Sachiko´s kleines Garten-Blog

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shishi odoshi (ししおどし, 鹿威し, Shishi odoshi?) literally means „deer scarer“ in Japanese.

Of a wide sense, it generally means the Japanese devices that is made to threaten and send away the birds and beasts damaging agriculture, such as kakashi (scarecrow), naruko (clappers) and sōzu (below). Of a narrow sense and under the international recognition, Souzu itself.

Sōzu (そうず, 添水, Sōzu?) is a water fountain used in Japanese gardens. Usually made of bamboo, it contains one or more uprights with a hollow pivoting arm attached into which water pours from a tube or pipe above it. When the arm gets full, the weight of the water causes it to tip over and empty, making a sharp sound when it hits a hard surface below it. This noise is intended to startle any deer which may be grazing on the plants in the garden. The empty arm is then free to swing back up into position and refill. The rhythmic clacking sound among the garden with sounds of silence of Japanese style, reminds visitors to the garden of the passage of time. Although simple in design, it is highly effective, and safer than most modern deer repellers. Some people collect them as antiques.