With a height of 3.3 meters and a diameter of 2.7 meters, this bell weighs seventy tons. The size of the bell at Chion-in places it alongside the bells at Hōkōji (also in Kyoto) and Tōdaiji (in Nara). This massive bell was cast in 1636, during the time of Ōyo Reigan, the 32nd chief high priest of Chion-in. At first, according to legend, no matter how many times the rings from which the bell was hung were recast, they could not support its weight. However, one day, Masamune and Muramasa, who were master swordsmiths, came to worship at the temple. Hearing this story, they combined their efforts to cast a set of rings, and it was said that the bell could finally be hung.