Kitanosho castle – 日本200名城バイリンガル (Japan's top 200 castles and ruins)

Features

Ruins of First Kitanosho Castle

I also recommend visiting the ruins of the first Kitanosho Castle which Katsuie Shibata built, about 300m away from Fukui Castle Ruins to the south. You can only see the base stones for the castle because Fukui Castle was built on the Kitanosho Castle Ruins.

The ruins of Kitanosho Castle in Echizen Province

These are the stone walls of Fukui Castle

The base stones of the first Kitanosho Castle

However, you can also see the statues of Katuie, his wife and his three daughters. These women are well-known in Japanese history. One of the daughters was the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s wife. Another was the wife of Hidetada Tokugawa who was a little brother of Hideyasu Yuki, the founder of Fukui Castle.

Later History

After the Meiji Restoration, Fukui Castle was abandoned. All the buildings of the castle were demolished and all its area except for the center of the castle was turned into the city area. In 1873, the former lord of the castle, the Matsudaira Clan opened Matsudaira Agricultural Experimental Station in the center of the castle until it was moved to another in 1921. Instead, The Fukui Prefectural Office was moved to the Main Enclosure in 1923. Since then, the castle ruins have been the center of the local government like the castle used to be.

Matsudaira Agricultural Experimental Station (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The buildings of the Fukui Prefectural Office (on the right) and Fukui prefectural police headquarters (on the left) at the Main Enclosure

My Impression

A Main Enclosure was usually the center of a castle. It often had the Main Tower and (or) the Main Hall to govern the area around in the Edo Period, like Fukui Castle. Many remaining Main Enclosures have now become historical parks, shrines, or facilities like a museum. However, the Main Enclosure of Fukui Castle is still used by the local government. I think this is the only example of the Main Enclosure being used for a prefectural office. Some people call it the strongest prefectural office in Japan.

The Main Enclosure of Fukuoka Castle (an example of being a historical park)

The Main Enclosure of Takaoka Castle (an example of being a shrine)

The Main Tower of the Main Enclosure of Osaka Castle (an example of being a museum)

The Fukui Prefectural Office which looks like the strongest

How to get There

If you want to visit there by car:
It is about 15 minutes away from Fukui IC on Hokuriku Expressway.
There are several parking lots around the ruins.
You can also use the underground parking lot of the prefectural office on weekdays.
(You need to have the parking ticket stamped at the reception counter.)
By public transportation, it takes less than 10 minutes walking from JR Fukui Station.
To get to Fukui Station from Tokyo: Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen super express, transfer to the limited express on the Hokuriku Line at Kanazawa Station.
From Osaka: Take the Thunderbird limited express.

Links and References

・Fukui Castle Ruins, Fukui Prefecture & Fukui Prefectural Tourism Federation

That’s all. Thank you.
Back to “Fukui Castle Part1”
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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”

タグ: Kitanosho castle

137.Fukui Castle Part3