noun
deer scarer; water-powered clacker
A traditional Japanese garden device: a bamboo tube that fills with water, tips, and clacks against a stone. Originally used to scare away birds and deer, now often decorative.
See also: 添水
日本庭園でししおどしの音を聞いた。
I heard the sound of a deer scarer in the Japanese garden.
ししおどしは、水がたまるとカコンと音を
The deer scarer makes a clacking sound when the water fills up.
添水 is another name for the same device, often used in more formal or traditional contexts.
From 鹿 (shishi, 'deer') + 威し (odoshi, 'threatener, scarer'). The device was originally used to scare deer and birds away from gardens and fields.