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About 50 meters to the right is the bell under a thatched roof. Cast in 1255 by the Mononobes {mo-no-no-beh}, a famous family for casting, this is the only structure that has been existing from the very beginning of the Temple's founding. It is one of the two bells in Kamakura designated as National Treasures (the other is in Engakuji).
Inscription on the bell written by Priest Rankei, the founding priest, reads that in compliance with the request from Tokiyori Hojo, more than 1,000 people donated funds to make the bell and it was completed in February 22, 1255. At the end of the inscription, the name of "Kencho Zen-ji" appears. Zen-ji or Zen Temple was used here for the first time in history. The bell is too fragile now to be tolled. Even at the New Year Eve, the Temple allows to ring it only 18 times instead of traditional 108.
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