Hello heel-ga
The temple is Chion-in temple in Kyoto.
From an interview with sound artist Zbigniew Karkowski: “we recorded
"uguisu bari no roka" ("nightingale sounding floor") in Chion-in
temple in Kyoto in January 1998. This floor was build in this temple
by some artisan (nobody figured out yet how it's really done) and it
functions in the way so that when you walk on it -- it starts sounding
like nightingale singing. It was an alarm system for monks who lived
in this temple -- when some robber wanted to come there in the night,
they would hear nightingales and know that somebody is inside.”
http://www.disquiet.com/zkarkowski.html
(From Disquiet, a web site/newsletter about ambient/electronic music)
The mechanism by which this happens, as explained by a temple guide:
“Each floorboard has a series of iron hooks attached to their
undersides, which are then attached to the floor joists with
deliberately loose iron nails. Any pressure on the floorboards causes
a slight movement in the iron, causing each step to 'sing'.”
http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~hedone/chion_in.htm (An article about a visit
to the temple)
Chion-in also has the largest temple bell in Japan. Moreover, there
is another temple, the Silver Temple" Ginkaku-Ji Temple (Jisho-Ji
Temple), where the floor in a famous room named Dojinsai is said to
sing like crickets. http://www.worldhaikureview.org/2-2/whf2002_prelude8.shtml
(from a web site recommending places to visit in Kyoto)
Pictures of both temples are available at
http://human.cc.hirosaki-u.ac.jp/philips/temples.htm (Web site of John
Edward Philips, professor at Hirosaki University)
Search strategy: 1. temple Japan floor nightingales 2. Chion-in Kyoto
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