A waniguchi is a Japanese flat round hollow metal slit gong that hangs before the worship hall at a Shinto shrine or image hall at a Buddhist temple. By shaking the rope in front, it may be sounded by worshippers to attract the deity's attention.
Name
As denoted by its kanji, waniguchi literally means "crocodile mouth". It is so-named due to the instrument's striking visual resemblance. On the earliest inscribed examples, what we now know of as waniguchi were referred to in a number of other ways, including "metal", "metal mouth", and "metal drum". The earliest inscribed instance of waniguchi written as it is today is on a bronze example at Ōtakayama Jinja in Ōgawara, Miyagi Prefecture. With a diameter of, depth of, and weighing some, the long inscription on both sides documents its dedication in Shōō 6. In recognition of its documentary significance, the waniguchi has been designated an Important Cultural Property.
Developing the aquatic connections, an early fourteenth-century account of itinerant monk Ikkō, the Ikkō Shōnin denki, written in 1328 by a monk at Renge-ji on the subject of the temple's founder, relates an episode involving Ikkō, Hachiman, the Dragon King, and a waniguchi. According to this text, when Ikkō was performing odorinembutsu at Usa Hachimangū, Hachiman appeared and gave him a waniguchi. When Ikkō was subsequently journeying to Shikoku, the Dragon King manifested himself and requested Ikkō's gong. The sea rough, he obliged, casting it into the turbulent waters. When Ikkō reached Sanuki, a "blue-robed child" appeared from the sea, declaring that due to the merit earned Ikkō would be released from suffering and have his waniguchi returned to him. A tortoise then appeared bearing it in his mouth and returned the lost item to Ikkō. A "tortoise tooth gong" is still in the keeping of Renge-ji today.
Examples
Waniguchi are usually made of copper or bronze, although iron examples may also be found. The earliest waniguchi that can be dated from its inscription was excavated in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in 1939, in association with what is also the earliest Kei that can dated from an inscription. Now in the Tokyo National Museum, it was cast in bronze with a striking area with a plum-blossom design on both front and back, surrounded by arabesque. The inscription documents its dedication by a court official to Gokuraku-ji in Chōhō 3, Yin Metal Ox. In all, thirteen waniguchi have been designated Important Cultural Properties, dated by their dedicatory inscriptions and located as follows:
