Suganuma Village
Suganuma is one of the two traditional gassho-zukuri (steep thatched roof style) villages in Gokayama designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Suganuma is smaller than Ainokura, with only 12 traditional structures, of which nine are gassho-zukuri houses, with their unique architecture and steep thatched roofs. The village is located on a terraced plateau on a bend of the Sho River and surrounded by thickly forested mountains. Trees such as beech and Mongolian oak help to protect the village from avalanches.
Most gassho-zukuri houses here were built between the end of the Edo period (1603–1868) and the Taisho era (1912–1926) and continue to serve as residences. The Gokayama Folklore Museum occupies the oldest gassho-zukuri structure in Suganuma, where visitors can learn about the traditional way of life and get in-depth information on the region’s industries, such as papermaking, sericulture, and saltpeter production. For a more comprehensive look at the production of saltpeter, a key component of gunpowder, visitors can stop by the Saltpeter Museum, which is also located in a gassho-zukuri structure.