Japan
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Stone lanterns
Stone lanterns (灯籠/灯篭/灯楼, Chinese: dēnglóng; Japanese: tōrō, meaning ‘light basket’, ‘light tower’)[a] are a type of traditional East Asian lantern made of stone, wood, or metal. Originating in China, stone lanterns spread to Japan,… Read more.
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Chōzu-ya or temizu-ya is a Shinto water ablution pavilion
Chōzu-ya or temizu-ya (手水舎) is a Shinto water ablution pavilion for a ceremonial purification rite known as temizu or chōzu (手水, lit. ’hand-water’). The pavilion contains a large water-filled basin called a chōzubachi (手水鉢, lit. ’hand water basin’). At shrines, these chōzubachi, are used by worshippers for washing their… Read more.
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The act of washing the hands can also be considered as playing the suikinkutsu
A suikinkutsu (水琴窟, literally “water piano cave” in original Chinese or “water zither cave” in Japanese) is a type of Japanese garden ornament and music device. It consists of an upside down buried pot with… Read more.
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Tsubo-niwa have been described as “quasi-indoor gardens”
A tsubo-niwa (坪庭/壷庭/つぼにわ) is a type of very small garden in Japan. The term tsuboniwa stems from tsubo (坪), a unit of measurement (equal to 1×1 ken, the size of two tatami, roughly 3.3 square metres (36 sq ft)), and niwa, meaning “garden”. Other spellings of tsubo-niwa translate… Read more.
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Tsukubai, a washbasin provided at the entrance to a holy place
In Japan, a tsukubai (蹲踞) is a washbasin provided at the entrance to a holy place for visitors to purify themselves by the ritual washing of hands and rinsing of the mouth. This type… Read more.
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Shishi-odoshi
Shishi-odoshi (鹿威し) (literally, “deer-frightening” or “boar-frightening”), in a wide sense, refers to Japanese devices made to frighten away animals that pose a threat to agriculture, including kakashi (scarecrows), naruko (clappers) and sōzu. In a narrower sense, it is synonymous with sōzu.… Read more.
