Ichijodani Asakura Family Historic Ruins

Monument

A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...

located in the Kidonouchi section of Fukui

Fukui, Fukui

is the capital of Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The city is located in the north-central part of the prefecture on the coast of the Sea of Japan.-Demographics:...

, 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...

. This area was controlled by the Asakura clan

Asakura clan

The ' are descendants of Prince Kusakabe , son of Emperor Temmu .The family was a line of daimyō which, along with the Azai clan, opposed Oda Nobunaga in the late 16th century...

for 103 years 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...

.

The castle town was founded in 1471 and became a major cultural, military, and population center in Japan at the time, with a peak population of over 10,000. The town was burnt down in 1573 when the Asakura family was defeated by 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...

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Excavation of the ruins began in 1967, revealing the shape of the whole town, including the house of the lord, samurai residences, temples, houses of merchants, houses of craft workers, and streets. The samurai residences, merchant houses, etc. have since been restored along the 200 meter long street. Four Japanese gardens were unearthed and partially restored, and the ruins of Ichijodani Castle remain on top of a hill, with a scenic view of Fukui.

Cultural Properties

Special Places of Scenic Beauty - Ichijōdani Asakura Family Gardens ( Suwa Yakata-ato Garden, Asakura Yakata-ato Garden, Yudono-ato Garden, and Nanyoji-ato Garden )
Special Historic Sites - Whole area in ruins. The area is 278 hectares.
Important Cultural Properties
Important Cultural Properties of Japan
The term is often shortened into just are items officially already classified as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and judged to be of particular importance to the Japanese people....

- 2343 within excavated article from the ruins

Cultural Properties

See also