Watermill is a ballet score, originally written for Jerome Robbins' company in 1972. Unlike some of Ito's earlier music which was allusive to all manner of genres including free jazz and various contemporary classical movements, Watermill adheres to the general tenets of traditional Japanese music from the Zen branch, especially that of the shakuhachi and gagaku.

The ensemble (Steve Gorn, Tavia Ito, Mara Purl, Ralph Samuelson, Yujio Tsuji and Zishan Ugurlu) includes several members who have performed the work since its inception and they deploy a wide range of Japanese flutes, percussion and stringed instruments. But for all the variety of music-making devices, the resultant sounds are lucid and clear. While obviously referring to Japanese dance and drama traditions, particularly in the sparse, carefully defined placement of notes that recalls Noh theater, Ito's music has a tinge more forward momentum in a Western sense. The Zen nature of his sources has been subtly affected by his submersion in the Western art milieu. Perhaps its function as dance music compelled this slightly rhythmic approach. Still, if listened to without critical regard for its historical precedents, it's quite charming work. In pieces like "Summer", he offsets a sweet flute melody with both softly buzzing percussion and high-pitched drones that have an almost sine-like quality; quite lovely. If elsewhere he occasionally veers toward the merely picturesque ("Autumn"), by and large it remains an engaging, peaceful score, one that fans of Ito's music will consider a must-have.