Yesterday, the first wintry wind, known as “Kogarashi 1,” blew through the Kinki region. Winter has finally arrived. About an hour and a half by car from Kyoto city, There is a village called Miyama where you can view the “original landscape of Japan” that rivals Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture. Within the town, numerous thatched-roof houses still stand. Despite the snowy terrain, the first snowfall has yet to occur.
At the entrance of the settlement stands a retro red mailbox, leaving a lasting impression. In the northern district of Chii in Miyama, among the 50 households, 39 have traditional thatched roofs. Remarkably, the number of buildings in this village has remained largely unchanged since the Edo period, a surprising fact.
In December 2021, during the 24th UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) General Assembly held in Madrid, 44 regions from around the world were designated as the Best Tourism Villages. Among them, two villages were chosen from Japan: Niseko Town in Hokkaido and Miyama Town in Nantan City, Kyoto Prefecture. It makes sense now. Miyama is a tranquil village surrounded by beautiful mountains, as the name suggests. It also served as a relay point along the “Saba Kaido” connecting Wakasa and Kyoto. Let me introduce the “Miyama no Komoriuta,” a lullaby sung in this area.

昨日は近畿地方に木枯らし1号が吹きました。いよいよ冬の訪れです。京都市内から車で約１時間半、岐阜県・白川郷に並ぶ「日本の原風景」が広がる美山の里があります。町内には数多くの茅葺き民家が現存しています。雪深い地ですが、初雪はまだです。集落の入り口に立つレトロな赤いポストがとても印象的で、そこを入った知井地区の北集落50戸のうち39棟がかやぶきの屋根です。しかもこの集落にある建物の戸数は、江戸時代からほとんど変わっていないというから驚きです。2021年12月マドリードで開催された第24回UNWTO（国連世界観光機関）の総会において、世界各地から44の地域がベスト・ツーリズム・ビレッジに選定されました。そして、そこで日本から選ばれた「ビレッジ」は２つ。それが北海道ニセコ町と、京都府南丹市美山町だったのです。なるほどと思います。美山は、その名の通り美しい山々に囲まれた静かな里で、若狭と京都を結ぶ「西の鯖街道」の中継地でもありました。この地で歌われてきた「美山の子守り唄」を紹介します。