was a
province of Japan in the area that is today the southwestern portion of
Fukui Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, Gi ...
in the
Hokuriku region
The was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lay along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, which it is currently a part of. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern ...
of Japan.
[ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Wakasa''" in .] Wakasa bordered on
Echizen,
Ōmi,
Tanba,
Tango
Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...
, and
Yamashiro Provinces. It was part of
Hokurikudō
is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through the old Japanese geographical region.Nussbaum, "''Hokurikudō''" in Both were situated along the northwestern edge of Honshū. ...
Circuit. Its abbreviated form name was . Under the ''
Engishiki
The is a Japanese book about laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Engi-shiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 178.
History
In 905, Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of the ...
'' classification system, Wakasa was ranked as a "medium country" (中国) and a near country (近国) in terms of its importance and distance from the capital.
History
Ancient and classical Wakasa
Wakasa existed as a political entity before the ''
Ritsuryō
, , is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (律令制). ''Kyaku'' (格) are amendments of Ritsuryō, ''Shiki'' ( ...
'' system and the implementation of the
Taihō Code
The was an administrative reorganisation enacted in 703 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. It was historically one of the . It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito. Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...
of the
Nara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...
. Wooden shipping tags labelled "Wakasa" have been found in the ruins of
Fujiwara-kyō
was the Imperial capital of Japan for sixteen years, between 694 and 710. It was located in Yamato Province (present-day Kashihara, Nara, Kashihara in Nara Prefecture), having been moved from nearby Asuka, Yamato, Asuka. However, the name Fujiwa ...
. Per the ''
Nihon Shoki'', ancient Wakasa was governed by a
Kuni no miyatsuko , also read as "kokuzō" or "kunitsuko", were officials in ancient Japan at the time of the Yamato court.
Yamato period
Kuni no miyatsuko governed small territories (), although the location, names, and borders of the provinces remain unclear. Kun ...
, who was a descendant of
Amenohiboko, a semi-legendary prince of
Shilla, who settled in
Tajima province
was a province of Japan in the area of northern Hyōgo Prefecture. Tajima bordered on Tango and Tanba to the east, Harima to the south, and Inaba to the west. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō system, Tajimao was ...
during the reign of
Emperor Suinin
, also known as was the 11th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Less is known about ''Suinin'' than his father, and likewise he is also considered to be a "legendary emperor". Both the ''Kojiki'', and t ...
. There are archaeological indications that Wakasa was under control of the
Yamato state
The was a tribal alliance centered on the Yamato region (Nara Prefecture) from the 4th century to the 7th century, and ruled over the alliance of noble families in the central and western parts of the Japanese archipelago. The age is from th ...
from the mid-4th century. The province of Wakasa was formally established with the creation of the ''Ritsuryō'' provincial system around 701 AD, and initially consisted of the two
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of
Onyū and
Mikata. In 825 AD,
Ōi was separated from Onyū.
During the Nara and
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
s, Wakasa was an important source of sea products (salt, fish and ''
konbu
''Konbu'' (from ja, 昆布, konbu or kombu) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' ( ko, 다시마) or ''haidai'' ().
Kelp features in the diets of many ...
'') to the aristocracy of the capital, so much so that the province was nicknamed . Salt production was especially and important industry. Wakasa was also a strategically important province due to its seaport on the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
and was the closest ocean harbour to
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
.
The exact location of the
provincial capital
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the g ...
of Wakasa is unknown, but is believed to have been in what is now the city of
Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
. The
Wakasa Kokubun-ji and the ''
ichinomiya
is a Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth. ''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retrieved 2013-5-14.
The term gave rise t ...
'' of Wakasa, the
Wakasahiko Shrine are also located in Obama.
Medieval and pre-modern Wakasa
Due to its location and strategic importance, during the
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
, the position of ''
shugo
, commonly translated as “(military) governor,” “protector,” or “constable,” was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the ''shōgun'' to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The pos ...
'' of Wakasa Province was retained directly by the
Hōjō clan
The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this period ...
. After the start of the
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...
, the ''shugo'' of Wakasa was held by the
Shiba clan
was a Japanese clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 58 of 80">("Shiba," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 54 DF_58_of_80">("Shi_...
,_followed_by_the_Isshiki_clan.html" ;"title="DF 58 of 80/nowiki>">DF 58 of 80">("Shi ...
, followed by the Isshiki clan">DF 58 of 80/nowiki>">DF 58 of 80">("Shi ...