Gassho style houses in Shirakawa-go attract foreign tourists to a once isolated mountainous settlement

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Shirakawa-go, UNESCO World Heritage Site


Gassho style houses were built in Shirakawa-go (Shirakawa Village) and neighboring areas from around 1800 until the early 1900s.
Gassho style houses in Shirakawa-go attract foreign tourists to a once isolated mountainous settlement
 Photo provided by Shirakawa village office
Some of the old buildings are said to have stood for about 300 years.
In December 1995, Shirakawa-go was registered as the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Since then, every year lots of foreign tourists are heading to Shirakawa-go which is a Japanese mountainous settlement in what was once considered a wild and unexplored region.

Because of the area’s natural environment, with high mountains and heavy snowfall, interaction with neighboring regions was limited providing the conditions for the development of unique cultural practices and lifestyles such as Gassho Style Houses.

Gassho style houses are residences built from wooden beams that support their charachteric, steeply sloped, thatched roofs that meet at a high peak.
Gassho style houses in Shirakawa-go attract foreign tourists to a once isolated mountainous settlement

 The shape those roofs create resembles hands meeting in prayer called Gassho.
This is why those houses in shirakawa- go are called by this name. One of reasons many visitors are attracted by this area is that residents continue to live their daily lives in this World Heritage area here.

Gasshozukuri Outdoor Museum in the village encloses 26 buildings, including nine that are designated by the local prefecture as important cultural properties, allowing visitors to learn more about the history and culture of Shirakawa Village.

Besides long history and traditional culture, visitors can enjoy great nature staying here through all seasons from cherry blossoms in spring to tree leaves turning beautiful red and yellow in autumn to magnificent landscape with snow falls in winter.


Gassho style houses in Shirakawa-go attract foreign tourists to a once isolated mountainous settlement

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