Shukunegi Village

NIIGATA CULTURE

The Shukunegi district is situated on the southwestern side of Sado.
This tiny village, covering only a single hectare, has been home to a port since medieval times. It developed and prospered as a base for the maritime shipping industry on the Sea of Japan from the late Edo to early Meiji periods, encompassing the period during which the Sado Gold Mines prospered during the 17th century, and is said to have once held one third of the wealth of Sado Island. Facing a small inlet, the townscape that attracted shipbuilding experts and technicians, including shipwrights, is occupied by 100 homes in close proximity with walls made from wooden ship planks. Meanwhile, the Sado Island Ogi Folk Museum on high ground exhibits (fee required) a reproduction of the Hakusanmaru, a type of ship called a Sengokubune so named because it was designed to carry 1,000 “goku” of rice, or approximately 150 tons.