Ichijodani - Historical Ruins of the Asakura Clan in Fukui

In this article, we will talk a little about a tourist spot that takes you back to ancient times in a Samurai Village in Japan located in the Fukui region. It is the historical ruins of the Asakura clan. I hope you enjoy this little article.

The place in Japanese is called Ichijōdani Asakura-shi Iseki [一乗谷朝倉氏遺跡] and is located in Kidonouchi in the city of Fukui in the Hokuriku region of Japan. This area was controlled by the Asakura clan for 103 years during the Sengoku period.

These historical ruins and the samurai village were designated as a Historic Site in 1971 and, in June 2007, 2,343 artifacts found were designated as Important Cultural Properties.

Ichijōdani is a valley near the Asuwa River with a width of approximately 500 meters and a length of about three kilometers. The valley is surrounded by mountains to the east, west, and south, and by the river to the north, forming a natural fortification.

See below a video from my friend from the channel Otaku no Japão visiting this Samurai village in the Fukui region that goes unnoticed by many tourists visiting Japan. Perhaps this could be your next destination.

Embedded video (YouTube)

The history of the Asakura clan and Ichijodani

In 1471, Asakura replaced the Shiba clan as the military shugo commander of Echizen province. In the same year, Asakura Toshikage (1428-1481) fortified Ichijōdani by building fortifications on top of the hills in the surrounding mountains and constructing walls and gates to seal the northern and southern ends of the valley.

Within this area, he made a fortified mansion, surrounded by the houses of his relatives and retainers and eventually by the residences of merchants and craftsmen and Buddhist temples. He offered refuge to people of culture or skills from Kyoto trying to escape the conflict of the Ōnin War, becoming an important cultural, military, and population center.

At the time of Asakura Takakage (1493-1548), the valley had a population of over 10,000 inhabitants. Yoshikage succeeded his father as the head of the Asakura clan and lord of Ichijōdani Castle in 1548.

The Asakura maintained good relations with the Ashikaga shogunate and thus eventually came into conflict with Oda Nobunaga. After Nobunaga captured Kyoto, Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiaki appointed Asakura Yoshikage as regent and requested help to expel Nobunaga from the capital.

As a result, Nobunaga launched an invasion of Echizen province. Due to Yoshikage’s lack of military skill, Nobunaga’s forces were successful in the siege of Kanegasaki and the subsequent battle of Anegawa in 1570, leaving the entire Asakura domain open to invasion.

Ichijodani was devastated by Nobunaga during the siege of Ichijodani Castle in 1573. Excavation of the ruins began in 1967 and continued in 2017, revealing the layout of the entire city, including the lord’s house, samurai residences, temples, merchant houses, artisan houses, and streets.

Samurai residences and merchant quarters have been restored along the 200-meter-long street. Four Japanese gardens have been unearthed and partially restored.

Approximately 1,700,000 relics have been found in the ruins, and of these, 2,343 are nationally designated as Important Cultural Properties, many of which are on display at the Ichijodani Asakura Family Site Museum.