Nightingale floors, or uguisubari (鴬張り) 
listen (help·info), were floors designed to make a chirping sound when walked upon. These floors were used in the hallways of some temples and palaces, the most famous example being Nijo Castle, in Kyoto, Japan. Dry boards naturally creak under pressure, but these floors were designed so that the flooring nails rubbed against a jacket or clamp, causing chirping noises. The squeaking floors were used as a security device, assuring that none could sneak through the corridors undetected.
The "nightingale" the English name refers to is the Japanese Bush Warbler, uguisu.
Popular culture
- One of the novels in the Tales of the Otori series is called Across the Nightingale Floor.
- The nightingale floor features in Hokkaido level of the video game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, being discussed at one point by guards as protection against ninjas, and used in some floor sections.
- A nightingale floor features in the novel Rendezvous at Kamakura Inn by Marshall Browne.
- A nightingale floor is described in the novel You Only Live Twice (James Bond Novel) by Ian Fleming.
- Nightingale floors are mentioned frequently in the novel Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett.
External links
- Information, photos and video-clip of Nightingale floors
- Kyoto Travel: Nijo Castle
- Kansai Council page on special features in Japanese architecture (has audio clips of nightingale floors)
- Across The Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn
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