A Visit to Shirakawa-go

Reproduced in English from the Japanese issue published April 1st, 2005 with the permission of conservation association of Hatada house for its cultural utilization and preservation http://culture-h.jp/hatadake-katsuyo/bun1.html

Issued December 31, 2006

Essay by Mrs. Fumiko YANO, Secretary of the Hatada Family House Association

 (English translation by Susumu Kuwabara)

These days I sometimes long for a sight of thatched houses decreasing in number year by year, and feel an urge to take pictures whenever I come across those houses perhaps because I spent my childhood in such a house until I became a fifth grader in the primary school. Then it so happened that my eldest daughter and her husband asked me if there is any place I want to visit in celebration of my 60th birthday, which is considered as a happy occasion to celebrate in the course of one's life in Japan and is called "Kanreki" meaning the end and new start of the sexagenary cycle to restart one's life with a fresh mind. So I promptly replied, "Shirakawa-go," without hesitation. As I saw a picture of Shirakawa-go in one of the New Year's greeting cards I received this year, I all the more felt like going there.

On our way to Shirakawa-go, we enjoyed our trip watching snow fall in complete silence. By the time we arrived at the lookout located at the ruins of the Ogi-machi Castle overlooking Ogi-machi, it stopped snowing and the sky was gradually brightening up. It was a sight beyond all description to see so many Gassho-zukuri style houses stretching far and wide below our eyes. It was impressive to watch a boy of 5 or 6 years of age jump into untracked white snow and walk with a satisfied look, lying on his stomach or buried in the snow up to his waist.

The snow was removed from main roads or melted away with water sprayed on them. While we were walking around, the sky cleared up, creating beautiful scenery beyond imagination by a superb contrast between the blue sky and the Gassho-zukuri style houses. Looking back, we saw the Gassho-zukuri style houses reflected beautifully on the water filling rice-paddy fields, and I found myself clicking the shutter of my camera. As I saw a man setting his camera on a tripod in front of me, I missed a chance to take good shots of the scenery from the best spot, to my regret.

 We took a tour of the Wada House, the largest Gassho-zukuri house in Ogi-machi, which was built in the Edoperiod and is now designated as an important cultural property of Japan. The head of the Wada family still lives in this house with his family, keeping part of his house open to visitors, such as a room with an open hearth, a parlor and a room with a family altar. Lacquered dinnerware used in the old days and photographs taken of Shirakawa-go in each of the four seasons were on display in these rooms. Although I was impressed with a view of Shirakawa-go covered with snow only a few minutes ago, I was able to visualize the beautiful scenery of each season from these photographs. We saw folkcraft articles and farming tools on display as well as dried vegetables hung on the second and third floors. Beams in the attic, tied several times with ropes, left a strong impression on me. All of a sudden, a question occurred to me. I wondered, "How many years will pass before these ropes wear out?" In a snowy area like this, it was an interesting idea in everyday life to put tightly-knit straw shields along the eaves of the house to keep passage way clear for people to walk around the house even when the snows accumulated on the roof fall around the house.

Shirakawa-go was inscribed on the World Heritage list of UNESCO in 1995, and I was wondering what happened to it when there are almost no artisans left to rethatch the roofs of those houses there. But I was relieved to hear that villagers help each other to replace thatched roofs once in every 40 to 50 years in an effort to continue conservation of the Gassho-zukuri style. It seems to me that the spirit of mutual aid is found here in Shirakawa-go, giving us peace of mind and strong impression to travelers like us. It was indeed a trip blessed with beautiful weather and full of impressions all the way through.