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Suganuma Village - Niter Museum

Important Gunpowder Ingredient

Niter, or Saltpeter, was an important raw material for the production of gunpowder, and for centuries the people of Gokayama made saltpeter as their main source of livelihood. The Niter Museum is housed in a Suganuma Gassho-zukuri house, and shows the production process of saltpeter with the exhibition of models, tools, and materials.

Niter, or Saltpeter, was an important raw material for the production of gunpowder (a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal). For more than 300 years, the people of Gokayama under the Kaga Domain made saltpeter and raised silkworms as their main source of livelihood, and were strong support for the Kaga Domain Artillery and Riflemen.

Manywhere Trivia:
Gassho-zukuri 合掌造り is a unique architectural style because it resembles the hands folded in salute to Buddha.

Located in the Suganuma Gassho Style Village of Gokayama, the Niter Museum is a Century-old Gassho-zukuri House. The Niter Museum makes use of figures, models, videos and physical materials to give visitors a better understanding of the Saltpeter Manufacturing Process.

Manywhere Trivia:
Japan has a long history of making use of black powder, but the formula for yellow powder, which gave weapons a significant increase in firepower, was stolen from France.

To make Saltpeter Earth, the base material for saltpeter, people have to dig a deep pit under the floor of the Gassho-zukuri house and fill it with soil, grass, silkworm excreta and other ingredients mixed in proportion. This technique is an admirable combination of sericulture byproducts and the advantage of a Gassho-zukuri house.