Singing bowls

Singing bowl are used in Japan in many situations, during Buddhist ceremonies or during meditations, so they are always present in a Buddhist temple. I found this impressively large singing bowl at Raikyu-ji, in Takahashi, Okayama.

The bowls are placed on a silk pillow to prevent the sound being altered by the stand. The sound is produced by hitting the bowl with a wooden hammer covered in silk, or by rubbing the hammer around the bowl's edge.