Tonami

Tonami stretches from the plains of western Etchū toward the mountain valleys of Gokayama. In the Edo period the Kaga domain administered the mountain settlements separately from the plain and collected their taxes in money. Gokayama was also a source of saltpeter, an ingredient of gunpowder; records show deliveries to the domain by 1605. Its inhabitants made use of the resources and labor available in a steep, snowy country.