Japan is in the midst of a massive crisis of rural decline, and of all places in Japan, Kawakami Village was rated as #1 projected decline in all of Japan between 2018 and 2045. And yet the culture, history, and natural beauty of this space are magical. On this website, I hope that we can provide a bit of an overview and ethnography of this village so that one day, you too may kindle a bit of the warmth of Kawakami in your heart.
If you’ve never been to Kawakami before, welcome! If you are a local and know this place well, let’s work together and make something great.
What began at first as an idea to simply upload an old folksong .mp3 file onto this website grew into an idea for a hiphop remix project.
There is a food truck that frequents all of the hamlets of the village and plays an old folk song of the village through a speaker to let elderly residents know the food truck has arrived. This track and all the others in this playlist are remixes this folk song provided by DJs from all over the world. There are currently eight unique tracks in this playlist which will autoplay via the embedded YouTube player below. The original track is the last one in this playlist.
If you’d like to make your own submission, inquire via email.
Unogawa is the only hamlet in Kawakami that isn’t situated beside Rt. 169. Passing traffic is light and this quiet hamlet is very lively, likely to be populated for many years to come.
One of the main attractions in Unogawa is the Takuminomura Art Cafe (匠の聚). This very posh art café is maintained by the village and displays works of artists that live in the area. The cafe frequently holds photo and art competitions and offers classes in clay pottery and various other forms of art throughout the year.
The food and coffee here are great and with a fantastic panorama view of the Yoshino mountains, this cafe is a great place to meet with friends or work. There is art for sale on the first floor, and in the basement floor is a free public art exhibition.
There are small artist residency cabins located around this cafe that form a small artist village.
Below Takiminomura along the main road is a woodworking center where you can buy souvenirs made from local wood.
Follow the road further away from Kawakami and take a right at the first bridge and you will enter the most populated residence area of Unogawa. At the end of this road is a small fishery, 中井渓谷自然塾, where segmented pools of the river and BBQs can be rented out. This is a nice place to bring small children in the summer.
Nishigawa is home to Kawakami’s only elementary school, which will soon be demolished and rebuilt into a new structure that will become a combined elementary and middle school.
There are two teahouses (1)(2) where you can try Nara’s famous persimmon-leaf sushi, Kakinohazushi 柿の葉寿司 along 169.
Branching out from 169 is a the おとなしい tributary of the Yoshino River. Along this tributary is one of Kawakami’s staple restaurants, Arubaru アルーボール。It is run by three local obaachans and is a great place to stop by for lunch and to inquire about local lore. The restaurant gets its name from from the Spanish word for “forest.”
Across from アルーボール is one of the two locations where Kawakami’s farmer’s market, Yamaikiichi (やまいき市) sets up every Sunday. The other location is in front of the post office in Sako beside the 道の駅。
There used to be a forestry museum that stood next to this museum, but it was burnt to the ground by a serial arsonist in 2013. He arrested and jailed for his crimes but there is currently an unfilled gap of a physical museum to display the deep heritage of Yoshino Forestry (吉野林業）。
Further along this road is the Akitsuno Park. There is a public restroom here with a vending machine, along with gazebos along the river tributary. The shallow calm water here is a great place to bring small children. There are many sakura trees here and in April most of this park becomes alight with pink cherry blossoms. A shrine is built within this park to commemorate the village’s WWII casualties.
Follow the path through the torrii gate up the mountain and within a few hundred meters you will reach one of Kawakami’s most popular waterfalls, 蜻蛉の滝。If you continue past the waterfall and veer left when the road forks, this will lead to a short loop that will take you back to the road leading to the parking lot in about 20 minutes of light walking. The path that continues straight and slightly right is not well-marked or traversed, but will lead you all the way to Mt. Yoshino （吉野山） to connect with the Kumano Kodo（熊野古道）。
Although just outside the bounds of Kawakami, two great restaurants to try just across the tunnel leading to Nishigawa are the Ashibi Yakiniku Restaurant and Kunisu Café. The meat smoke of Ashibi draws customers from well outside the prefecture and has a cozy log-cabin feel. It is a great place for work parties and gatherings with friends.
Kunisu is the project of a member of Yoshno’s 地域おこし協力隊 and was built from a rennovated 100-year old empty farmhouse. It offers a spectacular living example of a solution to Japan’s abandoned house （空き家 ）issue .
Otaki is located on a bend on the Yoshino River and holds some of the richest cultures and histories in the village. Its connection to Yoshino Ringyo is profound as Otaki was the birthplace of Shozaburo Dogura 庄三郞 土倉 (1840-1917). Dogura is a local legend who is regarded as the godfather of Yoshino forestry. More will be written about Dogura and Yoshino forestry in detail within the Culture and History tab of this website on a later date.
A statue of Dogura stands beside Otaki Post Office where his house once stood. The house was wiped out in the 1959 Isewan Typhopon (伊勢湾台風), which was the strongest and deadliest typhoon to make landfall of Japan in recorded history. Kawakami stood at the epicenter of its destruction and its effects devastated the village and shaped the course of its history more than any event in Kawakami’s history. This topic deserves a page of its own and will be written about in detail in the future under the Culture and History tab of this website.
A series of six signboards are placed around Otaki and Nishigawa to share about Dogura and his role in shaping Yoshino Forestry and life in Kawakami.
On this signboard is a photo from the Yoshino Ringyo Zensho 吉野林業全書, writen by Dogura in 1898.
Otaki’s Ryusenji Temple sits on the hill above the Rt. 169. It is the temple where Dougura’s funeral ceremony was held.
Nearby is the Genryukan Kendo Dojo. The glass in the window panes are so old that the glass has warped due to gravitational effects over the course of decades. Kawakami is home to one of the greatest Kendo swordsmen in all of Japan, Uegaki sensei. More will be written on him in a separate page.
Be sure not to leave Kawakami without trying some of Nara’s famous persimmon leaf sushi, Kakinohazushi (柿の葉寿司). This can be purchased in either the image above or below. Matsumoto auto clinic is located across the street from this, should you have any automobile issues. The owner, Mr. Matsumoto, is very kind and will gladly help you out in a pinch. Takachan Karaoke, also right next door, is one of Kawakami’s best karaoke venues. The owner is quite a character.
By far the most dominant feature of Otaki is the Otaki Dam. It was constructed in the aftermath of the aforementioned Isewan Typhoon disaster. The construction of this dam took decades and was a major point of heated debate amongst local politicians and villagers.
On one side were those who thought it would be better to build the dam for safety reasons and who saw potential for progress in dam construction job growth and in funding and public works projects that the village would receive from the national government in return for constructing the dam. On the other side stood the many whose homes had to be demolished in order for the dam to be constructed and those who felt this would destroy the Yoshino River, Kawakami’s main source of life.
Today, the reservoir behind the dam sits still like a quiet ocean that stretches far to the south through a now concrete-lined riverbed. It is regularly filled with farm fish because local fish are unable to swim beyond where the dam was built. A huge portion of the village moved away after its construction and the question of whether or not the construction was necessary, or whether it was the dam alone that led to the village’s extreme decline in population, remains a painful topic for villagers to this day.
This dam and the upstream Osako dam are featured in a new local specialty, “dam curry.”
Memorial to to an elementary school that once stood here. The school’s song that students would sing is inscribed above the embedded photo.
Much of this hamlet was lost due to the flooding of the river during construction of the Otaki Dam. This hamlet is located across the river from Terao and the side of the river with Rt. 169. Granite markers were constructed to explain what was submerged during Otaki Dam construction.
Plastic construction barrels and chain fencing surround a marker dedicated to a temple that was submerged during construction of the Otaki Dam.
The main attraction of this hamlet today is the Tenmuteno Shrine, which is dedicated to the Tenmu Emperor.
After the construction of the Otaki Dam and the flooding of Kitashiodani, this waterwheel was constructed to provide power to draw tourists near the dam and to generate electricity for surrounding LED streetlights.
Located along Rt. 169 just before Sako, at this hamlet you can find several monuments indicating that this hamlet hosted a battle related to the Southern Emperor. Much of this hamlet was lost due to flooding of the Yoshino River during the construction of Otaki Dam.
There are is a Buddhist temple and a shinto shrine up on the hill that can be accessed on foot if you leave your vehicle in the small parking lot alongside 169.
Along the Rt 169 you will find the 和食 ブッシュマン restaurant here, as well as the restaurant “Seasons,” a local favorite that draws visitors from far across the prefecture. Be sure to try the set meals 定食。
This hamlet is the hub of the village where most administrative centers are located. Everything here was constructed after the construction of the Otaki Dam and the Yoshino river was flooded. Consequentially, this new development feels a bit like a Potemkin Village. On the small stretch of road here you will find the town hall, a police station, a bank, a post office, the local health clinic, a barber, a rest area (道の駅）, a restaurant, and Kawakami’s Suginoyu Hotel and Hot Spring (杉の湯ホテル）。
This hot spring is one of the best in the village and has a very clean environment with an outdoor bath that overlooks a mountain on the far side of the river. It is open year-round and provides a great view of nature during any season. There are two separate outdoor baths with different styles and which one is given to men or women alternates daily.
If you’re looking for a snack or a gift to take home, there are gift shops at both the rest area and in the hotel lobby. The hotel has a restaurant and open seating were coffee and other drinks are served. In warm months, a vegetable market is set up in front of the Post Office every Sunday. When the Sunday market is open you can buy local produce and try charcoal-barbecued river fish, Amago. The taste is incredible. Note: This market is currently postponed due to COVID19.
A map of the village outside of the rest area
There is a public restroom located at the rest area and food tickets are sold at a vending machine that can be redeemed at the food counter. Free public WiFi is available in this parking lot. If reception is low, try moving to the parking lot in front of the Post Office.
Be sure to try the local Nara specialty, Kakinohazushi 柿の葉寿司 (Persimmon-leaf sushi) and pick up a bottle of sake aged in local Yoshino Cedar barrels 樽酒 (Taruzake).
This hamlet is home to Kawakami’s most thriving agricultural community has one of the highest populations of the village residents. Its history is believed the stretch back 1250 years. Because of its remote location on a hill far away from the river, it was largely unaffected by the construction of the Otaki dam. History here stretches back centuries and it appears that if any hamlet will continue on well into the future, Takahara will certainly be a stronghold.
In mid-August an event called Changokango「ちゃんごかんご」is held here every year, where for hours a taiko drum is beaten and climaxes with people swinging on the drum midair. The festival is believed to have its origins as a purification ritual against an epidemic, and it is possible that this could gain an elevated level of importance in the fight against COVID19.
There is a log cabin accommodation here if you’d like to base your stay in Takahara.
Fukugenji is the biggest Buddhist temple here and is worth a visit. It is located on a faraway hill from most of the residences in this village and appears to watch over for its safety. On the road up to this temple you will find 貝谷製麺所, where local somen noodles are made.
The path up to Atago Shrine resembles the walk up to the Fushimi Inari shrine in outer Kyoto.
Though faded with time, the the paint on Takahara’s Junisha shrine (十二社神社) is very distinct.
It appears that in the past massive cedar trees once stood here. New trees were planted within their stumps to rise from their remains.
This hamlet was one of those most profoundly affected by the construction of the Otaki Dam. Nearly all of the residents of this hamlet were forced to relocate aboveground or out of the village when the river was flooded. Kawakami’s most important shrine, Niukawakami Shrine 丹生川上神社, also had to be relocated above the new water level.
In addition to Kawakami’s similarity with Egypt in referring to land upstream as “upper” and that downstream as “lower,” another similarity with Egypt is this shrine relocation. In 1968 the ancient Egyptian temples of Abu Simbel were relocated entirely due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam. The old original site was submerged with the creation of Lake Nassar, as was the former site of the Niukawakami Shrine with the creation of the Otaki Dam.
A prayer niche is located at the South-East corner of the new shrine, pointing in the direction to the site of the submerged shrine site so that locals can offer prayer.
This shrine has many centuries of history and it is unknown exactly when pilgrimages here began, but it is believed that spiritual traditions began here well before any Shinto shrine or even the concept of Shinto was constructed. When the original shrine was excavated during Otaki Dam construction, remains of an alter dating back to the 11th century were unearthed, as well as standing stones that are believed to date back to the the end of the middle Jomon era (about 4,000 BCE). The discovery of these stones reshaped the identity of Kawakami and the timeframe of our understanding of how many centuries humans have inhabited these mountains. Stones excavated from this dig are held within the shrine and can be viewed by the general public.
Referred to as the “upper shrine”, Niukawakami Shrine is a part of a trifecta with two other shrines of the same name, one in Higashiyoshino (the middle shrine) and one in Shimoichi (the lower shrine). Like many Shinto shrines in Japan, these shines were associated with rain and crop harvest in modern history. Rain was believed to be controlled by dragons spirits, which are gods associated with water in Japan.
There are images of a black horse and a white horse at this shrine. The black horse is prayed to in times or drought and the white horse is prayed to in order to stop the rain. Today, festivals and purification rituals are held at this shrine throughout the year.
Below this shrine is the residential Miyanotaira area and the Yamabuki public hall constructed here after the dam was completed. This hall is in great condition and is the main staging ground for large indoor events in the village. The hall is named after the local Yamabuki flower, which the local Yamabuki Bus providing public transportation to villagers is also named after. The Kawakami local library and board of education are also located within this building. Kawakami’s nursery daycare is located across the street.
Located immediatly next door is the 森と水の源流館 (“Genryukan” for short). This is your go-to for organizing hiking tours and learning more about the ecology of Kawakami. There is a newly-renovated museum exhibit within this building that is worth visiting. The staff are very knowledgable and can help you with any nature-related inquiries or explorations that you’d like to conduct.
