This is a house built in the unique Gassho-zukuri style of this area. These houses always have the triangular thatch roof that somtimes spanned 2-3 floors, and sometimes up to 60 people lived in these houses at a time. The roof is sloped as much as possible because this area of Japan gets a large amount of snow. The first floor contains a large hearth and each floor contains numerous large vents to let the heat and smoke up to the roof. The smoke helped preserve the thatch roof and heat the silkworms that the villagers grew in the roof to earn money. The thatch roof needs to be replaced every twenty years or so.