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Bowl gong
Vernacular name:Kin
Date: 1870 ca.
Place Made:Japan, Asia
Serial No: none
SignedStamped Japanese characters along interior rim. Messages of goodwill are sometimes found on the rims of such gongs.
DescriptionHammered-bronze bowl gong. Red-lacquered wooden stand with bronze plaque fittings and blue cushion. Gongs such as this, with openings oriented upward, are played in tandem with the temple block, or mokugyo. Rim is struck with a wooden mallet wrapped in leather to punctuate Zen Buddhist temple music. In geza, the off-stage music of the kabuki theater tradition in Japan, the kin evokes temple scenes.
DimensionsHeight with stand: 1220 mm (4 feet)
ProvenancePurchased from Tony Bingham, London, England, 1993.
Credit Line: Purchase funds gift of Margaret Ann and Hubert H. Everist, 1993
On view
Published References"Recent Acquisitions," The Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter, Vol. 21, No. 2 (January 1994), p. 5.
Object number: 05561