Toyama

Feb 19, 2015 - 1 min read

Suganuma Gassho Village in Toyama

Snow-covered traditional village in Gokayama

By Masayoshi Hirose

Community writer

Translated by Takako Sakamoto

Community writer

The souvenir shop was the only place that had some colors in the all-white village

Overview of the whole village

It had been warm till the day before I visited, and I found that the snow on the roofs had slipped off, and snow on the roads melted away

Even then, this snowy scenery impressed me, as I live in a place with no snow

In the house in front, gunpowder is produced, and there is a history museum about it

When I was walking down the street along the river to the village the mist went up the mountains in the far distance

I climbed the hill which was made of shoveled-up snow, and looked down at the village from the top

Icicle art was hanging from the eaves of each house

There were small holes dug in snow walls to put in light bulbs for night-time illumination

Thatched roof providing warmth in the cold season

During February 7th to 9th in 2015, I visited Gassho-style villages in Hokuriku Region after a business trip in the area.

This photo story concerns Suganuma village which I visited on February 8th. I was looking forward to seeing snow on the thatched roofs, which are the symbol of Gassho-style village. However I found that the snow had slipped onto the ground due to the warmer weather with sun and rain which preceded my visit. Since it couldn't be helped, I went ahead and explored the village. Gassho villages are so named because the steeply slanting thatched roofs resemble two hands joined together in prayer ( 合掌 gassho). I could see that!

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Masayoshi Hirose

By Masayoshi Hirose

Community writer

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Takako Sakamoto

Translated by Takako Sakamoto

Community writer

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