Keywords
Architecture
General Terms
Lit. "nightingale floor." Floor boards which rub together when walked on to produce a pleasant and delicate sound. This type of board flooring was used in the corridors *rōka 廊下 of some shrines *jinja 神社, temples tera 寺, and palaces kyūden 宮殿. When the floor boards are dry, the sound occurs naturally. However, from the early 17th century onward, techniques were developed purposely to produce this sound in order that a person's approach would not go undetected. It was one of many methods devised to prevent the possibility of insurrection.
Perhaps the most famous extant example is in the Nijō-jō Ni-no-maru Goten 二条城二の丸御殿 (17th century), and the Chion'in Hondō Mieidō 知恩院本堂御影堂 (1619), both in Kyoto.