control unit 15 the outputs of the control unit 15 are applied to a drive circuit for the motor 8 the lamps 16a 16b etc provided on the operating panel 16 a piezoelectric buzzer a valve control circuit for a water supplying valve and water discharging valve and other components the operation of the washing machine thus constructed will be described during a washing operation the clothes to be washed water and detergent are put in the tank 4 and the power switch is turned on the motor 8 is then rotated alternately in the forward direction and in the reverse direction and accordingly the agitator 1 is rocked in this preferred embodiment the speed reduction ratio of the pulleys 9 and 11 is 1 2 and a speed reducing unit forming a part of the rotation transmitting section 12 has a speed reduction rate of 1 6 therefore when the motor 8 makes eight revolutions in each of the forward and reverse directions the agitator is rocked through an angle of 240 u00b0 if an excessively large load of clothes is put in the tank 4 or if the clothes are snagged between the agitator 1 and the tank 4 the agitator 1 will be stopped and the motor 8 locked in this case the rotation detector 14 detects the locked condition of the motor and accordingly applies an output to the control unit 15 thereupon the control unit 15 causes the motor 8.