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Five-pronged Vajra Bell (Gokorei)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The five prongs of this bell symbolize the Buddhist “Five Perfections”—generosity, morality, patience, perseverance, and concentration. The mouth of the bell symbolizes the “Sixth Perfection” of wisdom. The bell was used in Japanese Esoteric Buddhist rituals along with vajra pestles, or kongōsho.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineFive-pronged Vajra Bell (Gokorei), early 1300s. Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333). Gilt bronze; height: 16.7 cm (6 9/16 in.); diameter: 7.5 cm (2 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Lillian M. Kern Memorial Fund, 2016.38
