Japan Heritage story
Echizen-Fukui: 400 years of towns built in stone
400年の歴史の扉を開ける旅
In Echizen, today's Fukui, towns were built with stone for 400 years: the giant gate walls of the Sengoku-era city of Ichijodani, the mossy stone paths of Heisenji, and a blue-green local stone that colours Fukui's castle walls and streets after rain.
Key facts
- Theme
- Castles, Sea and waterside, Mines and minerals
- Era
- Muromachi
- Region
- Chubu
- Official name in Japanese
- 400年の歴史の扉を開ける旅
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- 〜石から読み解く中世・近世のまちづくり 越前・福井〜
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 福井県（福井市、勝山市）
The story
In the Sengoku period the Asakura clan built Ichijodani in a narrow valley south-east of today's Fukui City. About 10,000 people lived in its planned streets of samurai houses, shops and temples. At the Shimo-kido gate, giant stones are still piled 5 m high, and the town's stone river walls, wells and countless foundation stones show how much stone it took. These stone skills are thought to have fed into later castle building.
Later, Fukui's castle town was built with Shakudani stone from Mt Asuwa, a stone that legend says Emperor Keitai found about 1,500 years ago and that turns a vivid blue-green when wet. Fukui Castle's walls are made of about 40,000 small blocks of it. On sunny days it shines like a gem, and on rainy days the whole town seems wrapped in a pale blue-green veil.
What to see
- Ichijodani Asakura ruins: the Sengoku-era town with its giant stone gate and rebuilt streets.Google Maps 一乗谷朝倉氏遺跡 (opens in a new tab)
- Heisenji Hakusan Shrine: a mossy stone approach and great stone walls in Katsuyama.Google Maps 平泉寺白山神社 (opens in a new tab)
- Fukui Castle site: walls built only of small blue-green Shakudani stones.Google Maps 福井城址 (opens in a new tab)
- Yokokan Garden: a lord's garden using columnar rocks from the Echizen coast and fine stones from across Fukui.Google Maps 養浩館庭園 (opens in a new tab)
- Daianji: the Matsudaira mausoleum paved with 1,360 slabs of Shakudani stone.Google Maps 大安禅寺 福井市 (opens in a new tab)
Plan your trip with the Fukui prefecture guide and see more castles.
Good to know
- Visit on a rainy day to see Shakudani stone turn blue-green.
- Look for stone Buddhas around Ichijodani: few places in Japan have so many from the Sengoku period.
- Notice the guardian lion-dogs at Fukui shrines, each with its own hairstyle and tail.
Questions travellers ask
What is Shakudani stone?
A soft stone quarried from Mt Asuwa in Fukui that turns bright blue-green when wet. It was used for Fukui Castle's walls and much of the town.
What is Ichijodani?
The Sengoku-era town of the Asakura clan in a valley near Fukui, home to about 10,000 people, with stone walls and foundations still in place.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.