'Night after night have I sung of him, though I knew him not: night after night have I told his story to the stars, and now I see him. 'Here at last is a true lover,' said the Nightingale. 'Ah, on what little things does happiness depend! I have read all that the wise men have written, and all the secrets of philosophy are mine, yet for want of a red rose is my life made wretched.' 'No red rose in all my garden!' he cried, and his beautiful eyes filled with tears. accessed September 24, 2012.'She said that she would dance with me if I brought her red roses,' cried the young Student 'but in all my garden there is no red rose.'įrom her nest in the holm-oak tree the Nightingale heard him, and she looked out through the leaves, and wondered. 'Japanese Kanji Dictionary' under 'Japanese Learning' (March 7, 2012). 'Nijo Castle (Nihojo)' under 'Kyoto Travel: Nijo Castle' (June 11, 2012). Vermont: Tuttle Publishing Company, 1998. A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters.

^, Nijo Castle under 'Kyoto Travel: Nijo Castle'.

^ A-Z Animals, 'Uguisu' under 'Animals'.

^ Mysterious Japan, nightingale Floor: Kyoto Japan.

Together this means 'the sound of a Nightingale from the stretching/swelling/straining '. The latter segment bari ( 張り) comes from haru ( 張る), meaning 'to stretch'. Uguisu ( 鶯 or 鴬) refers to the Japanese bush warbler. The English name 'nightingale' refers to the Japanese bush warbler, or uguisu, which is a common songbird in Japan.

Legend has it that the squeaking floors were used as a security device, assuring that none could sneak through the corridors undetected.

An information sign in Nijō castle states that 'The singing sound is not actually intentional, stemming rather from the movement of nails against clumps in the floor caused by wear and tear over the years'. It seems that, at least initially, the effect arose by chance. It is unclear if the design was intentional. Dry boards naturally creak under pressure, but these floors were built in a way that the flooring nails rub against a jacket or clamp, causing chirping noises. These floors were used in the hallways of some temples and palaces, the most famous example being Nijō Castle, in Kyoto, Japan. info) are floors that make a chirping sound when walked upon.

Nightingale floors ( 鴬張り or 鶯張り, uguisubari ) listen ( help Problems playing this file? See media help.

Over the nightingale floor