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Uguisubari
' are floors that make a squeaking sound when walked upon. These floors were used in the hallways of some temples and palaces, the most famous example being Nijō Castle, in Kyoto, Japan. 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. It is unclear if the design was initially intentional. It seems that, at least initially, the effect arose by chance. 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". Legend has it that the squeaking floors were used as a security device, assuring that no one could sneak through the corridors undetected. The English name "nightingale" refers to the Japanese bush warbler, or ''uguisu'', which is a common songbird in Japan. Etymology refers to the Japanese bush warbler. The la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Bush Warbler
The Japanese bush warbler (''Horornis diphone''), known in Japanese as (), is an Asian passerine bird more often heard than seen. Its distinctive breeding song can be heard throughout much of Japan from the start of spring. Description The Japanese bush warbler is olive brown above and tending toward dusky colors below. It has pale eyebrows. It has a beak that curves up making it look like it is smiling. The bird is typically in length. Distribution and habitat The Japanese bush warbler is a common year-round resident throughout Japan (except Hokkaidō) and the northern Philippines. In summer the Japanese bush warbler can also be found in Hokkaidō, Manchuria, Korea, and central China. In winter, the bush-warbler can also be found in southern China and Taiwan. It was introduced to Oahu between 1929–1941 and has since spread throughout the main Hawaiian Islands. In summer, it ranges from low hills to high mountains, preferring bamboo thickets and black pine trees. In wint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nijō Castle
is a flatland Japanese castle, castle in Kyoto, Japan. The castle consists of two concentric rings (Kuruwa) of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. The surface area of the castle is , of which is occupied by buildings. It is one of the seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which have been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. History In 1601, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, ordered all the Daimyō, feudal lords in western Japan to contribute to the construction of Nijō Castle, which was completed during the reign of his grandson Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1626. While the castle was being built, a portion of land from the partially abandoned Shinsenen Garden (originally part of the imperial palace and located south) was absorbed, and its abundant water was used in the castle gardens and ponds. Parts of Fushimi Castle, such as the main tower and the ''karamon'', w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji
Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji (永観堂禅林寺) is the head temple for the Seizan branch of Japan's Jōdo-shū (Pure Land) Buddhist sect, located in Kyoto, Sakyō-ku. It was founded by Shinshō, a pupil of Kūkai, and is famous for its fall foliage and for its prominence in the past as a center of learning. Names The temple is commonly referred to as either just "Eikan-dō" (永観堂, "View of Eternity Hall" or "Hall of Yōkan"Though the characters 「永観」 are typically read as ''Eikan'', this name actually derives from that of the seventh head of the temple, Yōkan, who wrote his name with those same characters.) or "Zenrin-ji" (禅林寺, "Temple of Forest of Zen"). However, it also has two other names. "Shōju-raigō-san" (聖衆来迎山) translates roughly to "Mountain where the saints welcome you", while "Muryōsu-in" (無量寿院) means roughly "Temple of Immeasurable Life". History The temple got its start when Kūkai's pupil, the monk Shinshō, aspired to found a temp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Floors
A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the expected load. The levels of a building are often referred to as floors, although sometimes referred to as storeys. Floors typically consist of a subfloor for support and a floor covering used to give a good walking surface. In modern buildings the subfloor often has electrical wiring, plumbing, and other services built in. As floors must meet many needs, some essential to safety, floors are built to strict building codes in some regions. Special floor structures Where a special floor structure like a floating floor is laid upon another floor, both may be called subfloors. Special floor structures are used for a number of purposes: * Balcony, a platform projecting from a wall * Floating floor, normally for noise or vibration reduction * Glas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Across The Nightingale Floor
''Across the Nightingale Floor'' is the first of Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori trilogy, first published in 2002. Plot Across the Nightingale Floor is set in a fictional world based on Japan during the Sengoku period, and follows the story of a sixteen-year-old boy named Tomasu and fifteen-year-old girl named Kaede. Tomasu, a member of The Hidden by birth, returns from exploring the mountains to find members of his family slaughtered. Trying to escape he unhorses Iida Sadamu, leader of the Tohan, who led the slaughter of The Hidden. Chased by Iida's men, Tomasu is rescued by Lord Shigeru of the Otori. Shigeru takes Tomasu with him to protect, and later adopts him. However he deems his name unsuitable because of its Hidden roots and renames him Takeo. On the road Takeo loses his voice temporarily and his hearing becomes superhuman. On the journey to Shigeru's home, the two stop at an inn where they meet Maruyama Naomi, a powerful female ruler from the Seishuu. Lady Maruyama ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musical Road
A musical road is a road, or section of a road, which when driven over causes a Somatosensory system, tactile vibration and Hearing, audible rumbling that can be felt through the wheels and body of the vehicle. This rumbling is heard within the car as well as the surrounding area, in the form of a Melody, musical tune. Musical roads are known to exist in Hungary, Japan, South Korea, the United States, China, Iran, Taiwan, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Belarus, Russia and Turkey. In the past, they could be found in France, Denmark, and the Netherlands as well. Each note is produced by varying the spacing of strips in, or on, the road. For example, an E (musical note), E note requires a Scientific pitch notation#Table of note frequencies, frequency of around 330 vibrations a second. Therefore, strips apart will produce an E note in a vehicle travelling at . History Long before musical roads were being constructed, an earlier concept known as a rumble strip, were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erin-ji
, is a Buddhist temple belonging to the Myōshin-ji branch of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen. Located in the city of Kōshū, Yamanashi, Japan. It is the clan temple of the Takeda clan, noted Sengoku period warlords and rulers of Kai Province from the Muromachi period. Its main image is a statue of Shaka Nyōrai. History The temple founded in 1380 by Nikaidō Sadafuji, the ''shugo'' of Kai Province, who invited the noted Zen prelate Musō Soseki from Kanagawa to build a hermitage on his property. Due to the fame of Musō Soseki, it became the center for the dissemination of Rinzai teachings in Kao Province, and was named one of the Kantō Jissetsu by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. However, the temple fell into ruin during the Onin War. It was revived in the Sengoku period by Takeda Harunobu in 1541. Takeda Shingen made Kaisen Joki head priest in 1564. In 1582, Kai Province was invaded by an alliance between Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Eirin-ji was accused of shelte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tōji-in
is a Buddhist temple of the Rinzai Tenryū sect located in Kita Ward, Kyoto, Japan, and one of two funeral temples (''bodaiji'') dedicated to Ashikaga Takauji, first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga dynasty. Its main object of worship is Shakyamuni,Encyclopedia Nipponica and its honorary '' sangō'' prefix is . History Great mandala of the Tôji imperial temple in Kyoto (detail) Photo taken in 2011 in the Heidelbach hotel, annex of the Guimet museum. Tōji-in was founded at the foot of Mount Kinugasa in 1341 by Takauji himself in fulfillment of a vow.Keene (2005:2) He did so under the guidance of famous Zen teacher, calligraphist, poet and garden designer Musō Soseki, who created the Zen gardens and ponds of the temple. Tōji-in later became the Ashikaga dynasty's funeral temple and all fifteen of the Ashikaga ''shōguns'' are buried here. The temple's name was later chosen as one of Takauji's two posthumous names, . (The other is Chōju-inden, from the name of Takauji's sec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryōan-ji
Ryōan-ji (, , ''The Temple of the Dragon at Peace'') is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of '' kare-sansui'' ("dry landscape"), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. History The site of the temple was an estate of the Fujiwara clan in the 11th century. The first temple, the ''Daiju-in'', and the still existing large pond were built in that century by Fujiwara Saneyoshi. In 1450, Hosokawa Katsumoto, another powerful warlord, acquired the land where the temple stood. He built his res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nightingale Floors
''Nightingale Floors'' is the fifth studio album by Rogue Wave, an American indie rock band. It was released on June 4, 2013 through Vagrant Records. Background Work began on the album about a year after the final shows promoting the previous Rogue Wave album, Permalight. Frontman Zach Rogue, feeling exhausted after the tour and recording and release of the album, took time off from Rogue Wave to work on other projects. Says Rogue: "I didn't want to do Rogue Wave unless I felt really excited again, like it was when we were starting out. So Pat and I hadn't hung out in like a year, and we just started playing in our studio in Oakland, and as soon as we started, it felt right. Right away, it felt inevitable that we were going to work on these songs and have a new record; we need to kind of start over and start with a new label and do all new things and it feels good. I feel like we're a whole new band now. We are! We have all new players." Recording In an interview with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
