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Shirakawa 白川村
Village
Shirakawa Village Hall
FlagSeal
Location of Shirakawa in Gifu Prefecture
Shirakawa
Coordinates: 36°16′15.4″N 136°53′54.8″E / 36.270944°N 136.898556°E / 36.270944; 136.898556
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu
Prefecture	Gifu
District	Ōno
Government
• Mayor	Shigeru Narihara
Area
• Total	356.64 km (137.70 sq mi)
Population
• Total	1,630
• Density	4.6/km (12/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Phone number	05769-6-1311
Address	517 Hatogaya, Shirakawa-mura, Ōno-gun, Gifu-ken501-5692
Climate	Dfa
Website	Official website (in Japanese)
Symbols
Flower	Rhododendron
Tree	Siebold's beech

Shirakawa (白川村, Shirakawa-mura) is a village located in Ōno District, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It is best known for being the site of Shirakawa-gō, a small, traditional village showcasing a building style known as gasshō-zukuri. Together with Gokayama in Nanto, Toyama, it is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

As of 1 January 2019, the village had an estimated population of 1,630 in 588 households and a population density of 4.6 persons per km. The total area of the village was 356.55 km (137.66 sq mi).

Geography

Shirakawa is a mountain village located in far northern Gifu Prefecture, bordering Ishikawa Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture on the Ryōhaku Mountains. Mount Hakusan is the highest elevation at 2,172 metres (7,126 ft). The village's area is 95.7% mountainous forests, and its steep places are characteristic. In between the mountains flows the Shō River, which continues to the north into Nanto, Toyama. Most of the population is in its river valley. Since the opening of Hida Tunnel, Shirakawa can be reached within 50 minutes from Takayama, Gifu compared to the earlier three hour drive, and only an hour to Nanto in Toyama.

Neighbouring municipalities

• Gifu Prefecture
  • Hida
  • Takayama
• Ishikawa Prefecture
  • Hakusan
• Toyama Prefecture
  • Nanto

Climate

Shirakawa Village has a humid continental climate (Koppen Dfa). It features four distinct seasons with winter being its most recognised. Shirakawa is noted as one of the snowiest places in Japan. Yearly average snowfall amounts average out in excess of 10 meters (415.4") with snowbanks developing well over 2 meters tall. As a consequence of the frequent heavy snow, characteristically thick thatched roofed gasshō-zukuri (合掌造り) houses were created. With the Hakusan National Park mountain ranges as a background, these sites are major tourist attractions.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Shirakawa has decreased over the past 50 years, with a small uptick around the year 2000.

History

The area around Shirakawa was part of traditional Hida Province. During the post-Meiji restoration cadastral reforms, the area was organised into Ōno District, Gifu. The village of Shirakawa was formed on July 1, 1897 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system.

Economy

The local economy is dominated strongly by seasonal tourism. Due to the income from the tourists who came to see the gassho-zukuri villages, the financial condition of the village has been greatly improved, and tourist traffic increased further once the village became a UNESCO site. However, the increasing number of visitors has resulted in damage to the area from pollution, and by local inhabitants turning their homes into hostels, gift shops and parking lots, which in turn has endangered its World Heritage status. There is also a fear growing that the change to catering to tourists will harm the charm of the area's simplicity and fundamental Japanese scenery.

Education

Shirakawa has one combined public elementary/junior high school operated by the village government. The town village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

• Shirakawa village does not have any passenger railway service.

Highway

•  E41  Tōkai-Hokuriku Expressway
• National Route 156
• National Route 360

Sister cities

• Alberobello, Apulia, Italy, since March 3, 2005

Local attractions

• Amau Pass (天生峠, Amau tōge), famous for its fall colors; 30 minutes away by foot is the Kōsō wetlands, also famous
• Hakusan Rindō (hiking path)
• Hida Tunnel
• The Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama are designated UNESCO World Heritage sites
  • Wadake Home—the largest gasshō-zukuri in the area
• Miboro dam, Lake Miboro
• Shirakawa-gō Hirase Onsen (designated as a "national recuperation onsen")
• Shirakawa Hachiman Shrine, where every October 14–15, the Doburoku Festival, famous for its Nigorizake, is held

Gallery

• Ogimachi village in Shirakawa-gō
• Shirakawa
• Traditional housing in Shirakawa-gō
• Shirakawa

In popular culture

• The village of Hinamizawa in Higurashi When They Cry (ひぐらしのなく頃に, lit. When the Cicadas Cry), a popular Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft visual novel series, is heavily based on Shirakawa, with many local landmarks clearly recognizable.
• In Gosho Aoyama's Detective Conan manga series, Onizawa village from episodes 348-349, is modeled from real life Shirakawa.
• The final issue of Uncanny X-Force Vol. 1 opens with Wolverine visiting Shirakawa.

Access

• Kaetsunō Bus Shirakawa-go Bus Terminal

World Heritage Site Bus is run by this company from Takaoka Station (Toyama) via Shin-Takaoka Station.

See also

• Gokayama
• Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama

References

1. Shirakawa village official statistics(in Japanese)
2. 気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）. JMA. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
3. 観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）. JMA. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
4. "Shirakawa (Gifu , Japan) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2023-10-25.

External links

• Shirakawa official website (in Japanese) (some English content)
• UNESCO entry on Shirakawa-go and Gokayama
• Information related to Shirakawa-go on the official Gifu tourism website
• shirakawa-go.gr

v t e World Heritage Sites in Japan
Hokkaido	Shiretoko Jōmon Prehistoric Sites
Tōhoku	Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land Shirakami-Sanchi Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining Jōmon Prehistoric Sites
Kantō	The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier Shrines and Temples of Nikkō Ogasawara Islands Tomioka Silk Mill
Chūbu	Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining
Kansai	Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area Himeji Castle Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range
Chūgoku	Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) Itsukushima Shinto Shrine Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining
Kyushu	Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining Yakushima Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region Amami-Ōshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island

v t e Gifu Prefecture
Gifu (capital)
Core city	Gifu
Cities	Ena Gero Gujō Hashima Hida Kaizu Kakamigahara Kani Mino Minokamo Mizuho Mizunami Motosu Nakatsugawa Ōgaki Seki Tajimi Takayama Toki Yamagata
Districts	Anpachi District Anpachi Gōdo Wanouchi Fuwa District Sekigahara Tarui Hashima District Ginan Kasamatsu Ibi District Ibigawa Ikeda Ōno Kamo District Hichisō Higashishirakawa Kawabe Sakahogi Shirakawa Tomika Yaotsu Kani District Mitake Motosu District Kitagata Ōno District Shirakawa Yōrō District Yōrō
List of mergers in Gifu Prefecture

• Shirakawa, Gifu (village)
• World Heritage Sites in Japan
• Villages in Gifu Prefecture