Japan - Shirakawa-go

Yumi - Japan - 09.05.2012

Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go

The site is located in the Shogawa river valley stretching across the border of Gifu and Toyama Prefectures in northern Japan. 

These villages are well known for their houses constructed in the architectural style known as gasshō-zukuri (合掌造り). The Gasshō-zukuri, "prayer-hands construction" style is characterized by a thatched and steeply slanting roof resembling two hands joined in prayer. The design is exceptionally strong and, in combination with the unique properties of the thatching, allow the houses to withstand and shed the weight of the region's heavy snowfalls in winter.