Registration Date：2015.10.07 ※選定年月日
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In Osawa and Kami-Osawa, where the terrain is particularly steep even within Wajima City, people have lived until today by surrounding their villages with bamboo fences called "ma-gaki" to protect their houses from the strong seasonal winds from the sea. The wisdom of the people who live in the harsh environment of Noto can be seen in the way they live together with the satoyama and the sea.
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Description
Ozawa and Kami-Ozawa in Wajima City are two small settlements along the Sea of Japan in the northwestern part of the Noto Peninsula. The northern part of the Noto Peninsula, with its steep mountains directly facing the Sea of Japan, is an area subject to strong seasonal winds from the sea, and thus many settlements are located further inland. Among them, Ozawa and Kami-Ozawa are located in the lowlands that form a bay, with farmland on a limited slope in the narrow valley behind them. On the periphery of these settlements that are facing the sea, windbreak fences 4 to 5 meters in height called Magaki, made with vertically standing thin bamboo (called “nigatake” in this area) have been erected to protect houses from the seasonal winds. These Magaki are repaired every year before the onset of winter, and are noted as one of the traditions that signal the changing of the seasons. The cultural landscape of Ozawa and Kami-Ozawa is important for understanding the life and livelihood of the region, as it shows how local resources have been used to the fullest extent in this unique form of fencing in a region with severe weather conditions facing the sea.
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