{"id":81465,"date":"2021-04-30T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=81465"},"modified":"2021-12-10T19:19:34","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T10:19:34","slug":"iwami-ginzan-silver-mine-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/iwami-ginzan-silver-mine-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Iwami Ginzan: A Former Mining Region Where Preserving Tradition Has Become A Way Of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Shimane Prefecture<\/strong> is relatively unknown to foreign visitors. However, I have had the opportunity to visit several times, and it certainly has its share of interesting sights \u2014 it’s not only the Iwami Ginzan mines<\/strong> I’ll speak about here, but also Izumo Taisha, one of the most important Shinto shrines in Japan<\/strong><\/a>, the historic town of Tsuwano<\/a>, Adachi art museum and its famous Japanese garden<\/a> and Matsue castle<\/a>, to name just a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Iwami region<\/strong> is located in the West of the prefecture, and one of the things I noticed during my visit, apart from the beauty of the landscape<\/strong>, is how lively the traditions are<\/strong>. There is, of course, the spectacular Iwami Kagura \u2014 an old theatre with deep links to Shintoism<\/a> \u2014 but also many less obvious traditions, local craftsmanship passed on from one generation to another, a vibrant food scene and a way of life which, whilst spanning the centuries<\/strong>, has evolved to adapt to modern life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Former Silver Mines of Iwami Ginzan: At The Heart of Regional Development<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When discovering the pleasant area around Iwami Ginzan mines<\/strong>, it isn’t easy to imagine that when silver was the standard currency between the 16th and 17th centuries<\/strong>, around a third of global production of this precious metal came from Japan, particularly the Iwami region. Thankfully the extraction of silver stopped at the start of the 20th century and allowed for the preservation of the natural environment<\/strong> when other ecosystems were destroyed by mining activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To discover more about the history of these mines and their environment, designated as a UNESCO world heritage site, you should start your visit at the Iwami Ginzan World Heritage Centre (\u77f3\u898b\u9280\u5c71\u4e16\u754c\u907a\u7523\u30bb\u30f3\u30bf\u30fc)<\/strong> <\/a>where it’s explained using various artefacts, models and slide shows. I would then recommend renting a bicycle to cover the 2.5 kilometres between the area of Omori and Ryugenji Mabu gallery (\u9f8d\u6e90\u5bfa\u9593\u6b69)<\/strong>, one of 900 excavated sites in the mountains which search for traces of silver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"cycling
Cycling is the best way to get around and enjoy the charms of the countryside and rural setting of Iwami Ginzan on the way to the mine | Photography: Cl\u00e9mentine Cintr\u00e9<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We had the chance to go on a guided tour underground<\/strong> and see the difficult working conditions that the miners had to endure for ourselves. For example, we could see the marks in the rock indicating the day’s work \u2014 it took six men to drill just 30 centimetres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n