Suikinkutsu, water chimes for dirty hands

The suikinkutsu, literally meaning ‘water harp chamber,’ is an underground Japanese water instrument which is usually located in temple gardens and places of ceremony. The water chime consists of an upside down pot with a small hole through it’s bottom. The upside down pot is buried underground, with a porous rock layer above and an impermeable layer below.

“The sound is thought to be pleasing precisely because the source is not readily apparent. This tension is lost if the suikinkutsu itself becomes the main attraction.” -jgarden.org

Listen:

Audio source: suikinkutsu.com

Water slowly seeps through the rock bed above, drips through the hole in the pot, and splashes in a shallow pool of water inside of the pot’s chamber. The dripping water creates a pleasant ringing sound, a sound who’s quality can be manipulated by the height of the water pool and the size and shape of the pot.

The sound of a suikinkutsu is so important, it can be divided into two groups, ryusuion and suitekion. “The ryusuion is the sound of the first few water drops at the beginning of washing hands. The suitekion describes both the sound of a lot of water falling at the same time during washing hands and the slower drops at the end of the washing.” -Wikipedia

The pot or jar is usually ceramic, the unglazed type being the best for the aggregation of water droplets due to it’s rough and porous surface.

Below: A suikinkutsu is burried below a wash basin at Enko-ji Temple, Kyoto, Japan.

This magical instrument is an important object in Japanese culture. A suikinkutsu is often located below a hand washing basin - when the hands are washed, for a Japanese tea ceremony for example, the water chime is activated, creating an appropriately serene and relaxed mood for the ceremony.

The suikinkutsu originated in the 1600s, around the same time the stone basin chozubachi (and wash basin) were developed. During the 1900s, the suikinkutsu had been mostly lost and forgotten until its revival in 1982, which was caused by inquisitive journalists.

The suikinkutsu is a fabulous and fun garden instrument, requiring only a little bit of water and some dirty hands!

A short film (28Mb) well-done by Planet Kyoto Media.