ABSTRACT
Nadasyo village is located in the southwest part of Fukui prefecture neighboring Kyoto and was merged with the town of Ohi in 2006 (Fig. 2). The village had once been located along the main road for marine product transportation from Obama bay to the ancient capital city of Kyoto; thus, it was influenced by the culture of Kyoto. The village is 143.5 km2, surrounded by deep mountains covering nearly 90% of the village area, and occupies small flatlands along rivers for settlements and agricultural lands. The main form of livelihood had previously been a small industry of wooden charcoal, forest industry, and subsistence agriculture (Nadasyo village, 1968). The population was 2500 people in 2010, compared with 3500 people in 1968. The villagers are mostly aged 50-60 years, with very few aged 20-30 years because of outflows to urban areas. Thatched houses have been gradually disappearing since the 1950s, and now five remain: one enshrinement hall (Yakushi-do) and one shrine (Kamo-jinja) are designated and conserved as cultural properties, one house was moved and converted to a hostel (Ryusei-kan) operated by the town management, and one temple was converted to a private house (Fig. 3), leaving Syuraku-an as the only original folk house in the village.
