Shishiodoshi

Yesterday, I talked about "kakashi," which is used for driving annoying animals away.

Today I will talk about "shishiodoshi," which was used for the same purpose as kakashi.

"Shishiodoshi" is a tool that generates a sound automatically by water power.

First, it draws water into a bamboo tube.

When the the bamboo tube is filled with water, it inclines, the water discharges, and the tube becomes empty.

The bamboo tube returns to the original angle, then it strikes a rock or something, and make a sound.

"Shishi" means "deer," "odoshi" means "to terrify something," and "shishiodoshi" originally used for terrifying deer or annoying animals as the name implies.

However, in recent years, we have come to enjoy the gracious sound, and it is often placed at Japanese gardens.

ししおどし

昨日は害獣を追い払うための「かかし」を紹介しました。

今日は、同じく害獣を追い払うための装置であった「ししおどし」を紹介します。

ししおどしは、水力により自動的に音を発生させる、竹で作られた装置です。

竹筒に水を引き入れ、水が満杯になると重みで竹筒が傾き水がこぼれ空になり、傾きが勢い良く元に戻る際に石などを叩き、音が鳴るというものです。

「しし」は「鹿」のことであり、元々はその名の通り「鹿を脅かす」ための装置でした。

しかし、近年では風流としてその音を楽しむようになり、日本庭園の装飾として設置されることが多いです。