Japanese Wind Chimes

Japanese wind chimes at a Saitama Prefecture road stop 2023.


Japanese wind chimes or furin 風鈴 decorate Japanese houses in the summer. They consist of three parts: the bowl or exterior, known as the gaiken, the bell clapper, zetsu, and the furin, the tanzaku, strips of colorful paper that hang and flutter in the summer breeze. Wind chimes originated in China through fortune-telling called senfutaku. About 1200 years ago, they spread to Japan and were used in Buddhist temples to ward off evil spirits. Today Japanese people use furins to create a sense of coolness to get through Japan’s hot and humid summers.