Vernacular houses – Japan - Gassho-Zukuri

LOCATION AND DETAILS:

- Located in a mountainous region that was cut off from the rest of the world for a long period of time, these villages with their Gassho-style houses subsisted on the cultivation of mulberry trees and the rearing of silkworms up in the attic where the heat from the first floor, filled with people and activity, rises up.

- The houses of common people developed differently.

- Farmers in different regions of the country had houses that were adapted to local conditions.

- The houses built in the gassho-zukuri style in Shirakawa-go, which is listed as a World Heritage site, are examples of residences in which common people lived.

- Some farmers' houses had space to keep their cattle and horses indoors, while the houses of city dwellers were often squeezed close together along the streets.

- As urban homeowners were taxed based on the width of the front side of the house, their houses were built to be long and narrow.

- This style can still be seen today in historical cities like Kyoto.

- This steep pitch allows snow to slide off the roof easily.

- The houses are large, with three to four storeys encompassed between the low eaves, and historically intended to house large extended families and a highly efficient space for a variety of industries.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE & FEATURES :

- Gassho-zukuri is a house built of wooden beams combined to form a steep thatched roof that resembles two hands together.

- the roof can be looked triangular just like a standing book open.

- It is the characteristic of these houses in this country.The structure is built to suit the environment in Shirakawa.

- It is made to with stand heavy snowfall

- The Gasshō-zukuri style is characterized by a thatched and steeply slanting roof.

- The gassho roof has a slope of about 60 degrees forming a nearly equilateral triangle.

- The roofs, made without nails, provided a large attic space used for cultivating silkworms.

- while the dirt-floored area was used for washi paper production. In addition, saltpeter would be prepared below the floorboards.