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28-500: Its abbreviated form name was Esshū ( 越州 ) , with Echizen and Etchū Provinces. Under the Engishiki classification system, Echigo was ranked as one of the 35 "superior countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the 30 "far countries" (遠国) in terms of distance from the capital Koyoto. Echigo and Kōzuke Province were known as the Jōetsu region . In the late 7th century, during

56-451: A geographic area of 4,190 km (1,617 sq mi ). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the east, Shiga Prefecture to the south, and Kyoto Prefecture to the southwest. Fukui is the capital and largest city of Fukui Prefecture, with other major cities including Sakai , Echizen , and Sabae . Fukui Prefecture is located on the Sea of Japan coast and

84-460: A major influence on her greatest work, The Tale of Genji , and many place names from Echizen appear in her stories and poems. Echizen was a strategically important province due to its proximity to Kyoto and Nara and due to its location on the Sea of Japan with contacts to the Asian continent. The province was traditionally famous for its production of washi paper. A text dated AD 774 mentions

112-516: Is now the city of Fukui . Shibata himself only held Echizen Province for a few years, after which he was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi . After the Battle of Sekigahara and the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate , the entire province was awarded by the first shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu to his second son, Yūki Hideyasu , who became the daimyō of Echizen Domain , from his base at Fukui Castle . During

140-805: Is part of the historic Hokuriku region of Japan. The Matsudaira clan , a powerful samurai clan during the Edo period that became a component of the Japanese nobility after the Meiji Restoration , was headquartered at Fukui Castle on the site of the modern prefectural offices. Fukui Prefecture is home to the Kitadani Formation , the Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins , and the Tōjinbō cliff range. The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry , on

168-722: The Nihon Shoki . The region as a whole was sometimes referred to as Esshū ( 越州 ) . In 507, during a succession crisis, the king of Koshi was chosen to become the 26th emperor of Japan , Emperor Keitai . In 701 AD, per the reforms of the Taihō Code , Koshi was divided into three separate provinces: Echizen, Etchū , and Echigo . The original Echizen included all of what is now Ishikawa Prefecture . In 718 A.D., four districts of northern Echizen ( Hakui District , Noto District (also called Kashima District) , Fugeshi District and Suzu District ), were separated to form Noto Province. During

196-568: The Asakura clan towards the start of the Sengoku period , who made Ichijōdani their headquarters. Under Asakura Yoshikage , Echizen enjoyed a peace and stability far greater than the rest of Japan during this chaotic period, partly due to his negotiations with the Ikkō-ikki . As a result, Echizen became a refuge for people fleeing the violence to the south. When Oda Nobunaga invaded Echizen, he defeated

224-601: The Battle of Hokuetsu in the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration . Following the establishment of the Meiji government , the various domains and provinces became prefectures with the abolition of the han system in 1871. These various prefectures merged to form Niigata Prefecture in 1876. Echigo Province consisted of fifteen districts: [REDACTED] Media related to Echigo Province at Wikimedia Commons Echizen Province Echizen Province ( 越前国 , Echizen-no-kuni )

252-497: The Nara period , the poet Nakatomi no Yakamori was exiled to Echizen, where he wrote some of his 40 poems collected in the Man'yōshū , including his love letters to Sanuno Otogami no Otome . Another famous Man'yōshū poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi , wrote many pieces about Echizen. . In 823 AD, the two eastern districts of Echizen (Kaga and Enuma) were separated to form Kaga Province. Kaga was thus

280-600: The Northern and Southern Courts , Echizen was under the control of the Ashikaga shogunate and Northern Courts. The province was often used as a launching point for the shogunate's attack against the capital, and Echizen became the stage for a number of decisive battles of the war. During most of the Muromachi period , the Shiba clan ruled as shugo of Echizen. The Shiba were displaced by

308-406: The washi made in this area. Echizen is also well known for its ceramics . It is one of the so-called six old kiln sites of Japan (the others being Shigaraki , Bizen , Seto , Tanba , and Tokoname ). The exact location of the provincial capital and Provincial temple of Echizen are unknown, but are believed to have been in what is now the city of Echizen . For most of the war between

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336-516: The Asakura clan, burned Ichijōdani Castle to the ground and re-established the provincial capital at Echizen-Fūchu, divided among his generals Fuwa Mitsuharu , Sassa Narimasa , and Maeda Toshiie . The province remained in their hands only for a short time, after which the three were granted larger fiefs of their own elsewhere. After the death of Nobunaga, control of Echizen passed on to Shibata Katsuie , who built his castle at Kitanosho Castle in what

364-460: The Meiji Restoration, the centre of political power shifted completely from Kyoto to Tokyo , and Echizen increasingly became a backwater. On August 29, 1871, Fukui Prefecture and Tsuruga Prefecture were established. However, on August 21, 1875 Fukui Prefecture was abolished, becoming part of Ishikawa Prefecture , whereas Tsuruga Prefecture became part of Shiga Prefecture . Fukui Prefecture

392-473: The Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded animals such As Fukuiraptor , Fukuisaurus , Nipponosaurus , Koshisaurus , Fukuivenator , Fukuititan , and Tambatitanis , as well as an unnamed dromaeosaurid . Fukui originally consisted of the old provinces of Wakasa and Echizen , before the prefecture was formed in 1871. During the Edo period , the daimyō of

420-450: The area of the province also became tenryo territory (shogunal demenses) administered directly by the shogunate. During the Bakumatsu period , Matsudaira Shungaku , the 17th daimyō of Fukui Domain plays a major role in national politics, and acted as an intermediary to negotiate the surrender of pro-Tokugawa forces to the Meiji government at the end of the Boshin War . However, with

448-480: The early years of the Tokugawa shogunate , many nobles and aristocrats moved to Fukui city in hopes to win the favor of Hideyasu, who was widely expected to become the new shōgun. There was great disappointment and resentment when the shogunate passed on to Ieyasu's third son, Tokugawa Hidetada . However, Echizen remained a strategically important military and political base; the Tokugawa shōguns needed loyal daimyō in

476-604: The last province to be created under the ritsuryō system, and Echizen received its current borders at that time. During the Heian period , the provincial governor of Echizen, Fujiwara no Tametoki , was the father of the celebrated author Murasaki Shikibu . Lady Murasaki left her hometown of Heian-kyō only once in her life, to go to Echizen with her father. She stayed for just over one year, and then returned home to marry Fujiwara no Nobutaka . Her experiences in Echizen are said to have had

504-566: The provinces surrounding the imperial capital, and Echizen served as a powerful buffer between Kyōto and the Maeda clan of Kaga , who were not among the fudai (hereditary Tokugawa allies). Much of the province remained in the control of the Matsudaira clan until the Meiji Restoration ; however, due to internal conflicts, the kokudaka of Fukui Domain was much reduced from its initial size, and several new domains were created. A large portion of

532-470: The region was surnamed Matsudaira , and was a descendant of Tokugawa Ieyasu . During World War II , Fukui was heavily bombed and its palace, Fukui Castle , surrounded by a moat, was demolished. Buildings for the Fukui Prefectural government were built on the site of the castle. Fukui faces the Sea of Japan , and has a western part (formerly Wakasa) which is a narrow plain between the mountains and

560-621: The reign of Emperor Monmu , the ancient province of Koshi Province ( 越国 or 古志国 , Koshi no kuni ) was divided into three separate provinces: Echizen , Etchū , and Echigo. The new Echigo Province consisted of Iwafune and Nutari Districts , and was one of two border provinces of the Yamato state with the Emishi (the other being Mutsu ). In 702, Echigo was given the four districts of Kubiki , Koshi , Uonuma and Kanbara from Etchū. When Japan extended its territory northward in 708, Dewa District

588-655: The sea, and a larger eastern part (formerly Echizen) with wider plains including the capital and most of the population. The province lies within Japan's " Snow country ". As of 31 March 2008, 15% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks , namely the Hakusan National Park ; Echizen-Kaga Kaigan and Wakasa Wan Quasi-National Parks; and Okuetsu Kōgen Prefectural Natural Park . Nine cities are located in Fukui Prefecture: These are

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616-405: The start of the Muromachi period to the late Sengoku period . Under the Tokugawa shogunate of the Edo period , Echigo was divided among several feudal domains . The Hokurikudō highway passed through the province, and numerous post stations were established. The port of Niigata was also of major importance in the coastal kitamaebune trading system. The area became a battleground during

644-653: The successor of the provincial temple of Echigo Province; however, its records date only to 1562 when it was relocated to its present location by Uesugi Kenshin . Two Shinto shrines vie for the title of ichinomiya of Echigo Province: Yahiko Shrine in Yahiko , and Kota Shrine in Jōetsu. Echigo was ruled directly by the Hōjō clan during the Kamakura period , followed by the Uesugi clan from

672-504: The towns in each district : Fukui is one of the less populated prefectures of Japan; in September 2015 there were an estimated 785,508 people living in 281,394 households. As seen in most of Japan, Fukui is facing the problem of both an aging and decreasing population; 28.6% of the population was over the age of 65 in July 2015 and the population has decreased by 2.6% from the 806,000 measured in

700-448: The village of Itoshiro in Ōno District was transferred to Gifu. Echizen Province consisted of four districts: [REDACTED] Media related to Echizen Province at Wikimedia Commons Fukui Prefecture Fukui Prefecture ( 福井県 , Fukui-ken ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū . Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has

728-474: Was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga , Wakasa , Hida , and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit . Its abbreviated form name was ' ( Esshū , 越州) . Koshi Province ( 越国 , Koshi-no-Kuni ) was an ancient province of Japan and is listed as one of the original provinces in

756-539: Was established under Echigo. But this district was transformed into Dewa Province in 712. Sado Province was temporarily merged with Echigo between 743 and 752. Since the division of Sado in 752, the territory of Echigo remained constant to the Meiji period . The provincial capital of Echigo was located in Kubiki District, in what is now the city of Jōetsu , but its exact location is now unknown. The temple of Gochikokubun-ji ( 五智国分寺 ) , also in Jōetsu, claims to be

784-572: Was re-established on February 7, 1881. Although Echizen no longer existed after 1871 and maps of Japan were reformed after that date At the same time, Echizen continued to exist legally for certain purposes. For example, Echizen is explicitly recognized in treaties in 1894 (a) between Japan and the United States and (b) between Japan and the United Kingdom . In a border adjustment between Fukui prefecture and Gifu Prefecture on October 15, 1958,

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