Prehistoric Bronze Bells from Japan. 37 



facture differed from that ordinarily known, and its sound 

 came under the ritsu and riyo tones. Orders were given by 

 the Emperor to the officials to lay it up in the storehouse. 



" In the 2d part of Vol. 11 of the ' Mhonkiriyaku,' it is 

 stated that in the 5th month of the 12th year of the period 

 Kdnin — corresponding to the year 822 A.D. of the foreign 

 calendar— during the reign of the Emperor Saga— as a man 

 in the province was digging in the ground he discovered a 

 copper bell. It was 3 ft. 8 in. in height, and the diameter of 

 the aperture was 1 ft. 2 in. The people styled it the Bell of 

 King A-iku's * Pagoda. 



" Again, in Vol. 11 of the ' Mhongoki,' we read that in 

 the 6th month of the 9th year of Showa — corresponding to 

 the year 843 A.D. of the foreign calendar — there was pre- 

 sented (to the Emperor), from the Province of Wakasa, a 

 copper utensil that in shape very nearly resembled a bell, 

 which had been dug up from out of the ground. 



lL - In Vol. 4 of the ' Sandai Jitsuroku ' it is stated that on 

 the 14th day of the 8th month of the 2d year of Jokan — cor- 

 responding to the year 861 A.D. of the foreign calendar — 

 there was presented to the Emperor, from the Province of Mi- 

 kawa, a copper bell. It was 3 ft. 4 in. in height, and one ft. 

 4 in. in diameter, and had been discovered in the hill called 

 Muramatsu in the Department of Atsumi. It was observed 

 by some one, ' This is a precious bell of King A iku.' 



" Apart from the above, there must also be other instances. 

 The fact of King A-iku having in one single day erected 84,000 

 pagodas is mentioned in Vol. 4 of an old book called 'Konjaku 

 Monogatari,' and in Vol. 13 of that called the ' Jinkaisho,' 

 etc., etc. The first mention of him is made in Vol. 3 of ' Sho- 

 kiyo Yoshiu,' but as this is a long affair, it is not fully given 

 here. 



" (Signed) Yokoyama Yoshikito." 



Many years after the above, during the period of Tenshd 

 (1573-92 A.D.), a copper bell was dug up in the Province of 

 Yamato, and was presented to the Taikd Toyotami. The Tai- 

 ko regarded this as an object of great value, but afterward 

 conferred it, as a reward, upon a general who had achieved 

 some great exploit. In the times of the Tokugawa family, 

 during the period of tranquillity and peace, those bells that 

 were dug up were very numerous. Sixty or seventy years 

 ago there lived an antiquarian called Yashiro Taro, who held 

 the office of historian to the Bakufu. He was a man of pro- 

 found knowledge and a lover of antiquities; and he collected 



* Name <jf an Indian ruler, who erected many pagodas, v. infra. 



