The Japanese villages where time stood still
Up to 200 villagers cooperate to thatch a roof in a single day, preserving this beautiful tradition

Thatched roofs were once a common sight in the Japanese countryside, but they started to disappear in the 1950s, when people began migrating en masse to the cities. You can still see them in places, however – and nowhere more spectacularly than Gokayama and Shirakawa- go, said Tom Allan in the Financial Times.
Set in wooded valleys 250 miles northwest of Tokyo, these hamlets share about 120 traditional wooden houses, each crowned with an "exceptionally tall, imposing" thatched roof. As a result, Japan's 5,000-year-old thatching tradition flourishes here, nurtured by the Japan Cultural Thatching Association, which runs occasional public workshops. The grandeur of the buildings reflects the historic wealth of these villages, where two rare goods vital to the upper class – silk and nitre (for use in gunpowder) – were produced for centuries. But their form evolved in "conversation" with their surroundings.
The steep pitch of the roofs is designed to help shed the three metres of snow that falls in the area each winter. To minimise the risk of storm damage, the houses are orientated so that a gable end "faces the prevailing weather". And the materials they are built from – cedar, grass, rice straw and Japanese witch hazel – are cut within walking distance. Indeed, a trip up the hill to cut grass by hand using sickles is the first stage of any thatching workshop. The roofs need re-thatching every 30 to 40 years, a "constant cycle" of renewal of a kind that is reflected in the Shinto idea of tokowaka, or "everlasting youth".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And in Shirakawa-go, the old communal system of yui – in which up to 200 villagers cooperate to thatch a roof in a single day – lives on. (Even so, the work is overseen by professional thatchers such as Nishio Haruo, whose Instagram account, @japanesethatchingguy, is worth a look.)
For further information, and to rent a room in one of the houses, see gokayama-info.jp, vill.shirakawa.lg.jp, and kayabun.or.jp. Tom Allan is the author of On the Roof: A Thatcher's Journey, recently published by Profile Books at £18.99.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Sarkozy behind bars: the conviction dividing France
In the Spotlight Sarkozy speaks to the press with wife Carla Bruni at his side outside a Paris courtroom after the guilty verdict
-
Crossword: October 4, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Codeword: October 4, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
9 haunted hotels where things definitely go bump in the night
The Week Recommends Don’t fear these spirited spots. Embrace them.
-
Susie Dent picks her favourite books
The Week Recommends The lexicographer and etymologist shares works by Jane Goodall, Noel Streatfeild and Madeleine Pelling
-
The 5 best zombie TV shows of all time
The Week Recommends For undead aficionados, the age of abundance has truly arrived
-
6 incredible homes under $1 million
Feature Featuring a home in the National Historic Landmark District of Virginia and a renovated mid-century modern house in Washington
-
The Harder They Come: ‘triumphant’ adaptation of cinema classic
The Week Recommends ‘Uniformly excellent’ cast follow an aspiring musician facing the ‘corruption’ of Kingston, Jamaica
-
House of Guinness: ‘rip-roaring’ Dublin brewing dynasty period drama
The Week Recommends The Irish series mixes the family tangles of ‘Downton’ and ‘Succession’ for a ‘dark’ and ‘quaffable’ watch
-
Dead of Winter: a ‘kick-ass’ hostage thriller
The Week Recommends Emma Thompson plays against type in suspenseful Minnesota-set hair-raiser ‘ringing with gunshots’
-
A Booker shortlist for grown-ups?
Talking Point Dominated by middle-aged authors, this year’s list is a return to ‘good old-fashioned literary fiction’