Nightingale floor

Nightingale floor

Nightingale floors, or uguisubari (鴬張り) About this sound listen , 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 James Bond novel You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming.
  • Nightingale floors are mentioned frequently in the novel Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett.
  • In the 2009 film Ninja Assassin, the protagonist is trained to traverse a nightingale floor without making a sound.

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Across the Nightingale Floor — infobox Book | name = Across the Nightingale Floor title orig = translator = image caption = author = Lian Hearn illustrator = cover artist = country = Australia language = English series = Tales of the Otori genre = Fantasy novel publisher =… …   Wikipedia

  • Across the Nightingale Floor — Karte der drei Länder Der Clan der Otori (OT: Tales of the Otori) ist der Name einer Bücherreihe der Schriftstellerin Gillian Rubinstein, die diese unter dem Pseudonym Lian Hearn schrieb. Sie erzählt von einem jungen Mann namens Takeo, der in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • nightingale — (n.) O.E. næctigalæ, nihtegale, compound formed in Proto Germanic (Cf. Du. nachtegaal, Ger. Nachtigall) from *nakht night (see NIGHT (Cf. night)) + *galon to sing, related to O.E. giellan yell (see YELL (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • Floor — A floor is the walking surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces using modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal, or other material that can hold a person s weight.Floors… …   Wikipedia

  • Black-billed Nightingale-thrush — Taxobox name = Black billed Nightingale thrush status = LC | status system = IUCN3.1 regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Passeriformes familia = Turdidae genus = Catharus species = C. gracilirostris binomial = Catharus… …   Wikipedia

  • Ruddy-capped Nightingale-thrush — Taxobox name = Ruddy capped Nightingale thrush status = LC | status system = IUCN3.1 regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Passeriformes familia = Turdidae genus = Catharus species = C. frantzii binomial = Catharus frantzii… …   Wikipedia

  • David Nightingale Hicks — Born 25 March 1929(1929 03 25) Died 29 March 1998(1998 03 29) (aged 69) Spouse Lady Pamela Hicks Children …   Wikipedia

  • Tales of the Otori — Front cover of the first book in terms of narrative sequence, Heaven s Net is Wide Across the Nightingale Floor Grass for His Pillow Brilliance of the Moon The Harsh Cry of …   Wikipedia

  • Grass for His Pillow — infobox Book | name = Grass for His Pillow title orig = translator = image caption = author = Lian Hearn illustrator = cover artist = country = Australia language = English series = Tales of the Otori genre = Fantasy novel publisher = Hodder… …   Wikipedia

  • Shirakawa Kaede — Infobox Character colour = colour text = series = Tales of the Otori name = Shirakawa Kaede caption = first = Mentioned first in Heaven s Net Is Wide Main role in Across the Nightingale Floor last = The Harsh Cry of the Heron last cause = End of… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”