In the little temple near by, the priest shows us a series of curious
paintings, representing the six hundredth anniversary of the casting
of the bell. (For this is a sacred bell, and the spirit of a god
is believed to dwell within it.) Otherwise the temple has little
of interest. There are some kakemono representing Iyeyasu and his
retainers; and on either side of the door, separating the inner from the
outward sanctuary, there are life-size images of Japanese warriors in
antique costume. On the altars of the inner shrine are small images,
grouped upon a miniature landscape-work of painted wood--the Jiugo-Doji,
or Fifteen Youths--the Sons of the Goddess Benten. There are gohei
before the shrine, and a mirror upon it; emblems of Shinto. The
sanctuary has changed hands in the great transfer of Buddhist temples to
the State religion.
In nearly every celebrated temple little Japanese prints are sold,
containing the history of the shrine, and its miraculous legends. I find
several such things on sale at the door of the temple, and in one of
them, ornamented with a curious engraving of the bell, I discover, with
Akira's aid, the following traditions: