Shirakawa-go Gassho style How to save the Gassho style villages Bruno Taut
Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama
Shirakawa-go is famous in the world for its unique architecture. The thatched roof has an incline of sixty degrees so that the snow would not accumulate on the roof. This style of architecture is called the "Gassho style". For the building, no crossbeams or iron nails are used. Also, the building is built in the same direction as the wind in Shirakawa blows, facing the North or South. In this way, the pressure the building gets from the wind is very small, and could also adjust the sunlight the roof receives. The building realizes a convenient life of "A cool summer, and a warm winter". This is a building which truly stands in harmony with nature.
Shirakawa-go Gassho style How to save the Gassho style villages Bruno Taut
Shirakawa-go
Shirakawa-go is a snowy village in the Oku Hida mountain valley. With the surrounding high mountains and the few farms along the Sho river, the silk-raising industry developed as a side job. In order to make sure of many work forces, an extended family system where about twenty to thirty people live together in one house was made, and the Gassho style house was founded for those people to live in.
Gassho style
In this unique building which the roof has a steep slant, we can find the ancestor's wisdom and devices to prevent the snow from accumulating on the roof or making space for the silk-raising industry. The roof in the Gassho style, shakes a little but never falls down even if heavy snow accumulates on it. By using wood which has both elasticity and durability, the building adapts itself very well in the nature. Later on, these Gassho style houses were designated as important cultural properties, with vestiges remaining of the Japan's traditional view. Today, many tourists visit there.
How to save the Gassho style villages
Gassho style houses are easily burned down by fire, so in Gassho villages, there is a fire preventing system. Four times a day, the person on duty has to walk around the houses and call out to be careful of the fire. The first time is around ten o'clock in the morning which the person shouts to be careful. The second time is in the evening, and the person goes around striking wooden clappers. The third time is in the night, and the person goes around making a sound like a bell. These three times is within each group in the village, however, for the fourth time, two people get in a pair and walk around the whole village. This is around midnight to one a.m.. This fire preventing system cannot be realized, unless each person keeps the spirit never to cause a fire.
Also, in case of an unexpected fire, the villages are fully equipped with fire extinguishers such as fireplugs and fire hoses. There are fire drills many times every year, and also, when there is a fire, all of the fireplugs will be opened and the village will be soaked in water. Here, any kinds of fireworks are prohibited. This is, of course to prevent fires.
In this way, people in Shirakawa-go have put much wisdom and effort to prevent fire. They have also tried to prevent fire from the spiritual part, by worshipping the god of fire prevention. These steady and earnest fire preventing activities of the people in Shirakawa-go have protected this valuable culture.
Bruno Taut
In 1935, a German architect, Bruno Taut visited the Shirakawa-go. The house he examined was the biggest Gassho style house in the Shirakawa village. Taut thought of the Gassho style as "Extremely logical, rational, and is a rare common style house in Japan.", and placed a high value on them. Shirakawa-go was widely introduced by his book , and leaped suddenly into fame.
