English – ページ 93 – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

137.Fukui Castle Part1

The center of Echizen Province

Location and History

It starts as Kitanosho Castle

Fukui Castle was located in what is now Fukui City, the prefectural capital of Fukui Prefecture. The name of the city originates from this castle. However, the castle was originally named Kitanosho Castle (Kitanosho means like the Northern Manor). Katsuie Shibata under a great warlord, Nobunaga Oda, first built the castle in 1575 when they conquered Echizen Province (now part of Fukui Prefecture).

The location of the castle

The portrait of Katsuie Shibata, from the signboard at the site

When Hideyoshi Hashiba, who would become the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attacked the castle in 1583, he wrote in his letter that the castle had a nine-leveled Main Tower. It’s quite uncertain if the castle really had the nine-leveled Main Tower because the word nine-leveled also means just “have many levels” in Japanese. Katsuie was unfortunately defeated by Hideyoshi, while Kitanosho Castle was burned and destroyed.

The Portrait of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, attributed to Mitsunobu Kano, owned by Kodaiji Temple, licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The imaginary drawing of the first Kitanosho Castle, from the signboard at the site

Hideyasu Yuki rebuilds it as Lord of large domain

In 1601, Hideyasu Yuki, the son of the final ruler, Ieyasu Tokugawa, rebuilt Kitanosho Castle as the founder of the Kitanosho Domain. Hideyasu was a big brother of Ieyasu’s successor, Hidetada Tokugawa, but he was sent to Hideyoshi, and the Yuki Clan later to be adopted. It could be because he was not loved by his father, Ieyasu. However, Hideyasu was distinguished in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 before his father became the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Ieyasu finally accepted Hideyasu and allowed him to have a large role in the shogunate. Hideyasu became a lord who had the second largest territory excluding the shogun in Japan with 750,000 kokus of rice. He was also allowed to use the family name “Matsudaira” which means the relatives of the shogun. Echizen Province was very important spot for the shogunate to be near Kyoto, the capital of Japan, and next to the owners of the largest territory, the Maeda Clan.

The statue of Hideyasu Yuki at the ruins of Fukui Castle

The Portrait of Ieyasu Tokugawa, attributed to Tanyu Kano, owned by Osaka Castle Museum, licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

It is said that Hideyasu’s father, Ieyasu designed part of the layout of Kitanosho castle. The Main Enclosure was the center of the castle, which had the four-leveled Main Tower and the Main Hall and was surrounded by the stone walls and the Inner Moat. The Second Enclosure, the Third Enclosure, and the Outbound Enclosure were built around the center concentrically. These enclosures were divided by the water moats. As a result, the castle was surrounded by quadruple or quintuple water moats. The castle had over 10 turrets and 40 gates. The size of the castle reached about 2km square.

The imaginary drawing of the Main Enclosure of Fukui Castle, from the signboard at the site

The range of Fukui Castle in the Edo Period shown on the present map, from the signboard at the site

Echizen-Matsudaira Clan prospers

The castle was completed in 1606 after Hideyasu died in 1604. The Matsudaira Clan, renamed from the Yuki Clan governed the castle and domain until the end of the Edo Period, while the name of the castle and domain were changed from Kitanosho to Fukui by the third lord, Tadamasa. The Main Tower was unfortunately burned down by a fire in 1669 and not restored. The 14th lord, Shungaku Matsudaira was active in the central government during the end of the Edo Period and the Meiji Restoration.

The portrait of Tadamasa Matsudaira, exhibited by Fukui City History Museum, licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The photo of Shungaku Matsudaira, owned by Fukui City History Museum, licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

In addition, Hideyasu’s descendants prospered greatly. The branch families which started from Hideyasu’s sons became the lords of several castles by the end of the Edo Period, such as Tsuyama Castle, Matsue Castle, Maebashi Castle and Akashi Castle. They are often called the Echizen-Matsudaira Clan including the lord of Fukui Castle. We can say Hideyasu’s efforts were rewarded good enough.

To be continued in “Fukui Castle Part2”

37.Ichijodani Castle Part3

A great medieval city was discovered.

Later History

After Ichijodani was burned, farmers used the ruins as fields. Some items of the ruins such as the Asakura Clan Hall Ruins have been well known among people, but they didn’t think such a large city was sleeping under the fields. The excavation of the ruins started in 1967. The excavation team first found garden ruins followed by foundations for many buildings, and household items from the Sengoku Period. The ruins were designated as a National Special Historic Site in 1971. Since then, over 1.7 million items have been discovered from the ruins. The restored streets and residences opened in 1984, which was considered as the first example of similar facilities in Japan.

The entrance of the restored streets and residences

My Impression

Takakage Asakura, the first lord of the clan, left his teachings to his descendants. The teachings say you should adopt your vassals by capacity and loyalty. You must not buy expensive swords, horses, and hawks without reason. You shouldn’t invite entertainers from outside paying high fees. I’m not sure if Yoshikage Asakura, the last lord of the clan, followed his ancestor’s teachings. However, I think the prosperity of Ichijodani might have caused Yoshikage’s misfortune.

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 10 minutes away from Fukui IC on Hokuriku Expressway.
There are several parking lots along the ruins.
By public transportation, it takes about 10 minutes walking from JR Ichijodani Station to the ruins of the Outbound Fortress Entrance, the edge of the whole ruins.
To get to Ichijodani Station from Tokyo: Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen super express, transfer to the limited express on the Hokuriku Line at Kanazawa Station, and transfer to the Kuzuryu Line at Fukui Station.
From Osaka: Take the Thunderbird limited express and transfer to the Kuzuryu Line at Fukui Station.

The signpost of the ruins in front of the Outbound Fortress Entrance

Links and References

・Ichijodani Asakura Family Site Museum

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Ichijodani Castle Part1”
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37.Ichijodani Castle Part2

You can imagine and see the medieval city.

Features

Unending Ruins of Ichijodani

If you visit the ruins of Ichijodani Castle by driving or walking on the route along the valley, you will be surprised to see unending residence ruins on both sides of the route. The area of 278 hectares was designated as a National Special Historic Site named the Ichijodani Aasakura Clan Ruins. Over 2,300 unearthed items from the site were also designated as Important Cultural Properties.

The aerial photo around the castle

You can also see the ruins of fortress entrances at both edges of the site. The ruins of the Outbound Fortress Entrance still have an alternate entrance using huge stones. The entrances resemble a castle gate. The Inbound Fortress Entrance was restored in 1990 and it is 105m long and 5m tall earthen walls.

The alternate entrance using huge stones

Restored Castle Town of Sengoku Period

Thanks to the achievement of excavation, you can visit the about 200m long restored streets and residences at the center of the ruins. If you stand in the streets, you will feel like you were in a real medieval city.

You can also enter these restored residences. For example, in a merchant house, the mannequins of merchants sell something like potteries.

The inside of the restored merchant house

In a warrior’s house, the male mannequins play Japanese chess in the Japanese style drawing room, while the servant mannequins prepare a meal in the kitchen. These items were all restored based on the relics from the site, the remaining pictures, and buildings in other sites.

The mannequins playing Japanese chess in the Japanese style drawing room

Asakura Clan Hall Ruins in Center

You should check out the ruins of the Asakura Clan Hall Ruins which is located on the opposite side of the restored streets separated by the Ichijodani River. The hall was largest building in Ichijodani, which was used by the lord of the clan. The ruins are about 120m square, and still have earthen walls and water moat surrounding them. The ruins also have a Chinese style gate building in front of them. The remaining gate is that of the Shounin Temple which was built on the ruins in the Edo Period after the hall was burned. The ruins and the temple gate fit in with each other very much.

The Asakura Clan Hall Ruins surrounded by the earthen walls and water moat

The Chinese style gate building at the ruins entrance

Inside the ruins, the location of each building is shown as a flat exhibition, so you can understand what buildings were built in the past.

A view of the hall ruins from the upper back side

Actual Special Places of Scenic Beauty Gardens

There are also several hall ruins for the Asakura Clan’s relatives. Moreover, four of the ruins of the clan’s gardens around the halls have also been designated as Special Places of Scenic Beauty since 1991. It is surprising that the gardens as they were in the 16th Century, still impress people in the present time.

The ruins of Nakanogoten Hall, one of the hall ruins for the Asakura Clan’s relatives

For example, Yudono Garden Ruins above the Asakura Clan Hall Ruins have the combination of wild rocks. It is said that the atmosphere of the garden is similar to that of the Sengoku Period.

It is said that Suwa Residence Garden, now called the Suwa Residence Garden Ruins, was originally built for Yoshikage Asakura’s wife. It is a beautiful waterfall garden made using huge stones. The largest stone in the garden is said to be the largest one for a waterfall garden in Japan.

To be continued in “Ichijodani Castle Part3”
Back to “Ichijodani Castle Part1”