A Bell That Brings Coolness — The Story of the Nambu Wind Chime

On a summer day in the tea house, a delicate wind chime sways gently under the eaves. As the breeze brushes past, a clear, lingering tone rings out—riiinnn. The moment it reaches your ears, it feels as though the heat is momentarily lifted, replaced by a refreshing quiet.

This is a Nambu Wind Chime, handcrafted from Nambu iron, a traditional cast iron from Iwate Prefecture. Known for its high density, this material produces a uniquely long and clear resonance—distinct from the short, tinkling sound of glass chimes. It is a sound with depth, one that seems to stretch into silence and invite calm.

The origins of Nambu ironware date back to the Edo period, when Lord Toshio of the Nambu domain invited a tea kettle craftsman from Kyoto to his castle town. From this meeting of traditions, a culture of crafting tea kettles and ironware blossomed—tools essential to the art of chanoyu, the Japanese tea ceremony. Over time, the same metalworking techniques began to be used to make wind chimes as well.

The roots of the wind chime itself go even further back. They originated as fūtaku—Buddhist temple bells hung at the four corners of temple roofs to ward off evil spirits. In ancient times, strong winds were believed to carry disease and misfortune. The sound of the fūtaku ringing in the wind was thought to purify the space and mark it as sacred. During the Heian period, this belief spread to the aristocracy, who began hanging wind chimes under the eaves of their homes for protection. It wasn’t until the Meiji era that the practice became more widespread among the general public, and wind chimes came to be seen as a symbol of summer itself.

What makes Nambu wind chimes so special is not just their craftsmanship, but the healing quality of their sound. Like the murmur of a brook or the song of a bird, their tones contain high-frequency sounds above 3,000 Hz—frequencies known to soothe the nervous system and bring a sense of peace.

In that sense, a wind chime is more than a seasonal decoration—it’s a tool for listening to the wind.

In the tea room, sound is also an essential part of the experience. The quiet hiss of water boiling, the delicate splash of the ladle, the soft rustle of silk. Every sound carries the rhythm of the season and the sensitivity of the host.

The sound of the wind chime hanging at the entrance to the tea house brings more than a breeze. It opens the senses, gently aligning the visitor’s heart with the moment and the season.

This summer at ZENLAB, the clear tone of our Nambu wind chime rings out softly from beneath the eaves—offering a moment of coolness, a sense of quiet, and a connection to a long and beautiful tradition.