple to complex. Furin can be in the shape of a lantern, temple-shaped lantern, small temple, pagoda, well bucket, fish, and so on. Most of them are made of cast iron but there are ceramic furin as well.

These furin can vary greatly in size, ranging from 4 cm – 12 cm (1.57 – 4.72 ins) in width and 6 cm – 19 cm (2.3 – 7.5 ins) in height.

The Furin Ichi is a summer feature of Kawasaki-Daishi Temple (川崎大师) in Kanagawa Prefecture. It is the largest wind bell market in Japan. The annual 4-5-day event is usually held in the third week of July.

Wind bells will be gathered from all over Japan. Around 650-900 types of wind bell and 25,000-32,000 pieces of wind bell from 47 prefectures have been displayed in previous wind bell markets.

The Kawasaki-Daishi Wind Bell Market has become a well-known cultural event in summer. The past years’ Furin Ichi had an attendance of 200,000-300,000 local and foreign visitors, Japan’s second highest number of visitors, after New Year ceremonies.

Nowadays, it is not easy to find this item in our local departmental stores or retail shops. However, there are quite a number of online stores selling a great variety of the Japanese wind bells.

Most of the furin will cost between US$8 – US$50. For the large size with intricate design, it can cost as high as US$120.

The Japanese furin is a very nice and beautiful adornment for our homes. With so many colours, shapes and designs to choose from, it makes a great gift too for any occasion.

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