[ Mar.2016 ] We went into the houses of the Gassho style (houses with large steep thatched roof) in Shirakawago in Gifu, Japan.
Kanda’s and Wada’s are open to the public with the charge of 300 yen each.
The first thing I thought after entering the house was how dark it was.
Partly because of the wood colour which was dark brown, but also because the soot from the fireplace was accumulated for hundreds of years, the interior was almost black.
In the past, they kept silkworms on the first and second floors and made gunpowder in the basement.
In Kanda house, there was a ‘room for single man’ on the mezzanine and apparently from the window of this room, the man checked the fireplace during the night.
I understood very well that for the Gassho houses the fire was the biggest enemy, though I do not know why it has to be a single man to do this job.
In this village, fireworks are apparently prohibited.
In the booklet I bought there says “In order to pass our legacy to future generations, it is important to create a comfortable living environment for residents”.
I wonder how they have made it comfortable in those Gassho houses which are not open to the public.
