This bell tower stands on the site of the worship hall, a religious facility that once existed at Keifuen, and was built to commemorate the bygone building.
The worship hall was a giant wooden structure built in 1936. It featured a 150-jo, or approximately 250 square-meter or 2,665 square-foot, main hall, and lined up on top of the platform at the rear of the hall were altars for the various faiths the sanatorium’s residents practiced. After its inception, the worship hall was long used as a place for performing Buddhist memorial services, funerals, and other religious events for residents. However, the damage caused by Typhoon No. 17, Kinna, and No. 19, Mireille, which swept through Kyushu in September 1991, ultimately led to the building’s demolition. In 1993, Yasuragi General Hall was built to replace the fallen facility.
The bell affixed in the bell tower is named Yasuragi no kane, or Bell of Peace, and engraved on it are the words, “Erected to console those who have passed away since the facility’s opening and to pray for world peace and social awareness, July 2002, Auspicious day, Independent Association of Kikuchi Keifuen Sanatorium Residents.”