also: ちょうずや
purification fountain; ablution pavilion
A roofed water basin at Shinto shrines where visitors rinse their hands and mouth before praying. The reading てみずや is more common, but ちょうずや is also widely used.
Before entering the shrine, let's purify our hands and mouth at the purification fountain.
That shrine's ablution pavilion is really impressive, isn't it?
Standard kanji spelling. Both readings てみずや and ちょうずや are used.
Alternate reading, also common. The kanji form is identical.
Compound of 手水 (hand-water, purification water) and 舎 (building, pavilion). The reading てみず is a kun'yomi combination, while ちょうず is a sound shift from てみず.