Hida-Furukawa Satoyama Experience Part 3: An Old Folk House in the Rice Paddies

The two characters tanbo mean rice field in Japanese, and it is more commonly written as "んぼ," but if it is written with the kanji "," from a Chinese perspective it seems you can feel that whole stretch of field scenery even more. What is called a "farmhouse in the fields" is, plainly put, a "farmhouse," except that here there are many traditional wooden buildings handed down from long ago; their architectural style is closely tied to farm life, and the workmanship comes from Hida master carpenters famous throughout the country.

These traditional houses dotted among the fields have been part of the Japanese satoyama landscape since ancient times, but just as in Taiwan's countryside, the rural population has gradually drained away and there are more and more "vacant houses." Of course, most owners hope to sell houses they no longer live in, but in rural places selling is not so easy, so often the houses are simply left empty and slowly rot as time passes.