The bells' penetrating and pervasive tone carries over considerable distances, which led to their use as signals, timekeepers and alarms.

The spiritual significance of bonshō means that they play an important role in Buddhist ceremonies, particularly the New Year and Bon festivals.

The bonshō is derived from the bianzhong (henshō (編鐘) in Japanese), an ancient Chinese court instrument comprising a series of tuned bells.

One larger additional bell, which eventually developed into the bonshō, was used as a tuning device and a summons to listeners to attend a bianzhong recital.

The Nihon Shoki records that Ōtomo no Satehiko brought three bronze bells back to Japan in 562 as spoils of war from Goguryeo.

[2] Bonshō are cast in a single piece using two moulds, a core and a shell, in a process that is largely unchanged since the Nara period (710–794).

The ratio of the alloy is usually around 17:3 copper to tin; the exact admixture (as well as the speed of the cooling process) can alter the tone of the end product.

Buddhist prayer papers, sprigs of sacred mulberry and other ceremonial offerings are added to the molten bronze during the founding process.

[12] The low tone and deep resonance of the bell allow the sound to carry over great distances; a large bonshō can be heard up to 32 kilometres (20 miles) away on a clear day.

Smaller versions were subsequently cast for battlefield use, as the large temple bells were too heavy and unwieldy to transport.

[18][19] During the Buddhist Bon Festival, a special type of bonshō called an ōkubo-ōgane (大久保大鐘, "great hollow bell") is rung.

[22][23] Bonshō have also been cast in response to natural disasters such as the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami; several affected communities commissioned bells to commemorate the event.

[32] The Benkei bell is also associated with the legendary hero Tawara Tōda, who originally donated it to the Mii-dera temple.

[33] After the Hōkō-ji temple burned down at the start of the 17th century, Toyotomi Hideyori sponsored its reconstruction in 1610, and commissioned a large bell as part of that process.

The bell's inscription drew the ire of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had become shōgun after wresting power from the Toyotomi clan when Hideyori's father Hideyoshi died.

The inscription, "Kokka ankō" (国家安康, 'Peace and tranquility for the nation'), broke up the characters for the shogun's name (家康) with the kanji for "peace" (安).

[40] The bell of the Nishi-Arai Daishi Temple in Tokyo was removed in 1943, to be melted down as part of the Japanese war effort.