Tsukubai

In front of the Japanese tea houses, almost on the ground level, you will find a small basin with running water, a tsukubai. This small but always beautiful washbasin is customary used before the tea ceremony, for hands washing and mouth rinsing, much like a miniature version of the Shinto temizuya. It is always placed at a very small height, to force the tea ceremony participants to bend down in order to use it...

Each tsukubai is unique, a jewel on its own, traditionally made from a selected natural stone and sometimes naturally decorated, like the one in this photo, which has a few momiji (Japanese Maple) leaves "accidentally" dropped inside.