Japanese Bamboo Fountain - Discover the Cultural Secrets of Japanese Bamboo Fountains

Japanese culture places special significance on water fountains. There are two main types of Japanese fountains: Tsukubai fountain, Shishi-Odoshi Fountain. Both of these fountains have rich cultural history.

Tsukubai is a Japanese term which translates as “To squat or crouch” in English. Tsukubai fountain is a Japanese fountain usually found outside the Buddhist temples and Japanese tea gardens. Visitors are needed to “squat or crouch” i.e. to bend down, and go through the cleansing ritual before entering the temple. This cleansing ritual is conceptually similar to the ablutions ritual performed in Christian churches. This Tsukubai cleansing ritual involves hand washing and mouth rinsing. This cleansing ritual is performed prior to entering the Buddhist temples for tea ceremonies.

A Tsukubai fountain is usually made out of stone basin, known as chozubachi. The most prominent element of Tsukubai is a bamboo pipe also known as kakei. A small bamboo scoop is placed on top of the basin, ready to use for performing the cleansing ritual. Tsukubai fountains are usually found outside the Japanese tea gardens or in Japanese themed homes.

A stone lantern, also known as ishidoro, is placed near the tsukubai to provide light during the evening tea ceremonies. Arrangement of stones around the Tsukubai is critically important when it is designed. Green floras and bamboo plants make a great compliment to the area surrounding Tsukubai.

Simplistic in design, a tsukubai is beautiful addition to your garden or tea-house to increase it’s Zen-appeal and add cultural history to intrigue your guests and visitors.

Shishi Odoshi is another Japanese fountain that is very well known for its peculiar style and antique beauty. Shishi Odoshi literally translates into Deer-Scarer. Japanese farmers used the shishi-odoshi fountain to scare away the deer’s and pests that were destroying their agriculture.

As the Japanese culture progressed, Shishi-Odoshi was used more as a meditative element. It’s ability to create calm serenity in its surrounding is really appealing to the Zen Monks. Shishi-Odoshi is famous for the rocking motion of bamboo and its “clacking” sound. The bamboo rocks back and forth with water being filled and emptied from the spout. When the bamboo spout gently hits the surface of basin, it makes a “clacking” sound that is soft and refreshing. People performing meditation are especially fond of this soft clacking sound to focus and concentrate.

A shishi odoshi has become a classic garden water feature in recent years because of its cultural history and unmatched beauty.

Bamboo Fountains: Creating Your Own Tropical Paradise

While the thought of creating bamboo fountains may seem a bit challenging, doing so is surprisingly simple, and can requires only a few items available at any home improvement retailer like Home Depot or Lowe's. In no time, you can build strikingly attractive bamboo fountains to grace your home's interior for years.


Parts For Your Bamboo Fountains

Bamboo fountains can be built from parts easily obtained wither online or from a home garden or hardware supplier. The most important components of bamboo fountains, or any fountains, for that matter, are the fountain pumps. Look for the fountain pumps' gph, or gallon-per-hour-ratings on their boxes, and select one with a lower rating if you prefer a soothing flow of water to a more energetic one.

You should next look for half-inch tubing with which to connect the pumps for your bamboo fountains. Because tubing is so inexpensive, you should go ahead and buy twice what you think you will actually use, to be on the safe side.

Then find a waterproof container. You can get an inexpensive flower pot made of waterproof terra cotta, but try to find ones with no drainage holes; otherwise you will have to seal them. Terra cotta containers come in several sizes, so you will have plenty to work with.

Finally, choose your bamboo which is also available in several sizes. You should cet at least tow different sizes; three-quarter and two inch widths would be a good choice but whatever sizes you choose should be large enough to cover the water spouts on the pumps for your bamboo fountains. Get pieces of bamboo which are about three feet long, and make sure you have a hand saw to trim them as needed. You'll also need raffia, decorative gravel or rocks, and wire mesh screen.

Assembling Your Bamboo Fountains

To assemble your bamboo fountains, begin by sealing any drainage holes in your containers with cork covered with a waterproof adhesive. While that dries, trim your bamboo canes to lengths of about fifteen inches, and drill a hole into some of the canes so that they will hold the nozzles of your bamboo fountains' pumps. Next, use raffia to lash enough pieces of bamboo together so that they will completely conceal the pumps.

Then place pieces of your wire mesh over the bases of your pumps, by cutting it in circles the diameter of the bases of your containers. Place the pumps into the pots, covering them with the gravel or rocks, and inserting the nozzle of the pumps into the bamboo canes which you have drilled. By tipping that bamboo cane into another one, you will cause the water to cascade and produce a waterfall. Pour your water in, and as your bamboo fountains come to life, you'll get the first glimpse of the lasting beauty they will add to your home!

Bamboo garden fountains are equally suited to interior or exterior décor, and are particularly popular among practitioners of the discipline of feng shui. Although the use of bamboo garden fountains originated in Asia, their grace and beauty have led to wide their wide adoption by homeowners and decorators all over the globe. There are bamboo garden fountains perfect for any decorating theme.