There were waterwheels in other villages as well,but in Mizuguruma a particularly large number of them were all set in a line, making for quite a spectacle. Top driven, reverse wheel, bottom driven, core driven..... Are the types of waterwheels that I can remember. It is quite possible that there were more. Almost every waterwheel was used for rice husking and wheat grinding duty, releasing humans from tasks too dull to devote conscious effort to.