1169 (Kaō 1, 6th month): Emperor Go-Shirakawa entered the Buddhist priesthood at the age of 42.
Secondly it was determined to be the center of their realm, Ōshū, as measured from the Shirakawa Barrier in the south to Sotogahama in present day Aomori Prefecture in the north.
Shirakawa is the location of the village to which silk egg merchant Herve Joncour travels in the novel Silk by Alessandro Baricco, first published in 1997.
It is named for Komine Castle in Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan; the total solar eclipse of August 19, 1887, was observed from the castle.
Princess Shikishi 式子内親王 (died 1201), late Heian and early Kamakura period poet, never-married daughter of Emperor Go-Shirakawa; entered service at the Kamo Shrine in Kyoto in 1159, later left the shrine, in later years a Buddhist nun; has 49 poems in the Shin Kokin Shū anthology
Though Fujiwara no Michinori and the Taira clan supported Nijō, Nobuyori and his Minamoto allies supported Go-Shirakawa's bid to retain some influence and power.
Nishigo is also one of the smallest towns in Japan to have a Shinkansen (bullet train) station, located at Shin-Shirakawa (new Shirakawa) on the Tōhoku branch.
Now the line primarily functions as a way to access the scenic areas of Hida (ancient Hida Province), in the rugged mountains of northern Gifu Prefecture, such as Gero onsen (hot spring), Takayama, Shirakawa-gō, and the "Japan Rhine" (Kiso River).