The poetry of burglar alarms

"Even the burglar alarms of medieval Japan were given a poetic art form. The corridors leading to the monk's dormitory in some temples were called nightingale walks, the heavy floorbeams being set on supports in such a manner as to give out thin musical notes or chirrups when trodden, thus compelling night intruders to give audible warning of their approach."

p. 99 of W. Scott Morton's Japan: Its History And Culture. (McGraw-Hill, 1994).