The World Heritage Site Winter Snowfall Shirakawa-go | Shirakawa, Gifu Japan

The World Heritage Site Winter Snowfall Shirakawa-go

Shirakawa-go, located along the Shogawa River in Shirakawa-mura, Ono-gun, Gifu Prefecture, is a village lined with gassho-zukuri private houses, which is one of the ancient Japanese housing styles.
Gassho-zukuri is characterized by having a roof of 45 to 60 degrees, which is the steepest slope in Japanese housing style.
It is thought that the reason for this is to reduce the work of unloading snow due to heavy snowfall and to take into consideration the drainage caused by the heavy rainfall area.
Shirakawa-go was highly praised for the appearance of the building, which was full of the atmosphere of the Edo period, and for the mutual aid between residents rooted in the area, such as “Yui,” which is a joint roofing work.
Therefore, in 1976 (Showa 51), it was registered as an important traditional building preservation area of the country, and in 1995, it was also registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On the day I visited for sightseeing, the weather was bad, with occasional heavy snowfall due to the effects of cold waves.
Therefore, I was able to see the beautiful scenery that can be said to be the original scenery of Japan rooted in the deep snow area, and the lives of people who live in this area and continue to live while protecting the historic house.