This hut was used as for milling grains. A sozu was originally a way to scare away birds and animals, that might damage fields, using a bamboo tube and water to automatically hit a stone and make a sound. Nowadays, similar items have been adapted for better sound and are used for ambience. A sozu karausu (water-powered rice mill) uses a similar concept to power the mill, with a pestle attached to the bamboo where it hits the stone to automatically pound grain using waterpower. Similar devices were used by individuals or shared by communities in areas where flowing water was scarce, and was commonly called simply sozu. It was a valuable tool to ease rice hulling.