Gokayama

The name of the area in the southwest of Toyama Prefecture, upstream of the Shogawa River. It belongs to Nanto City and borders Gifu Prefecture. The place name "Gokayama" comes from the fact that it is made up of five areas along the main Shogawa River: Akaodani, Kaminashidani, Shimonashidani, Otani, and its tributary, Togadani. Approximately 70 settlements are scattered on the gentle slopes and terraces at the foot of the mountains facing the main and tributaries of the Shogawa River. The Tonami Plain is a valley basin isolated by the Shogawa Gorge and the mountains with Hosoo Pass and Oze Pass to the west, and has long been said to be a settlement of Heike refugees, but there is no definite proof of this. This region receives a lot of snowfall, has little arable land, and has had to support large families because it was difficult to branch out. It also has a long history of sericulture, which has allowed the region, along with Shirakawa Village in Gifu Prefecture, to develop and maintain its unique Gassho-zukuri style houses for a long time. During the Muromachi period, Rennyo's disciple Doshu (1462-1516) worked to spread the teachings of Jodo Shinshu, mainly at Gyotoku-ji Temple in Akaodani, and even today there is a temple or a Nembutsu dojo in each village, and the area is very religious. During the Edo period, it was the territory of the Kaga domain and was a place of gunpowder production. It was also a place of exile for the domain. A hut for exiles remains in Tamukai today.

In the Shogawa River basin of Gokayama, power plants were built starting in 1930 (Showa 5), ​​including Komaki Dam, Soyama Dam, Ohara Dam, and Narude Dam. The development of these power sources and the construction of roads, followed by the construction of national highways 156, 304, and 471, and the opening of the Gokayama Tunnel, rapidly transformed the way people lived. There is also the Gokayama Interchange on the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway. The number of gassho-style houses has decreased, but of the remaining gassho-style houses, the Iwase, Murakami, and Haba houses are designated as Important Cultural Properties of Japan, and the Suganuma and Ainokura villages are designated as National Historic Sites and Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings. In 1995, the area was registered as a World Heritage Site along with Shirakawa-go (Gifu Prefecture) as the "Gassho-style Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama." In this natural environment, many folk songs have developed since ancient times. The representative songs are Mugi-ya-bushi (Mugiya-bushi), Kokiriko-bushi, and Toi-chin-sa-bushi, which are said to be a treasure trove of folk songs, and these songs and dances of Gokayama are designated as national intangible folk cultural properties. In addition to the Gassho-style houses and folk songs, the area has many tourist resources, so it attracts many tourists from both inside and outside the prefecture, and there are also accommodation facilities such as guesthouses, campsites in the Suganuma area, and the Gokayama Youth Travel Village. Cultural facilities include the Toga Folk Museum, the Ainokura Folk Museum, and the Gokayama Folk Museum. Omaki Onsen is used as a base for sightseeing, and Gokayama can be reached by bus from JR Johana Station.

[Saburo Fukai]

"Gokayama Comprehensive Survey Report" (1958, Toyama Prefecture) ▽ "Folklore of Gokayama Village" (1970, Toyama Prefecture) ▽ "Folklore of the Three Etchu Goka Villages" (1971, Toyama Prefecture) ▽ "Hometown Gokayama" (1972, Kitanihon Publishing) ▽ "Gokayama" by Miyazaki Shigemi and Ikebata Shigeru (1974, Kōgen Publishing) ▽ "Etchu Gokayama" by Ishizaki Naoyoshi (1983, Kitakuni Publishing)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

富山県南西部、庄川(しょうがわ)上流の地方名。南砺市(なんとし)に属し、岐阜県と境する。「五箇山」の地名は、庄川本流に沿う赤尾谷(あかおだに)、上梨(かみなし)谷、下梨谷、小谷(おたに)と支流利賀(とが)谷の五つの地域からなることに由来する。庄川の本・支流に面した山麓(さんろく)緩斜地、段丘上に約70の集落が散在する。礪波(となみ)平野とは庄川峡、西は細尾峠、小瀬(おぜ)峠などのある山地で隔絶された谷底盆地で、古来平家の落人(おちゅうど)集落ともいわれたが確証はない。この地域は降雪量が多く、耕地が少なく、分家が困難で大ぜいの家族を扶養せねばならなかったこと、養蚕業が行われてきたことなどが、岐阜県白川村とともに合掌造(がっしょうづくり)の特殊な民家を発達させ長く維持させてきた。室町時代、蓮如(れんにょ)の弟子道宗(どうしゅう)（1462―1516）が赤尾谷の行徳(ぎょうとく)寺を中心に浄土真宗の布教に努め、いまも集落ごとに寺または念仏道場があり信仰心が強い。江戸時代は加賀藩領で煙硝の生産地。また藩の流刑地でもあった。現在も田向(たむかい)に流刑小屋が残されている。

　この五箇山のうち庄川流域では、1930年（昭和5）から小牧(こまき)ダム、祖山(そやま)ダム、ついで小原(おはら)ダム、成出(なるで)ダムと発電所ができ、これらの電源開発と道路の開設、そしてその後の国道156号、304号、471号の整備、そして五箇山トンネルの開通により、急速に生活様式が変貌(へんぼう)した。また、東海北陸自動車道の五箇山インターチェンジもある。合掌造の民家は減少したが、残った合掌民家のうち岩瀬家、村上家、羽馬(はば)家の各住宅は国の重要文化財、菅沼(すがぬま)集落、相倉(あいのくら)集落は国の史跡に指定され、重要伝統的建造物群保存地区に選定されている。1995年（平成7）には、白川郷（岐阜県）とともに「白川郷・五箇山の合掌造り集落」として世界遺産の文化遺産として登録された。このような自然環境下で、古来多くの民謡が発達した。麦や節(むぎやぶし)（麦屋節）、こきりこ節、トイチンサ節はその代表的なもので、民謡の宝庫とさえいわれ、これらは「五箇山の歌と踊」として国の選択無形民俗文化財となっている。この地域は合掌民家、民謡のほか、観光資源が多いため、県内外からの観光客が多く、民宿、菅沼地区のキャンプ場、五箇山青少年旅行村など宿泊施設も整っている。また、文化施設には、利賀民俗館、相倉民俗館、五箇山民俗館などがある。大牧(おおまき)温泉は探勝の基地として利用され、五箇山へは、JR城端(じょうはな)駅からバスが通じる。

［深井三郎］

『『五箇山総合調査報告書』（1958・富山県）』▽『『五箇山村の民俗』（1970・富山県）』▽『『越中五箇三村の民俗』（1971・富山県）』▽『『ふるさと五箇山』（1972・北日本出版社）』▽『宮崎重美・池端滋著『五箇山』（1974・巧玄出版）』▽『石崎直義著『越中五箇山』（1983・北国出版社）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例