Approx.

BCE14,000～

The dawn of life in the region

   Earthenware appearing to be from the middle Joumon period has been excavated from many villages in the Gokayama area, meaning humans have likely been living here for roughly the past 4000 years. It is possible that the mountainous region, in which food sources such as wild animals, freshwater fish, wild plants, nuts and berries, etc., were more readily available, may have fit the hunting and gathering lifestyle of the time better than the plains region.

the 1st. millennium BCE

Gokayama in the Middle Ages

　From the Nara period, Taira Village’s Mt. Ningyozan (elevation of 1726 m) and Toga Village’s Mt. Kongodozan (elevation of 1637 m) were sacred beacons of the Shugendo belief system, and Sangaku mountain Buddhism was also introduced to Gokayama. Mt. Ningyozan has long been worshiped as a guardian deity for water for farming and consumption. Moreover, Mt. Ningyozan was opened by Priest Taicho of Etsu, who also opened Mt. Hakusan of the old Kaga, Mino, and Echizen regions, connecting Mt. Ningyozan to the Hakusan religion. It is said that many temples constructed by Hida craftsmen were on the mountain and that it is a landmark telling of the exchange of peoples and cultures between the Hida and Etchu regions.

  In the waning years of the Heian period, the Heike clan was defeated in the war against the Minamoto clan, and according to surviving legend and oral tradition, the defeated warriors fled and settled in Gokayama. While the true history is unclear, Gokayama is known as ochudo no kakurezato, roughly translated to mean “hidden hamlet of the fugitive soldiers.”

Gokayama caught in the waves of history

　From the latter years of the medieval period, the power of Honganji Buddhism began to deeply permeate into Gokayama. From 1536 (Tenbun 5), Gokayama offered silk thread and floss to the Honganji Temple. Using information from a 1552 (Tenbun 21) Tenth Day Meeting vow signed by 87 leaders from the 5 regions of Gokayama (Akaodani Valley, Kaminashidani Valley, Shimonashidani Valley, Otani Valley, and Togadani Valley), we know that Jodo Shinshu Buddhism had already spread to all areas of Gokayama by that point. In the Ishiyama Honganji War between Oda Nobunaga, the first of 3 unifiers of Japan in the period of warring states, and the Honganji Temple, gunpowder materials produced in Gokayama were gathered and secretly sent to the Ishiyama Honganji fortress in present-day Osaka from Fushiki (Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture) by sea. It is said that this material was sent exclusively to Honganji.

   It is believed that guns were imported from Portugal in 1543, though various theories exist. The Battle of Nagashino, which Oda Nobunaga is said to have decided with his large stock of matchlock guns, was in 1575. The artificial production method of potassium nitrate, a component of gunpowder not typically available naturally in areas of Japan with high precipitation, was introduced to Gokayama, allowing this method to be developed and improved independently of Oda Nobunaga.

Azuchi-Momoyama Period

The wisdom of the ancestors

   In 1585 (Tenshou 13), Gokayama came under the dominion of the Maeda house of the Kaga clan. Due to the mountainous terrain and resulting difficulty in harvesting rice, residents of Gokayama instead earned money through industries such as sericulture, papermaking, potassium nitrate production, and grass raincoat weaving, paying the Kaga Clan a yearly amount and setting aside the remainder for purchase of rice and other goods. Potassium nitrate, or niter, a component of gunpowder referred to as ensho in Gokayama, was produced using a unique method kept secret from other regions, in a hole dug under the floor of the house using the scientific transformation and subsequent crystallization of a mixture of materials such as earth, grass, and silkworm droppings. Peasants with monetary means would buy harsh niter, purify it into a higher grade, then carry it to Kanazawa’s Tsutchozu for purchase by the Kaga clan. The origin of Gokayama niter goes back to the Ishiyama Honganji War but is shrouded in enigma—today, the true origins are unknown. Beginning in 1637, the Kaga domain began to purchase the majority of high-grade niter every year, produced using the abundantly available mountain grass, kindling, and labor. Once bought, the niter would sometimes be sold widely to other fiefs via government purveyors. With the arrival of Commodore Perry’s ships in 1853 (Kaei 6), expulsion of foreigners and calls for coastal defense from foreign ships intensified, leading to an increase in demand for Gokayama niter. In this year, production reached a peak of 20 tons. With the changing of the eras and the induction of the Meiji period, the domain system was abolished and purchase of Gokayama niter ceased. With the import of cheaper niter from Chile, the 300-year-old niter production system came to a complete halt in 1871 (Meiji 4).

   During the Edo period, Gokayama was also established as a penal colony for the Kaga domain. The 5^th Kaga lord, Tsunanori, was searching for an area within the domain that would be suited to exile. Because the domain did not have access to a remote island, banishment seemed impossible. When banishment of a samurai was not possible, he would be put to death, and to avoid that, Tsunanori searched for a fitting substitute location for exile. From 1667 (Kanbun 7), political offenders such as samurai who committed misconduct or the 6^th feudal lord’s close aide Otsuki Denzo, accused of killing his master, were banished with their sons to Gokayama. Tsunanori’s actions ultimately resulted in a sentence more severe than a remote island. In the roughly 200 years leading up to the abolition of the domain system, more than 150 exiles were sent from Kanazawa. If the nature of the charge was particularly severe, the offender would be confined to a hut and unable to leave with the exception of walking within the village. With no route to the plains area besides kago no watashi (explanation below), the 7 villages on the eastern bank of the Shogawa River came to be exile villages. Kago no watashi refers to a transportation method using a basket and rope in place of a bridge, in this case spanning the dangerous Shogawa River. The origin of this method is said to go back to the Nanboku-cho period (1336 ~ 1392), but as the Kaga clan wanted to maintain secrecy of its niter production site and prevent escape of its exiles, the construction of bridges was not permitted. Thirteen kago no watashi locations existed during the Hansei period (contemporary with the Edo period). It is said that exiles were placed in these baskets, which were usually woven out of vines, and shuttled across the river. With the basket rocking precariously just over the roaring river, the trauma of the experience forced exiles to give up any intention of escape.

   While borrowing and lending of gold and silver currency by peasants was forbidden under the Kaga order, the borrowing of silver currency, lending of rice, and lending of salt by Gokayama inhabitants via merchants from Johana and Inami were recognized and admitted. It is thought that Gokayama was given special consideration given its valuable status as both a production area for niter and paper as well as a banishment location.

Restoration and the region’s new face

   When the municipal system was implemented in 1889 (Meiji 22), Gokayama was divided into Taira, Kamitaira, and Toga Villages.

   The lifestyle of the area changed significantly after entering the Meiji Period, subject to overhauls to the social system such as the abolition of the class system, revision of land tax, and foundation of a modern education system. With the introduction of more effective techniques for sericulture, papermaking, etc., following the cessation of niter production, these industries began to play a more important role in the Gokayama economy following the Edo period.

Electrical power and the march of modernization

   As the Taisho period shifted into the Showa period, the construction of Komaki Dam (1925) and Soyama Dam (1927) developed the Shogawa River into a power source. Together with this development, the lifestyle and industry of Gokayama was transformed. With the large influx of money as compensation for properties submerged in dam construction, a portion of the region saw the transition of thatched-roof houses into tiled-roof residences. Additionally, for the transportation of construction materials, expressways from Johana (present-day Nanto City) and Shogawa (present-day Tonami City) to Gokayama were opened, and the running of ferryboats after completion of dam construction allowed for the plains area to be accessed even during winter. With the worldwide decline in sericulture, which had been a major industry since the medieval period, as well as the opening of expressways that allowed for transportation of large quantities of goods, new industries such as the production of charcoal began to emerge.

Cultural value is recognized by the world

   With people evacuating from urban areas as well as returning from the continent during and after the war, the population experienced a sharp increase that caused serious concerns with regard to food supplies. However, beginning in 1951 (Showa 26), with guidance on the national and prefectural level, cultivation progressed with the aim of rice self-sufficiency. However, with steep falls in population from around 1965 (Showa 40) and the creation of the first depopulation law in 1970 (Showa 45), Gokayama was also designated a depopulation area. The same year, Ainokura and Suganuma Villages, containing several gassho style houses, became nationally designated historic sites. In 1984 (Showa 59), with the opening of the long-awaited Gokayama Tunnel, access to the plains region was cut by half and road access became a possibility even during winter. Then, in 1995 (Heisei 7), with the addition of Ainokura and Suganuma Villages onto the UNESCO World Heritage List, Gokayama all of a sudden came to be known both inside and outside Japan as a tourist destination. With the opening of the Gokayama Interchange on the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway in 2000 (Heisei 12) and the opening of the full expressway in 2008 (Heisei 20), transportation to Gokayama has seen remarkable development.

to present

Reference: Conservation Master Plan for GOKAYAMA, Nanto City, World Heritage Site

                 (Published October 2012, Nanto City)

                  Taira Sonshi (Published May 1985, Taira Village)

                  Kamitairamurashi (Published March 1982, Kamitaira Village)