As in the past, Seihan Mori, chief priest of Kyoto's iconic Kiyomizu-dera Temple, wrote the character of the year on a large board at the temple in the city's Higashiyama Ward the same day.

KYOTO--One stone statue of ... took charge of rebuilding the temple as its chief priest. Hoping to make Otagi Nenbutsuji more familiar to people, Nishimura instituted a program in the 1980s ...

KYOTO--Priests at Chion-in temple here tolled a 70-ton bell ... “We want to welcome the new year by staying present to people’s pain and sorrow.” The bell, which measures 3.3 meters high ...