Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv, v
Reference	734
UNESCO region	Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription	1995 (19th Session)

The Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama are one of Japan's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The site is located in the Shogawa river valley stretching across the border of Gifu and Toyama Prefectures in central Japan. Shirakawa-gō (白川郷, "White River Old-District") is located in the village of Shirakawa in Gifu Prefecture. The Gokayama (五箇山, "Five Mountains") area is divided between the former villages of Kamitaira and Taira in Nanto, Toyama Prefecture.

Fireplace of Shirakawa-gō

These villages are well known for their houses constructed in the architectural style known as gasshō-zukuri (合掌造り). The Gasshō-zukuri, "prayer-hands construction" style is characterized by a thatched and steeply slanting roof resembling two hands joined in prayer. The design is exceptionally strong and, in combination with the unique properties of the thatching, allow the houses to withstand and shed the weight of the region's heavy snowfalls in winter.

Suganuma village in Gokayama

The houses are large, with three to four stories encompassed between the low eaves, and historically intended to house large extended families and a highly efficient space for a variety of industries. The densely forested mountains of the region still occupy 96% of all land in the area, and prior to the introduction of heavy earth-moving machinery, the narrow bands of flat lands running the length of the river valley limited the area available for agriculture and homestead development. The upper storeys of the gasshō houses were usually set aside for sericulture, while the areas below the first (ground) floor were often used for the production of nitre, one of the raw materials needed for the production of gunpowder.

See also

• Tourism in Japan
• List of World Heritage Sites in Japan
• Minka
• Shirakawa, Gifu (village)
• Miboro Dam

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama.

• UNESCO entry on Shirakawa-go and Gokayama
• Japanese Guest Houses to stay a night in Gokayama
• Travel diary and pictures of a stay in Ainokura
• Gokayama (Ainokura) photo gallery
• Stay overnight in a Gassho-Zukuri in Shirakawago
• Gassho-Zukuri villages
• High-resolution photos of Shirakawago

World Heritage Sites in Japan
Hokkaido	Shiretoko
Tōhoku	Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land Shirakami-Sanchi Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining
Kantō	The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier Shrines and Temples of Nikkō Ogasawara Islands Tomioka Silk Mill
Chūbu	Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining
Kansai	Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area Himeji Castle Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range
Chūgoku	Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) Itsukushima Shinto Shrine Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining
Kyushu	Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining Yakushima

Coordinates: 36°15′25″N 136°54′23″E / 36.25694°N 136.90639°E / 36.25694; 136.90639