Hiroshima Castle

Hiroshima, Japan, Japan

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The Ichijōdani Asakura Clan Ruins are the remains of a large medieval castle town in Kidonouchi, Fukui City, that once served as the political and cultural center of the Asakura family, who ruled the province of Echizen for 103 years from 1471 to 1573.

At its height, the town was home to more than 10,000 people and functioned as a major residence for samurai, merchants, and craftsmen, with samurai houses, temples, shops, and streets laid out along a central road in a way that has been described as a “northern Kyoto”. The Asakura stronghold was completely burned and destroyed by the army of Oda Nobunaga in 1573, after which the town was abandoned and gradually buried under soil, remaining undisturbed for nearly four centuries.

Archaeological work beginning in 1967 revealed an unusually intact and well-preserved townscape, including stone-paved courtyards, drained streets, foundations of buildings, and more than 1.7 million artifacts, of which over 2,300 are designated as Important Cultural Properties. The site is now one of the largest castle town ruins in Japan and holds three national designations: Special Historic Site, Special Place of Scenic Beauty, and Important Cultural Property, and it was also recognized as a Japan Heritage Site in 2019.

Visitors can walk through partially reconstructed areas with restored houses that are open to the public, some furnished with mannequins showing daily life, while the nearby Ichijodani Asakura Family Site Museum displays a large model of the town, original structures, and excavated objects to help explain the layout and history of the Warring States-era castle town.