Gassho-Zukuri, a form of traditional Japanese architecture born from the wisdom of living in a region with heavy snowfall.

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Photo courtesy of Shirakawa Village Office
Gassho-zukuri, the large triangular-roofed houses representing Japan, are still preserved in Shirakawa-go, Gifu Prefecture, and are registered as a World Heritage site.
It is no exaggeration to say that the reason why "Gassho-Zukuri" was born in this area is because of the heavy snowfall.

This area has heavy snowfall, with nearly 3 meters of snow falling in one winter.
The roofs of the Gassho-zukuri are equilateral triangles in shape to better distribute the weight of the large amounts of snow that accumulate on the roofs.
And when it comes time to remove the snow, the heavy snow can be lowered all at once with little effort.
Panoramic view of Ogimachi Village [Photo courtesy of Shirakawa Village Office].
Not a single nail is used in the attic of a Gassho-Zukuri, and the roof is held in place only by sturdy ropes. This makes the roof flexible, and when snow accumulates, typhoons and earthquakes occur, the roof is shaken slightly to disperse the force and increase the durability of the house.
The attic of a gassho-zukuri [Photo courtesy of Shirakawa Village Office].
In addition, the Gassho-zukuri roof faces east-west to receive sunlight in winter to melt snow and enhance the drying effect. Also, in summer, the house is designed to be comfortable because of the easy passage of breezes from the north and south.
Ogimachi Village in summer【Photo: Courtesy of Shirakawa Village Office
Please visit Shirakawa-go Ogimachi village, where the wisdom of the residents who have lived here for many years has been combined and this landscape is still preserved today!
And after enjoying the scenery, please warm up your frozen body by eating Shirakawa-go's local delicacy, "suittate nabe," an arrangement of suittate soup, a local dish of the Hida region.
Sutte-nabe (image) 【Photo: Courtesy of Shirakawa Village Office】Sutte-nabe (image)
We look forward to welcoming you to the "silver world" of Shirakawa-go in the coming season!

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