Iide

Iide-machi is located in the southwestern part of Yamagata Prefecture and surrounded by the border with Fukushima Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture. It is known as one of the foremost heavy snowfall area in the Northeast Region. They became a member of “The Most Beautiful Village in Japan” union in 2008. “Iide Mountain Range”, “Scattered Houses Village in the Paddy Field”, “Satoyama landscape and culture (undeveloped woodland near populated area) in Nakatsugawa District” has been registered as the regional resource. The scenery that the setting sun shines in the vast water-laden paddy field through the gaps in the clouds is exactly “Oriental Arcadia”. It is pictorial scenes breathtaking involuntarily.

It is famous episode that when a British woman Isabella Bird who was active between the late 19th century and the early 20th century travelled to Yamagata, she admired the warm hospitality received from the residents of Iide-machi, the impression received by overlooking the vast Yonezawa plain as “Oriental Arcadia (Shangri-La)”. “Japan Outback Journey” that Bird wrote is always a great “pride” of their region, inexhaustible forever “research subject”, for the people of Iide-machi.
When looked panoramic views of Satoyama from Utsutoge of Iide-machi, beautiful mountain range continues in the distant, the landscape of the well-kept fields and scattered houses village in the paddy field spreads below our eyes. The houses scattered in the space bounded by the vast countryside. Sankyo-son (Scattered Houses Village) that put the tall trees called Yashiki-rin around the house is a wisdom to protect their homes from the harsh wind and snow, and it form one of the few good old and valuable landscape in Japan.
In addition to “Iide Mountain Range” and “Scattered Houses Village in the Paddy Field”, another local resource is “Satoyama landscape and culture (undeveloped woodland near populated area) in Nakatsugawa District”. “Old-Fashioned Landscape” that we can feel some relax, such as “rich Water Landscape of Shirakawa Dam”, “Landscape of Old-Fashioned Life with a thatched roof” and “Landscape of Hospitality of the farmers inn”, still remains everywhere, and we can enjoy the scenery such as we wandered into the world of Japanese folk tales. In Nakatsugawa, there are characteristic houses called Chumon-dukuri which is a feature of the farmhouses in the snow country, and the entrance of Omoya (main house) is the protruding structure called Chumon (Inner Gate). It is said that this structure was born from the wisdom of people living in the snow country region having heavy snow and long snowy period. When the season of buds come after long harsh winter, rural landscape will be colorful at once and full of strong vitality.

Interviewed in April, 2016