Suikinkutsu 水琴窟

Sui-kin-kutsu, written as 水sui (water) 琴kin (harp) 窟kutsu (cave) is an upside down water pot (40~60cm in depth) buried underground with a small hole at the top (3cm in diameter) through which water drips. It is devised so that water pools about 10cm at the bottom and leaving the rest harrow. Slow dripping water splashes in the water pool and rings, creating a harp-like sound, hence the name suikinkutsu. As the water drips randomly and in multiple drops, they resonate and create unique sound.

The origin of suikinkutsu is said to be do-sui-mon created by Kobori Enshu, a tea ceremony master in early Edo (1608). His style is now recognized as Enshu School of Tea. Enshu originally created do-sui-mon to improve drainage of a washbasin (tsukubai). Tsukubai is often placed at a side entrance to a garden study or a house for guests to wash their hands before entering. Enshu devised do-sui-mon to avoid water pooling at the foot of the basin and getting the guests’ feet wet. The system was found to create a pleasant sound, which intrigued his master Furuta Oribe who commended“(the sound is) nothing like I have ever heard”.

The washbasin tsukubai literally means "to crawl" as we would need to bend low to reach for the water. Tsukubai may also be placed in other Japanese-style gardens or at a side/back entrance to the house (general name cho-zu-bachi, hand washing basin). Suikinkutsu can also be found in such locations. Being underground, suikinkutsu can be easily lost, buried and forgotten, but in recent years many have been uncovered in yards of private houses, temples and Noh theatres.

The sound of suikinkutsu is subtle and intriguing as the “harp” itself is invisible and ringing is unexpected - the act of washing hands is also “playing the harp” but it is unknown to the “player”. Such is a Japanese asobi-gokoro – a playful and witty mind that is good at finding suble fascinations and taking seemingly trivia serious. Suikinkutsu is an example of Japan’s traditional soundscape where people’s everyday life blends with nature in a subtle understated way - also showing wabi, sabi, Japanese traditional aesthetics.

Researchers have claimed that the suikinkutsu sound is effective for physical and mental relaxation and many suikinkutsu have been installed at hospitals and nursing homes. Ko-chu-kin , suikinkutsu for indoor use, have also been created for private home. The subtleness of the sound also sharpens consciousness of surrounding noise. “Since we have installed Suikinkutsu, the traffic noise seems so much louder and disturbing”, commented a Tokyo resident on his new Suikinkutsu in the yard. In recent years, many schools, kindergartens and communities have taken up installation of Suikinkutsu as an educational project to raise awareness about surrounding noise, water (eg water saving, rainwater usage) and also to celebrate this traditional culture. Installation is an ideal project that brings a community together and creates a cultural symbol that is environmentally informing and aesthetically appealing.

The Australia’s first suikinkutsu is in Kodama Forest, Blue Tier, Tasmania thanks to the generous support from Mr Kubo from Kyoto collaborating with group of Japanese students and Friens of the Blue Tier. It is certainly the only Suikinkutsu situated in a natural forest, but we are so pround that the suikinkutsu is literally and spiritually priceless. It was made with people's passion, good-will and friendship without any funding (www.bluetier.org/harp, www.ecco.org.au, Japanese articles http://www.bunkanken.com/journal/article.php?id=238, http://www.bunkanken.com/journal/article.php?id=288). Australia’s second suikinkutsu is soon to be installed in a busy parkland of the Brisbane CBD, Queensland, again with a help from Mr Kubo collaborating with a local architect Will Marcus (Argo, www.argo.com.au). We want to call it a Sound Garden, where people can create their own quiet listening place and a peaceful space no matter how busy the surroundings might be.

The completion of Suikinkutsu is celebrated in a hatsu-ne-shiki, the First Sound Ceremony, when the first bowl of water is poured to play the harp for the first time. First Sound Ceremony at Kodama Forest (5 November, 05) was held and the first water was poured by Mr Kubo, ecco representative Okubo Hideki and Friends of the Blue Tier Steve Cameron who donated the land. The local indigenous elder Gloria Andrews opened the ceremony expressing her honour to witness this event and seeing "a new culture adding another layer to this land". A musical improvisation by Chordwainers “Meditation of Kodama” took all those present to a deep meditative space. In the following year, a poetry reading by suikinkutsu "Windscape of Kodama" was held as part of the Tasmania Living Writers' Week".

As done in Kodama Forest, the first quiet listening is often followed by musical improvisation. Experimenting with different instruments, which of course needs to be soft, would be enjoyable. The first sound, I think, should be also to honour the land, which is going to live with the Suikinkutsu for years to come. It is quite fun to imagine that under different weather, season and climate, subtle variations to the sound can be played by different elements - moisture, wind, light, moss, insects, frogs and other creatures.