 The bonshō is derived from the bianzhong ( <unk> <unk> 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 . According to legend , the earliest bonshō may have come from China to Japan via the Korean Peninsula . The Nihon Shoki records that Ōtomo no <unk> brought three bronze bells back to Japan in 562 as spoils of war from Goguryeo . 
