Old Town of Hida Takayama Coloring Pages

A Merchant Town from the Edo Period

Old Town of Hida Takayama is a town in Takayama City, surrounded by mountains in northern Gifu Prefecture.
At the end of the Sengoku period, a warlord named Kanamori Nagachika ruled this land and built a castle town.
Samurai homes were put in high places, and merchant towns were placed one level lower. These merchant towns are today's Old Town of Hida Takayama.
Streets like Kamiichi-no-machi, Kamini-no-machi, and Kamisan-no-machi were chosen as a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 1979.

Low Eaves and Rows of Wooden Grids

Townhouses in Takayama are special because their roofs are low, at about 4.5 meters high.
The houses have narrow fronts and go deep inside, lined up with no gaps between them.
On the front of the houses, you can see long rows of projecting lattice windows made of thin vertical wood. The lattices are often painted reddish-brown with an old paint called "Bengara."
The short pieces of wood (bracket arms) under the eaves that hold up the roof are painted white.

Water Canals Under the Eaves

On both sides of the street, right in front of the houses, thin water canals flow by.
To go inside a house, you cross a small wooden board bridge placed over the canal.
The second and third coloring pages also show the canals along the street and the board bridges. Try to find them!

"The Little Kyoto of Hida"

Takayama is sometimes called "The Little Kyoto of Hida."
That is because temples are lined up along the eastern mountains just like in Kyoto, and the Old Town of Hida Takayama keeps a calm feeling like Kyoto.
Gifu Prefecture also has the World Heritage site Shirakawa-go with its Gassho-style houses. Takayama and Shirakawa-go are popular sightseeing spots that many people visit together.

The First Page Is a Sake Brewery with a Sugidama

The first coloring page shows just one townhouse of a sake brewery with a large sugidama (cedar ball) hanging under the eaves.
On the front of the second floor, fine lattice windows line up in a row. On the first floor, you can see lattice doors and big wooden doors.
Under the eaves, bracket arms supporting the roof are lined up at equal distances. At the edge of the roof, there is also a rain gutter to carry away rainwater.
Try coloring carefully while counting the lines of the lattices!

Miya River Lively with Morning Markets

Right next to the Old Town of Hida Takayama, by the banks of the Miya River, a morning market is held every morning.
Vegetables, flowers, and handmade treats line up all along the river.
Over the Miya River spans a bridge with vermilion railings called Nakabashi, which is a symbol of Takayama.

Red-Brown Lattice, White Brackets

The lattice on houses in Old Town of Hida Takayama is red-brown or dark brown.
It is hard to color the lattice one bar at a time! First, gently color the whole lattice in red-brown. Next, make only the deep gaps between the bars a little darker. Then it will look 3D!
If you leave the brackets under the eaves white, it will look like a real house in Old Town of Hida Takayama.

Cedar Balls Are Green or Brown

The round cedar balls hanging under the eaves are made from rolled-up cedar leaves.
A brand-new cedar ball is bright green. As time goes by, it turns brown.
You can choose if you want your cedar ball to be green or brown! Try changing the lightness of the color for each bunch of leaves on the top. That will show its soft, round shape.

Make the Front Houses Darker for Town Views

In the third town view coloring page, color the houses in the front with dark colors. Color the houses in the back with light colors. Then the street will look like it goes way back!
Color the street light gray, the water in the ditch light blue, and the mountains in the back green.
If you color the streetlights yellow, the town view will look warm, just like in the evening!

Add Flowerpots and Flowers for a Bright Town

Let's color the plants in the flowerpots in front of the houses in yellow-green or green.
If you add yellow or orange flowers, they will pop against the dark brown town view!
The flowerpots will also look cute if you color them terracotta orange or blue.

Sugidama: A Sign of New Sake

The Sugidama hanging under the eaves of a sake brewery is a sign that says, "New sake is ready!"
A green Sugidama is hung when new sake is made. As the Sugidama slowly turns brown, it is said that the sake ages and tastes even better.
In the Old Town of Hida Takayama, there are still several sake breweries today.

The Takayama Festival Recognized by the World

In Takayama, the Takayama Festival is held in spring and autumn.
The spring festival is the Sanno Festival on April 14 and 15. The autumn festival is the Hachiman Festival on October 9 and 10. Gorgeous floats decorated with fine carvings and mechanical puppets parade through the town.
In 2016, it became a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage as one of Japan's "Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals."

Sarubobo Means Baby Monkey

The famous Takayama souvenir Sarubobo is a doll made from red cloth.
In the local Hida dialect, it means "baby monkey."
It is said that long ago, mothers made these dolls while wishing for the happiness of their children and daughters.

A Mountain Town with Lots of Snow

Takayama is a town surrounded by high mountains, and snow piles up in winter.
The low, deep eaves are clever ideas to protect house entrances from snow and rain.