 During the seventeenth century the bonshō was also a symbol of a temple 's leadership ; possession of the bell indicated ownership of the associated temple . As a result , bells were often stolen ; the folk hero Benkei is said to have dragged the three @-@ ton bell of Mii @-@ dera temple up Mount Hiei during one such theft . The deep scratches in the Benkei bell , which is still displayed at Mii @-@ dera , are said in the legend to be the result of Benkei 's kicking the bell all the way back to the monastery when he discovered that it would not toll for him . The Benkei bell is also associated with the legendary hero <unk> <unk> , who originally donated it to the Mii @-@ dera temple . He acquired it as a gift from the dragon deity <unk> , after saving the god from a giant centipede . 
