 History and Tradition |
 The mining industry was flourishing in the
Shirakami Mountains.
The Oppu mine (currently
Sunakose, Nishimeya-mura)
was the largest
in the industry.
It is said that the
mine
was discovered in
807 (Daido 2) and
also
that copper started
to be produced a
long
time before that
(it is also said
that copper
produced here was
used for the casting
of
the Great Buddha
in Nara).
Around 1645 (Shoho
2), gold was dug up in
Kawaharasawa (currently
Kawaharadai, Nishimeya-mura)
and silver was dug
up in Onoezawa (currently
Fukaura-machi), Nishihama.
In the modern era,
towns and villages where
the Shirakami Mountains
are located were
renamed the current
Ajigasawa-machi, Fukaura-machi,
Iwasaki-mura and
Nishimeya-mura after going
through the enforcement
of the municipal
system in 1889 (Meiji
22) and the merger
of towns and villages
in 1955 (Showa 30).
In 1960 (Showa 35),
the Meya Dam was completed
in Oaza Fujikawa,
Oaza Imoritai, Nishimeya-mura.
In addition, the
Kosei Forest Road (currently
the Prefectural Road
Iwasaki-Nishimeya-Hirosaki
Route), which connects
Nishimeya-mura and
Iwasaki-mura through
the forests of beech
trees in the Shirakami
Mountains, opened
in 1972 (Showa 47).The
lifestyle and tools
of people in the
Jomon period have been passed
down all the way
to people living in the
Shirakami Mountains
area now.
For instance, culture
that flourished in
the zone of beech
trees in the Jomon period
permeates the life
of this region even now,
as seen in the way
they hunt and make firewood,
and in their dietary
habits, so it can be
considered the fundamental
culture of the
Shirakami Mountains.
The way people dig
holes and preserve vegetables
in the ground now
was passed down in a different
form from people
in the Jomon period, who
preserved food such
as nuts in holes in the
ground for storage.
In the zone of beech
trees, people removed
the bitter tastes
of horse chestnuts and
acorns and ate them
until recently. The method
of burning beech
trees and using their ashes
for the removal of
bitter tastes is also
said to date back
to the Jomon period.
Even after rice growing
started, food preservation
was very important
in order to prepare for
famine (kegazu).
Mostly powered horse chestnuts
and acorns were stored. |
| Geological and geographical features |
 Soil in the Shirakami Mountains consists
of sedimentary rocks
(tuff, mudstone, sandstone,
etc.) and intrusive
rocks, which were formed
after magma rose
from way down below the
ground, such as rhyolite
and porphyrite,
running through sedimentary
rocks 20 million
to 12 million years
old (since the Miocene
Epoch in the Neogene
Period) with granite
as a foundation,
which was formed about 90
million years ago
(in the Cretaceous Period).
The topography of
the Shirakami Mountains
is characterized
by deep valleys, a large
number of high waterfalls
due to the steep
valley walls, and
magnificent views. |
|
|
In the Shirakami Mountains, the largest primeval
forest of beech trees in East
Asia lies in
a wide area in a state of a pure
forest,
which has been almost untouched
by people
and deforestation. With abundant
nature in
the background, many plant communities
are
formed with 500 species. In addition,
endangered
precious species such as Japanese
antelopes,
black woodpeckers and golden
eagles grow
and live in the mountains, where
the degree
of completion of the natural
ecosystem is
extremely high.