Suikinkutsu

A suikinkutsu (水琴窟^?, literally "water koto cave") is a type of Japanese garden ornament and music device. It consists of an upside down buried pot with a hole at the top. Water drips through the hole at the top onto a small pool of water inside of the pot, creating a pleasant splashing sound that rings inside of the pot similar to a bell or a Japanese zither called koto. It is usually built next to a traditional Japanese stone basin called chōzubachi.

Constructing a suikinkutsu is more difficult than it looks, because all components have to be finely tuned with each other to ensure a good sound. The most important piece of a suikinkutsu is the jar, the upside down pot buried underground.

The sound of a suikinkutsu has its own name in Japanese, called suikin'on. the sounds can furthermore be divided in two sub groups, ryūsuion and suitekion. The ryūsuion 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.

An important part of the idea behind the suikinkutsu is that the device is hidden from the view. Instead, the visitor washes his/her hands, and suddenly hears the pleasant sounds coming from underground. The act of washing the hands can also be considered as playing the suikinkutsu, and the sounds emerge shortly after the washing. This clear sound of water drops is considered relaxing and soothing, and also described as beautiful and peaceful.

Modern suikinkutsu are not always located next to a chōzubachi as traditionally required.

Historically, suikinkutsu were known as tōsuimon (洞水門^?, literally "water gate"), but they were rarely used in Japanese gardens.