Gokayama

{{nihongo|Ainokura hamlet|相倉集落|Ainokura shuraku}}, in the Gokayama region, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in December 1995 as one of the three villages of gassho-style houses.{{cite web|title=Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/734|website=UNESCO|accessdate=16 July 2017}}

Ainokura has 20 gassho-style houses known as minka.{{cite web|title=Ainokura Village|url=http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5955.html|website=japan-guide.com|accessdate=16 July 2017}} Most of them are 100 to 200 years old, and the oldest is said to have been built some 400 years ago. The gassho roof has a slope of about 60 degrees forming a nearly equilateral triangle. This steep pitch allows snow to slide off the roof easily. The enormous roof is supported by stout oak beams called chonabari, which are curved at the base. The roofs are rethatched every 15 to 20 years. Nowadays this is done by Gokayama Forest Owners' Cooperative.{{cite journal|last1=Radzuan|first1=Indera Syahrul Mat|last2=Fukami|first2=Naoko|last3=Yahaya|first3=Ahmad|title=Incentives for the conservation of traditional settlements: residents' perception in Ainokura and Kawagoe, Japan|journal=Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change|date=September 4, 2014|volume=13|issue=4|pages=301–329|doi=10.1080/14766825.2014.952302|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272122127|accessdate=16 July 2017|publisher=Routledge Informa Ltd|s2cid=53349140}}{{cite web|title=EXTERIORS - Gassho-style (thatch roof) houses in Shirakawa-Go, Japan|url=http://www.buffaloah.com/a/virtual/jap/shirak/ext.html|accessdate=16 July 2017}}

Fumihito, Prince Akishino stayed at an Ainokura inn two times. The first time was when he was a second-year student at the Gakushūin high-school when he took part in a summer geography training seminar. While staying in Ainkoura, he said, "I like three places in the world most, one of them is Gokayama".{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} The second time was nine years after that with his wife.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

{{nihongo|Suganuma hamlet|菅沼集落|Suganuma shuraku}} is surrounded on three sides by the Shōgawa River. There are currently 12 houses in the village, nine of which are gassho-zukuri style houses. Two were built in the late Edo period (early to mid-19th century), six were built in the Meiji period, and the newest one was built in 1925. During the Edo period, the economy of Gokayama was based on Japanese paper, sericulture, and the production of saltpeter, which is the raw material for gunpowder. The inhabitants of Suganuma hamlet also practiced rice cultivation using a small amount of land and slash-and-burn agriculture.{{cite web |url=https://www.city.nanto.toyama.jp/cms-sypher/www/section/detail.jsp?id=284 |script-title=ja:越中五箇山菅沼集落 |trans-title=Etchū Gokayama Suganuma Hamlet |language=Japanese |publisher=Nanto City |accessdate=5 January 2020}}

• {{ill|Kaminashi Hakusan Shrine|ja|上梨白山宮}}(上梨白山宮)
• {{ill|Kagodo Hakusan Shrine|ja|籠渡白山社}}(籠渡白山社)
• {{ill|Shimonashi zinushi Shrine|ja|下梨地主神社}}(下梨地主神社)
• {{ill|Takasōrei kumano Shrine|ja|高草嶺熊野社}}(高草嶺熊野社)
• {{ill|Sugio shinmei Shrine|ja|杉尾神明社}}(杉尾神明社)
• {{ill|Ōmamedani hachiman Shrine|ja|大豆谷八幡宮}}(大豆谷八幡宮)
• {{ill|Sakaue hachiman Shrine|ja|坂上八幡宮}}(坂上八幡宮)
• {{ill|Hosojima kumano Shrine|ja|細島熊野社}}(細島熊野社)
• {{ill|Abetto shimmei Shrine|ja|阿別当神明宮}}(阿別当神明宮)
• {{ill|Kaimukura sumiyoshi Shrine|ja|皆葎住吉神社}}(皆葎住吉神社)
• {{ill|Higashiakao hachiman Shrine|ja|東赤尾八幡宮}}(東赤尾八幡宮)
• {{ill|Nishiakao hachiman Shrine|ja|西赤尾八幡社}}(西赤尾八幡社)

• Gyotoku-ji（赤尾行徳寺）
• {{ill|Saishi-ji|ja|西勝寺 (南砺市)}}(坂上西勝寺)
• {{ill|Zuigan-ji|ja|瑞願寺}}(下梨瑞願寺)
• {{ill|Dozen-ji|ja|道善寺 (南砺市)}}(新屋道善寺)
• {{ill|Seiko-ji|ja|聖光寺 (南砺市)}}(楮村聖光寺)
• {{ill|Shomyo-ji|ja|称名寺 (南砺市)}}(大島称名寺)
• {{ill|Enjo-ji|ja|円浄寺}}(上梨円浄寺)
• {{ill|Honkyo-ji|ja|本教寺 (南砺市)}}(中畑本教寺)
• {{ill|Kenkaku-ji|ja|見覚寺}}(見座見覚寺)
• {{ill|Sonen-ji|ja|相念寺}}(相倉相念寺)
• {{ill|Kairen-ji|ja|皆蓮寺}}(皆葎皆蓮寺)
• {{ill|Komyo-ji (Nanto)|lt=Komyo-ji|ja|光明寺 (南砺市)}}(田向光明寺)
• {{ill|Koshin-ji|ja|興真寺}}(利賀興真寺)
• {{ill|Tochihara nenbutsu dojo|ja|栃原念仏道場}}(栃原念仏道場)
• {{ill|Sugawa nenbutsu dojo|ja|寿川念仏道場}}(寿川念仏道場)
• {{ill|Kaminakada nenbutsu dojo|ja|上中田念仏道場}}(上中田念仏道場)
• {{ill|Urushidani nenbutsu dojo|ja|漆谷念仏道場}}(漆谷念仏道場)

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Japan}}

Gokayama is twinned with:

• {{flagicon|ITA}} Alberobello, Italy

• Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama
• List of Historic Sites of Japan (Toyama)
• World Heritage Sites in Japan
• Gyotoku-ji
• The Murakamike Residence
• The Iwaseke Residence
• The Habake Residence

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com Japanese Guest Houses to stay a night in Gokayama]
• [http://www.thecatyouandus.com/japan-ainokura/ Travel diary and pictures of a stay in Ainokura]

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Category:World Heritage Sites in Japan

Category:Tourist attractions in Toyama Prefecture

Category:Historic Sites of Japan

Category:Nanto, Toyama