Shirakawago was the final destination on this trip. Shirakawago is a village in the Shogawa River Valley in Gifu Prefecture. This village is famous for old traditional farmhouses in heavy snow area made with thatched, sloped roofs to shed heavy snow called Gassho-Zukuri style. Those thatched roofs are re-thatched every 20 to 30 years. Since to re-thatch a roof is heavy load of duty for a family, the work is conducted in cooperation with people in the community.
The house has irori fire place in the center of the house people sit around the fire. There is an inhouse roof above the irori fire place called “Hidana” or “Hiama”. This is to keep the 1st floor warm and to let heat and smoke go up evenly. This even heating helps sericulture in the 2nd floor which is a source of income. Besides those, smoke from the irori fire place coats wooden building materials and grasses used for thatching with tar. Tar protects wooden building materials and grasses for thatching from corrosion caused by rainwater and from noxious insects. It is said that lifetime of a thatched roof becomes to be shorten if people does not build a fire in the irori fire place.
Shirakawago is remaining old style of Japanese village and we, Japanese people, also visit this place to think back on ancient Japan. I strongly recommend you to visit here if you have a chance.
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