uguisubari　鴬張

KEY WORD :　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, *rouka 廊下, of some shrines *jinja 神社, temples tera 寺, and palaces kyuuden 宮殿. When the floor boards are dry the sound occurs naturally. However, from the early 17c 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 Nijoujou Ni-no-maru Goten 二条城二の丸御殿 (17c), and the Chion-in Hondou Mieidou 知恩院本堂御影堂 (1619), both in Kyoto.

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