was a flatland castle located in Echizen

Echizen, Fukui

is a city in Fukui, Japan.Echizen took its present form on October 1, 2005, when the city of Takefu and the town of Imadate merged to form the new city, although the Echizen Basin has been an important regional center for over 1,500 years. It has many former castle sites and prehistoric...

, Fukui Prefecture

Fukui Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.- Prehistory :The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The castle ruins are located beneath the city hall of Echizen.

History

During the Sengoku period

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

, Echizen province was ruled by the Daimyo Asakura until Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

 invaded and conquered the province. Afterwards, three castles were built in Echizen by the "Fuchū Three" -- Fuwa Mitsuharu

Fuwa Mitsuharu

was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi-Momoyama period. Originally a retainer of Saitō Dōsan, Mitsuharu went on to serve Oda Nobunaga, receiving a landholding in Echizen Province.-Notes:...

, Sassa Narimasa

Sassa Narimasa

, also known as Kura-no-suke , was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi-Momoyama period. He became a retainer of Oda Nobunaga in 1550 and was granted Etchū Province as a reward for helping Shibata Katsuie fight the Uesugi clan. After Nobunaga's death, in 1584 he joined Tokugawa Ieyasu...

, and Maeda Toshiie

Maeda Toshiie

was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi-Momoyama period. His father was Maeda Toshimasa. He was the fourth of seven brothers. His childhood name was "Inuchiyo" . His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as...

. Fuchū Castle was built in 1575 and was held by Maeda Toshiie.