The "official" tsukubai is composed of four rocks, a water vessel, water that flows through a bamboo fixture, and stones or pebbles to unify the whole setup.
The four flat-topped rocks are: a stepping stone, a kneeling stone, a setting-down rock on the right for a pitcher or teakettle, and a slightly higher rock on the left to set down a lantern or candle.
The water basin can be a hollowed out rock or a stone jar or basin. The pebbles between the rocks and the basin are symbolic of a sea in the middle of the rocks. And they serve to absorb the water spills.
The tsukubai is traditionally a water basin built outside a tearoom. Guests wash their hands there before the tea ceremony. It's also found outside temples for the symbolic cleansing of the spirit.
A Japanese-style water basin garden feature would be pretty easy to do, but I still had to figure out the logistics... the rocks and the jar, which were the main elements, would be expensive and difficult to work with.
All of a sudden, from out of the blue, everything came together. With the help of ArtificialRocksFactory.com and a clearance sale of fiberglass stone jars at a neighborhood Super Target store, I was finally able to build my tsukubai.
The article about the step-by-step process is now published in eHow.com:
How to Make a Japanese-Style Water Feature.
