ABSTRACT
The mountainous villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama are well known for the unique architecture of their “Gassho” farmhouses and were enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995. These villages with their Gassho-style houses subsisted on the cultivation of mulberry trees and the rearing of silkworms. The large houses with their steeply pitched thatched roofs are the only examples of their kind in Japan. Due to the difficulty of access until recent times, the relations between this area and the outside world were very limited. This long isolation gave rise to the unique culture and traditional social systems, folklore, and customs, which have maintained their continuity. Taking a people participation, environmental assessment, and behavioural approach, this chapter throws light on the deeper heritage values, their role in nature conservation and cross-cultural and comparative studies. The chapter also reflects on the personal experiences during December 2004, the time when the Tokai Hokuriku Jidosha Do, the national highway passing nearby, was opened.
