Shishi odoshi (deer scarer)

A shishi odoshi is a great water feature for a rustic style Japanese garden. It's a bamboo spout which moves as the water flows over it, creating a rhythmic noise.

The shishi odoshi, or deer scarer, is another popular water feature for Japanese style gardens. A shishi odoshi is a short bamboo tube, balanced on two uprights so that it pivots. Water pours into this tube from another bamboo pipe above. When the shishi odoshi is full, it weight of the water overbalances it, and it empties into a basin or over pebbles. Then ot falls back to its original position, making a loud clack as its end hits a stone placed underneath it.

This noise is what gives the shishi odoshi its name – 'deer scarer' – as the rhythmic clacking is supposed to scare off animals and birds. Actually, 'shishi odoshi' refers to any kind of Japanese noise-making device intended to scare wildlife – the specific name for the bamboo fountain arrangement we're talking about here is 'sozu', but in shops you will find them called shishi odoshi or deer scarer.

You can buy shishi odoshis in lots of places these days, and you can set them up in a similar way to the one I describe on the how to make a Japanese water feature page. You only need a small pump – check the head height to make sure it will lift the water high enough – and a plastic tub to make an underground reservoir. You'll need to make sure your bamboo is waterproofed with either varnish or linseed oil – if not, it will split.