Shirakawa Village


Shirakawa-go is located in northwestern Gifu Prefecture, Japan, at the eastern foot of Mount Haku and near the Shō River. The town's claim to fame is its gasshō-zukuri style housing, a traditional style of Japanese architecture with a steep thatched roof. It shares these style of housing with its neighbor Gokayama in southwestern Toyama Prefecture.
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Overview

In the past, various parts of the town have also been referred to as "Shimo-Shirakawa-go" or "Kamishirakawa-go," but simply "Shirakawa-go" is most common.
The Ogimachi district of Shirakawa-go is different from other Minka villages in Japan as it is still used as a place of actual daily life. Ogimachi is also known as the largest settlement of gasshō-zukuri style buildings in all of Japan. These houses have stayed in tact since the 1800s, despite them not being built with nails. The Shirakawa-go World Heritage Gassho-Zukuri Preservation Trust and other organizations are responsible for its preservation. Every year on weekends around January and February, the village is illuminated at night, and tourists are able to sleep in some of the gasshō-zukuri housing throughout the year.
The Ogimachi district of Shirakawa-go is known for its gasshō-zukuri style houses. As a result, in 1976, the village was selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in recognition of its unique landscape, and in 1995, together with Gokayama, it was registered an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Doburoku Festival also takes place in Shirakawa-go in October, where one can watch people perform the Shishi-mai. Doburoku is typically illegal to brew, as it is an unfiltered sake, but it is permitted in designated zones, such as here.

Places of interest

In media

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