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Fire breaks out near Japan’s Shirakawa-go World Heritage site【Videos】

Casey Baseel Nov 5, 2019
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Hidden sprinkler defense system activates to help protect beautiful traditional thatched-roof farmhouses.

Last week, the main hall of Shuri Castle, along with two other structures at the Okinawan landmark, burned to the ground. With Japan still reeling from shock, the nation was just given another massive scare as a fire broke out in Gifu Prefecture’s Shirakawa, known for its beautiful preserved farmhouse architecture at Shirakawa-go.

▼ Shirakawa-go

Shirakawa-go has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its traditional gasshozukuri, “praying hands architecture,” so named because of how the thick, sharply angled thatched roofs resemble hands pressed together in prayer. However, those natural building materials aren’t just beautiful, but flammable too, so visitors were startled to see smoke and flames in the area on the afternoon of November 4.

え、やばくないすか？#白川郷　 #火事 pic.twitter.com/x39QqqX1KF

— また会いましょうツィツィヤック (@twitwiFLASH) November 4, 2019

https://twitter.com/aya_iiko/status/1191232092371214337

白川郷まじの火事や
やばいな pic.twitter.com/Hgj7g79maw

— なかっち (@zhongdaodaye92) November 4, 2019

Thankfully, the fire began not in one of the large farmhouses in the center of Shirakawa-go, but in a shed near the visitor parking area, just on the other side of a stream from the primary concentration of gasshozukuri structures. Nevertheless, the intense flames brought firefighters to the scene shortly after 2;30 p.m., when the first emergency calls came in.

https://twitter.com/idoli_H/status/1191233322719961090

うぉーい！！
白川郷で火事起きてるぜ！？#拡散希望RTお願い致します pic.twitter.com/j78OgfR7cQ

— じゅりあーに３世 (@Messiah3rd) November 4, 2019

The fire also triggered Shirakawa-go’s extremely cool sprinkler system, in which external sprinklers, which are ordinarily cleverly disguised to blend in with the rustic aesthetics, emerged from their hiding places to spray massive jets of water onto the roofs to lessen the risk that sparks or embers drifting through the sir would ignite the thatch.

早く鎮火して良かったです。白川郷は消火体制がすぐに取れるようになっています。 pic.twitter.com/ziTczIlUYv

— 中野みっちやん (@dlEHMHCfTBt374E) November 4, 2019

▼ Video of a test of the sysem, which was carried out just last week

[白川郷火災]
白川郷の合掌造り民家園付近で火災が発生したようですが、無事鎮火が確認されました。
先日の訓練同様、一斉放水をして延焼は免れたようです。
(動画は19年10月27日の一斉放水の様子) pic.twitter.com/NRqwnvTpYN

— トヨタ白川郷自然學校 (@toyota_ecoinst) November 4, 2019

▼ The area near the shed, as it appeared prior to the fire

https://twitter.com/inoue1024/status/1191274264437018625

Fortunately, the shed where the fire broke out is a maintenance/administrative building, which houses, among other things, an electrical switchboard, and so no travelers were inside. No injuries occurred, nor was there any damage to the nearby gasshozukuri houses.

白川郷まさかの火事 pic.twitter.com/sNup0yQ5yO

— Kenzo Masaki (@KenzoMasaki) November 4, 2019

Still, the incident, along with what happened at Shuri Castle, is a harsh reminder of how vulnerable Japan’s traditional architecture can be to fire, so if you’re planning a trip to Japan, it might be best to visit the wooden structure you want to see sooner rather than later.

Source: Asahi Shimbun Digital
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