Suikinkutsu, a musical garden feature

In my first year in Japan, I encountered so many small details by accident. I just happened to glance a certain way or noticed a kanji on a sign that piqued my interest. One of the easily overlooked details I found in a garden below Matsuyama Castle in Ehime Prefecture. A sign pointed to a tiny garden feature that wasn’t immediately apparent. I puzzled over the kanji on the sign and spied the ladle, dipped it in the basin, and poured it over the stones below. A tinkling like a natural musical instrument sounded. I’d discovered the 水琴窟, suikinkutsu, the “water zither”.

The suikinkutsu is an upside-down pot buried underground so that water dripping through the drain hole echoes against the ceramic walls that imitate the tones of the koto, the Japanese zither.

Recently on a walk through Kawagoe City, I found one in a temple garden. Just within the gate of Myojzenji, a temple that is part of the Shichifukujin, or Seven Gods of Good Fortune route, is a sign that indicates the suikinkutsu. I leaned close as I rinsed my hands and caught the chime of the water running into the jar.

Another Saitama Prefecture spot where I encountered a suikinkutsu is Zensouan, the rest house on the Soka Matsubara Promenade. The path has been trodden for centuries by pilgrims going to Nikko.

While searching for more information about suikinkutsu, I turned up a database for the garden feature across Japan. Here’s a chance to hear one near you. 

Have you stumbled on a suikinkutsu? Tell us about it!