Originally, a water-driven device for making sound to protect crops from wild boar and deer. Later, it was used as a garden ornament. A piece of bamboo is cut diagonally at one end, and mounted so that it pivots on a central fulcrum. When filled with water flowing into its open end, the greater weight on that half causes the tube to rotate, spilling the water all at once, so that the tube falls back to its initial position and hits a stone, making a sharp sound. It is also called sōzu.
Japanese Garden Dictionary: A Glossary for Japanese Gardens and Their History
(C) 2010 by Ono Kenkichi and Walter Edwards. All rights reserved.
