What are Furin? All About Japanese Wind Chimes

by Cath Lealand | LIFESTYLE

If you’ve even spent a summer in Japan, there’s no denying that the season is not complete without the distinctive ringing sound of the furin, or Japanese wind chime. With its quintessential paper streamer fluttering in the breeze, the furin is a staple of Japan’s long, hot summers.

We’ll take a look into the world of the Japanese wind chime and discover its history and variety, and find out where you can find one for yourself, to help you enjoy the feeling of Japanese summer all year long!

1. What is a Japanese Wind Chime?

A Japanese wind chime, known as a furin (風鈴, literally “wind bell”) in Japanese, is a small bell usually found hanging from the balconies and porches of Japanese houses in summer. Most Japanese wind chimes consist of three parts: the bowl or bell-shaped exterior, known as the gaiken, the bell clapper, zetsu, and arguably the most characteristic of the furin, the tanzaku, strips of colorful paper that hangs and flutters in the summer breeze. As the wind catches the tanzaku, it causes the clapper to chime. Not only does this create a visual representation of the blowing wind, the gentle ringing sound has become associated with a cool, refreshing feeling.

2. The History of Japanese Wind Chimes

Woman and Fan by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Early 19th Century

Japanese wind chimes have their roots in an ancient Chinese fortune-telling tool, the senfutaku. These Chinese wind bells would be taken into the forest and hung from stalks of bamboo. The sounds the bells made in the wind would be interpreted as signs of good or bad fortune. During the Heian period, over 1200 years ago, the use of these bells spread to Japan. Originally used in Buddhist temples, where many of these bells can still be found today, the Heian nobility began to hang them on their own porches as a protective charm to ward away evil spirits. Over time, the bells became smaller and more common in Japanese houses.

In the days before air-conditioning, Japanese people used to listen to the sound of furin to promote a feeling of coolness to help get through Japan’s sweltering and humid summers.

3. How are Japanese Wind Chimes Made?

Copper and bronze were the most common materials for wind chimes during the Heian period, right up until the 18th century. With trade with European merchants growing in areas like Nagasaki, a market developed for Japanese wind chimes made from glass. Although initially very expensive, Venetian glass wind chimes gained popularity during the 19th century. The early 20th century also saw a growing demand for iron wind chimes. These days, there are a variety of mass-produced Japanese wind chimes available, but there are also furin that adopt local traditional craftsmanship.

© Shinohara Maruyoshi Furin, Making Edo Furin

The most popular type of furin are today are made from glass, with a variety of different painted or printed designs. For glass wind chimes, a mould is not used. The glass is carefully hand-blown into small bubble-like shapes. A wire for hanging is placed into the glass bubble during the blowing process, and an opening is cut into the glass bubble and smoothed with a whetstone. The design, usually summer images of flowers or fish, is hand painted from the inside to prevent peeling or wear. Glass wind chimes are unmistakable with their light, bubble-like appearance and gentle twinkling sound.

If you’re interested in glass art, check out these 20 Japanese Glass Artists You Really Should Know!

In the case of Iwate Prefecture’s Nambu wind chimes, these unique items are made using the traditional craft techniques of Nambu ironware. A mould, made of a combination of sand and clay, is imprinted with intricate designs, and molten iron is poured into it. The iron settles in the space between the mould and a metal core, and is fired over charcoal at 800˚C / 1500˚F. This is a process called kinki-teki, which is unique to Nambu ironware and prevents rust. Thanks to the craftsmanship of the wind chimes, they also make a beautiful, clear, high-pitched sound. To find out more about Japanese ironwear check out our article on tetsubin, Japanese iron kettles.

4. How to Use Japanese Wind Chimes

These days, you can often find furin hanging on balconies and outside the windows of Japanese houses to catch the summer breeze. You’re less likely to find them in Japanese apartment buildings however: the number of people who complain about their neighbour’s constant wind chime ringing only seems to be growing each year! Japanese wind chimes are still used by temples to ward off evil spirits, with a number of temples and shrines around Japan hosting furin festivals in the summer.

© Hunini / Creative Commons, Shojuin Temple Furin

Kawasaki’s Daishi Temple hosts a festival each July wherein over 30,000 wind chimes dance together in the summer breeze. Kawagoe’s Hikawa Shrine and Asakusa’s Sensoji Temple also hold furin festivals that fill the air with cheerful summer jingling. For those who want their wind chimes whilst on the go, the Jomo Electric Railway, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, hangs many wind-bells on its trains from June to August every year and runs them as "wind-bell trains", with 100 chimes per two-car train.

5. What Types of Japanese Wind Chimes are There?

The choices are almost endless. There are more than 1,000 kinds of furin, made of a variety of different materials, and found in many different shapes and sizes.

As mentioned earlier, Nambu furin from Iwate prefecture are made from iron using the traditional kinki-teki technique. Nambu furin have a frequency of 3000 Hz, which is said to have a healing effect.

Toyama Prefecture’s takaoka furin are made from brass, and like Iwate’s nanbu furin, use a traditional casting technique. Takaoka furin are often found in modern, minimalist designs, that would not look out of place in an art gallery!

Edo furin, from the old name of Tokyo, is the official name of glass wind chimes with painted designs on the inside. There is only one official maker of edo furin, located in Tokyo. Each wine chime is hand-made using techniques handed down from the Edo period.

Okinawa also has its own glass wind chimes, using local Ryukyu glass techniques. Characterised by its vibrant colours and bubbly appearance, Ryukyu glass wind chimes are reminiscent of a glass of colorful soda on a hot summer’s day.

Many wind chimes from Shizuoka feature an intricate iron wind chime encased in a bamboo cage.

For those who are looking for a wind chime that is a bit different, Himeji’s Hibachi furin are just the wind chime for you! Made from hanging metal chopsticks (a traditional craft item of the area), the sound is made as each individual chopstick hits a central point, rather that a bell clapper hitting the sides of the wind chime.

Each area’s wind chimes tend to be based on the crafts and local techniques from their respective areas. Okayama prefecture is home to ceramic wind chimes, and porcelain wind chimes can be found in Saga prefecture, just to name a few!

Due to modern day complaints about wind chimes on apartment balconies, there are also chimes that can be enjoyed indoors, consisting of wind chime and a stand to place on a desk or table.

6. Where to buy Wind Chimes?

For those who are on the hunt for a one-of-a-kind furin, Shinohara Furin Honpo, located in Tokyo, lets you create your own Japanese wind chime. As Shinohara Furin Honpo is the only official maker of edo furin, it’s an experience not to miss.

If you’re looking to buy a wind chime with a modern, minimalist feel, Nousaku’s furin may be for you. Using cast bronze and copper, these wind chimes are too nice to put out onto your balcony! Thankfully, many of their wind chimes come with their own stand!

If a more classic appearance is what you’re after, there are a number of nambu furin available online! Recreating the feeling of a Japanese temple in the comfort of your own home one example is online store Iwachu.

Just like the clip clop sounds of geta, the buzzing of cicadas or the sounds of firework, a Japanese summer is not complete without the gentle jingle of a Japanese wind chime. Whilst it’s not quite as effective as air conditioning, the furin’s gentle fluttering in the breeze is sure to make you feel a degree or two cooler- as it has been doing for the people of Japan for centuries.