 a  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 chÅzubachi, part of a tsukubai for washing hands before the japanese tea ceremony.   ==traditional construction== 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. initially, jars that were readily available for storage of rice or water were utilized for the construction of a suikinkutsu. both glazed and unglazed ceramic jars can be used. recently, metal suikinkutsu have also become commercially available. unglazed jars are considered best, as the rough surface aids in the building of drops. the height ranges from 30&nbsp;cm to 1 m, and the diameter from 30&nbsp;cm to 50&nbsp;cm. the hole at the top has a diameter of circa 2&nbsp;cm. similar to a bell, the jar of a good suikinkutsu will ring when struck. a jar producing a good sound will create a good sounding suikinkutsu. similarly, a cracked jar, like a cracked bell, will not produce a good sound. image:uss-bunker-hill.jpg|thumb|left|cross section of a suikinkutsu the suikinkutsu usually rests on a bed of gravel underground. the base underneath the jar is sometimes mortared to keep the water in, and sometimes consists only of soil as for example clay. the drainage pipe makes sure that the water level in the suikinkutsu does not rise too high. sometimes ceramic tiles are also used on the sides of the jar. fist size stones are on top of the suikinkutsu to cover the jar completely. traditionally suikinkutsu are always found near a hand wash basin chÅzubachi used for the japanese tea ceremony, and the suikinkutsu is buried between the basin and the stepping stone next to the basin. the designs and materials used for a suikinkutsu also vary widely, often depending on the local region. usually, only a single jar is buried underneath a chÅzubachi japanese stone basin. however, 
Garden_ornaments Japanese_music