World Art Utopia

Suikinkutsu (水琴窟) — Ninomaru Historical Garden, Matsuyama

A small wooden sign with a roof and an arrow, reading 水琴窟 Suikinkutsu, Please hear a beautiful sound, in the Ninomaru Historical Garden in Matsuyama, Japan.
Artwork FileMatsuyama, Japan

Suikinkutsu

StandingJul 2023

Donated by Hiroshi Wada · 1997 · Ninomaru Historical Garden, Matsuyama, Ehime

Photo: Maarten Heerlien / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), as published in Street Art Utopia.

In the Ninomaru Historical Garden of Matsuyama Castle in Ehime, Japan, a suikinkutsu turns dripping water into sound. Water drops pass through a jar buried in the ground, fall into a basin and echo, a sound the castle's official guide says charms many visitors. The garden's suikinkutsu was donated in 1997 by Hiroshi Wada, a suikinkutsu researcher born in Toon City, and a board member of the Japan Suikinkutsu Forum counts it among the best three he has heard. Source Source Reported

Standing Jul 2023: a visitor report published 14 July 2023 describes listening to it through a bamboo tube. Source Reported

💡 4 things to know

  1. Donated in 1997 by Hiroshi WadaAccording to Yomiuri Ryokou, the suikinkutsu was donated in 1997 by Hiroshi Wada, a suikinkutsu researcher born in nearby Toon City, Ehime. Source Reported
  2. Ranked in one expert's top threeTadashi Kato, a board member of the NPO Japan Suikinkutsu Forum, ranked the Ninomaru Historical Garden suikinkutsu among the top three he had ever heard. Source Reported
  3. It sounds different by the hourMatsuyama Castle's official guide says the sound depends on the jar's size, quality and firing method, and that it changes with the time of day and the season. Source Checked
  4. Listen through a bamboo tubeA 2023 visitor report on the garden, which revives the site of the former lord's residence, describes listening to the suikinkutsu with an ear to a bamboo tube. Source Reported

📍 Where it is

In the Ninomaru Historical Garden of Matsuyama Castle, 5 Marunouchi, Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan (adult entry 200 yen). Source Source Reported

Open in Maps

Opens a map at the Ninomaru Historical Garden in Matsuyama.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 1997

    Donated to the Ninomaru Historical Garden by researcher Hiroshi Wada

  2. 202125 Oct

    Featured in Yomiuri Ryokou's sound-landscape trip to Matsuyama

  3. 202314 Jul

    Visitor report describes listening through a bamboo tube

Green stamps mark dated photographs (the date given on the photo’s page); amber stamps mark records, events and reports. Publication dates are not photo dates.

🗞️ In the sources

Yomiuri Ryokou (Tabiyomi)25 October 2021

音風景を訪ねて松山へ

“東温（とうおん）市生まれで水琴窟を研究してきた和田博氏が1997年に寄贈した”

Donated in 1997 by Toon-born suikinkutsu researcher Hiroshi Wada.

Read the source →

✅ The facts

Maker / donor
Hiroshi Wada (和田博), born in Toon, Ehime Source Reported
Donated
1997 Source Reported
Mechanism
Buried jar, gravel packed around it, water basin Source Checked
Garden
Matsuyama Castle Ninomaru Historical Garden (松山城二之丸史跡庭園) Source Checked
Address & entry
5 Marunouchi, Matsuyama, Ehime (adult entry 200 yen) Source Reported
Listening
Through a bamboo tube (visitor report published July 2023) Source Reported

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 11 November 2026 · How we verify art