It is an ingenious and very decorative solution, the water from the roof runs beautifully along the rain-chain, so the kusari-doi is often made from ornate cups or chain links. I have admired many times the water feature created during rainfalls, like when I took this photo, during a summer torrential rain that caught me at the Gokokusan Tenno-ji from Yanaka, Tokyo.
EXIF info:
Nikon D90
Lens: VR 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6G
Focal Length: 18mm
Aperture: F/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/80s
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 200