A large crowd gathered on the grounds of Zojoji Temple in Tokyo on Sunday evening as Japan celebrated the arrival of the new year.
A large crowd gathered on the grounds of Zojoji Temple in Tokyo on Sunday evening as Japan celebrated the arrival of the new year.
At the stroke of midnight, priests and members of the public took turns swinging a wooden pole against the temple’s enormous bell to ring in the new year.
The ringing of bells at midnight is an ancient tradition for Buddhists, who believe that humans are born with 108 worldly desires and that these disappear when a bell is struck 108 times.