Shishi-odoshi is a term that refers to devices originating from Japan that are made to scare wild animals, such as deer or boars, away from gardens using sound.
One of the most well known forms of shishi-odoshi is sozu, pictured above. Sozu consists of a bamboo tube that is weighted towards one end, usually leaning on a rock. The unweighted end of the bamboo tube is then fed a trickle of water until it eventually becomes heavier than the weighted end, and as the centre of gravity changes the tube rotates and and the water falls out. This makes the bamboo tube crash back against the rock it was originally resting on, causing it to make a sharp sound that scares away the animals. Below is a video demonstration:
Although once serving a practical purpose, these installations are now mostly just for aesthetic purposes.
One of the other forms of shishi-odoshi are naruko – these are hand clappers used by farmers to scare birds away from crops.
They are also now commonly used in the Yosakoi style of group dancing, as a form of percussion held by the dancers. I find it interesting how a part of Japanese life that once used to be purely functional is now utilised within a creative performance context.
Shishi-odoshi is an example of how sound is used in global cultures to carry out functional roles that we do not see in the western world. Although sozu is mainly used for decorative purposes now, in the past it carried out an important task in keeping threats to agriculture at bay. I find it really fascinating as this must be one of the first examples of an automated process and mechanism replacing the need for a human being to be there (in this case having to stand and scare the animals off themselves). The fact that it uses sound to do so is very intelligent, and I wish I could find more online about its history as there was a disappointing lack of articles to help me go on further with my research.
References
- Ikeshiro, R. and Tanaka, A., n.d. Sound in Japan: Silence, Noise, Material and Media.
- En.wikipedia.org. n.d. Shishi-odoshi. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shishi-odoshi> [Accessed 8 December 2021].
- Spacey, J., 2015. What is a Naruko?. [online] Japan Talk. Available at: <https://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/naruko> [Accessed 8 December 2021].