is the

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

Fukui Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 737,229 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,190 Square kilometre, km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture border ...

, Japan. , the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 255,332 in 107,553 households. Its total area is and its

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is about 476 persons per km². Most of the population lives in a small central area; the city limits include rural plains, mountainous areas, and suburban sprawl along the Route 8 bypass. After suffering devastation during World War 2 and an earthquake in 1948, Fukui was nicknamed 'Phoenix City', symbolising its rebirth from ashes and destruction.

Overview

Cityscape

File:Fukui Station Hokuriku 2018.09.28.jpg, Fukui Station (2018) File:Fukui Castle Ruins-daimyomachi station.jpg,

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

of Fukui City (2018) File:Fukui city aerial 03.jpg, Fukui City Aerial (2014) File:Tsukumo bridge.jpg,

Skyline A skyline is the wikt:outline, outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural area, rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the ...

of Fukui City (2013)

Geography

Fukui is located on the coastal plain in the north-central part of the prefecture. It is bordered by 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 ...

to the west and the

Ryōhaku Mountains The are a mountain range spanning Gifu, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui and Shiga prefectures in Japan. It is divided into the Kaetsu Mountains (加越山地 ''Kaetsu Sanchi''), whose major peak is Mount Haku, and the Etsumi Mountains (越美山地 '' ...

to the east. The

Kuzuryū River The is a river flowing through Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It has its source at the Aburasaka Pass (油坂峠 ''Aburasaka-tōge'') in the city of Ōno and empties into the Sea of Japan near the city of Sakai. River system Some of the main rivers ...

flows through the city.

Climate

Fukui has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa'') with hot, humid summers and cool winters. Precipitation is high throughout the year, and is especially heavy in December and January.

Neighbouring municipalities

;

* Echizen (town) * Eiheiji * Ikeda * Katsuyama * Ōno * Sabae *

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its '' kofun'', keyhole-shaped burial mounds dating from the fifth century. The ''kofun ...

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Fukui has remained relatively steady over the past 40 years.

History

Origins

Fukui originally consisted of the old provinces of Wakasa and Echizen, before the prefecture was formed in 1871. During the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of the region was surnamed Matsudaira, and was a descendant of

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

Sengoku period

In 1471, Asakura had displaced the

Shiba clan was a Japanese clan.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)("Shiba," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 54 DF 58 of 80/nowiki> retrieved 2013-05-03. History ...

as the ''

shugo , commonly translated as ' ilitarygovernor', 'protector', or 'constable', was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The position gave way to th ...

'' military commander of

Echizen Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga Province, Kaga, Wakasa Province, Wakasa, Hida Province, Hida, and Ōmi Provin ...

. The same year, Asakura Toshikage (1428–1481) fortified the Ichijōdani by constructing hilltop fortifications on the surrounding mountains and constructing walls and gates to seal off the northern and southern end of the valley. Within this area, he contracted a fortified mansion, surrounded by the homes of his relatives and retainers, and eventually by the residences of merchants and artisans, and Buddhist temples. He offered refuge to people of culture or skills from Kyoto attempting to escape the conflict of the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. ''Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era name, Japanese era during which the war started; the war ende ...

, and the Ichijōdani became a major cultural, military, and population center, and by the time of Asakura Takakage (1493–1548) it had a peak population of over 10,000 inhabitants. Yoshikage succeeded his father as head of the Asakura clan and castle lord of Ichijōdani Castle in 1548. The Asakura maintained good relations with the Ashikaga shogunate, and thus eventually came into conflict with

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

. Following Nobunaga's capture of

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

Ashikaga Yoshiaki "Ashikaga Yoshiaki" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the 15th and final ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate in Japan who reigned from 1568 to 1573 when he ...

appointed Asakura Yoshikage as regent and requested aid in driving Nobunaga out of the capital. As a result, Nobunaga launched an invasion of

. Due to Yoshikage's lack of military skill, Nobunaga's forces were successful at the Siege of Kanegasaki and subsequent Battle of Anegawa in 1570, leaving the entire Asakura Domain open to invasion. Ichijōdani was razed to the ground by Nobunaga during the 1573 Siege of Ichijōdani Castle.

Kitanosho Castle was a ''hirashiro'' (castle located on flatland). Its remains are located in current-day Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainl ...

is known, though that it was built by

Shibata Katsuie or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He was retainer of Oda Nobuhide. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought ...

in 1575. Also, it appears that the ''

tenshu is an architectural typology found in Japanese castle, Japanese castle complexes. They are easily identifiable as the highest tower within the castle. Common translations of ''tenshu'' include keep, main keep, or ''donjon''. ''Tenshu'' are cha ...

'' (keep) was nine stories high, making it the largest of the time. File:Asakura Yoshikage2.jpg, Asakura Yoshikage File:Asakura Yakata of Ichijodani Asakura Family Historic Ruins02s3s4440.jpg, Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins File:Shibata katsuie.png,

File:Shibata jinja.jpeg,

（Sibata Jinja）

Edo period

Castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

and centre of

Fukui Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003). The ...

during the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. Fukui Domain played a key role in the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. The modern city of Fukui was founded with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. File:Yuki Hideyasu.jpg,

Yūki Hideyasu was a Japanese samurai who lived during the Azuchi–Momoyama period, Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods. He was the ''daimyō'' of Fukui Domain in Echizen Province, Echizen. Early life Hideyasu was born as in 1574, the second son of To ...

File:Fukui Castle02bs3200.jpg, Fukui Castle

Meiji, Taisho, and Showa periods

During the pre-war period, Fukui grew to become an important industrial and railroad centre. Factories in the area produced aircraft parts, electrical equipment, machine motors, various metal products, and textiles. Fukui was largely destroyed on June 19, 1945 during the

Bombing of Fukui during World War II The on July 19, 1945, was part of the strategic bombing air raids on Japan campaign waged by the United States against military and civilian targets and population centers during the Japan campaign, Japan home islands campaign in the closing sta ...

. Of the city's at the time, 84.8% of Fukui was destroyed, per the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

's Strategic Bombing Survey. File:Fukui District Court01b3200.jpg, Fukui District Court File:Fukui-shi suido-kinenkan03n4592.jpg, Fukui City Water Service Memorial File:Fukui Prefectural Office in 1950s.JPG, Fukui Prefectural Office Building (1923)

Modern Fukui

Fukui was again devastated by a major earthquake in 1948. On February 1, 2006, the town of Miyama (from Asuwa District), the town of Shimizu, and the village of Koshino (both from Nyū District) were merged into Fukui. Fukui's city status was designated a

core city In urban planning, a historic core city or central city is the municipality with the largest 1940 population in the present metropolitan area (metropolitan statistical area). This term was retired by the US census bureau and replaced by the term ...

on April 1, 2019.

Government

Fukui has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city legislature of 32 members. The city also contributes 12 members to the Fukui Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, Fukui forms part of Fukui 1st district, a single-member constituency of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in the national

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

International relations

Sister cities

International

Fukui is twinned with: ;Sister cities ;Friendship cities

National

;Sister cities ;Friendship cities ;Partnership cities

Economy

Fisheries Cooperative Association of Fukui city

The economy of Fukui is mixed. The city is a regional commercial and finance centre; however, manufacturing, agriculture and commercial fishing also are contributors to the local economy.

Primary sector of the economy

Agriculture

;

Japan Agricultural Cooperatives , also known as or JA Group, refers to the national group of 694 regional co-ops in Japan that supply members with input for production, undertake packaging, transportation, and marketing of agricultural products, and provide financial services. A ...

(JA) *Fukui Prefecture Agricultural Cooperatives (JA FukuiPrefecture)

Fishing industry

; Japan Fisheries cooperative (JF) *FukuiCity Fisheries cooperative (JF FukuiCity)

Secondary sector of industry

Manufacturing industry

Fukui is home to several companies, including: *

Kumagai Gumi is a Japanese construction company founded in Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The company still has registered headquarters in Fukui, but the actual head office is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. History Santaro Kumagai, the company's founder, be ...

, a large general construction company, was founded and has its registered head office in the city. * Matsuura Machinery, an international heavy machinery manufacturing company *Morinaga Hokuriku Dairy, a dairy products subsidiary of

Morinaga Milk Industry is a milk products and sweets company based in Tokyo, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and e ...

Tertiary sector of industry

Service industry

Emori Shoji
a trading house with strong ties to China * Keifuku Bus

Education

Universities and colleges

* Fukui College of Health Sciences *

Fukui Prefectural University is a public prefectural university founded in 1992 in Eiheiji, Fukui, Eiheiji, Yoshida District, Fukui, Yoshida District, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It has undergraduate faculties in economics, biotechnology, marine bioscience, and nursing and so ...

* Fukui University of Technology * Jin-ai Women's College * University of Fukui

Secondary schools

*Asuwa Senior High School * Fujishima Senior High School *Fukui Commercial Senior High School *Fukui Minami Senior High School *Fukui Norin Senior High School *Fukui University of Technology - Fukui Senior High School *Hokuriku Senior High School *Jin-ai Girl's Senior High School *Kagaku-Gijutsu Senior High School *Keishin Senior High School * Koshi Senior High School *Michimori Senior High School *Usui Senior High School

Other schools

* Fukui Prefectural School for the Blind *

Fukui Prefectural School for the Deaf is a school for the deaf located in Fukui, Fukui, Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The school educates children in regular school subjects from infant, infant age through high school. External linksFukui Prefectural School for the Deaf
Bu ...

*A North Korean school: Hokuriku Korean Elementary and Junior High School ( 北陸朝鮮初中級学校).

Transport

Railways

High-speed rail

; West Japan Railway Company (JR West) Shinkansen service began on 16 March 2024, when the route was extended from Kanazawa in Ishikawa, north of Fukui Prefecture, to Tsuruga in the south of Fukui. *

Hokuriku Shinkansen The Hokuriku Shinkansen () is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo with Tsuruga, Fukui, Tsuruga in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It is jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR ...

Conventional lines

; West Japan Railway Company (JR West) * Etsumi-Hoku Line (Kuzuryū Line): - - - - - - - - - - - ; Fukutetsu Logomark

Fukui Railway * Fukubu Line: - - - - - - - - - - - - - ; Echitetsu Logomark

Echizen Railway * Mikuni Awara: - - - - - - - - - - - ''Jin'ai Ground-Mae'' - * Katsuyama Eiheiji Line: - - - - - - - Hapi Line Fukui Service on the third-sector line formerly belonging to JR West began operations on 16 March 2024 when the Hokuriku Shinkansen was extended to Tsuruga. * Ōdoro - Echizen-Hanandō - Fukui - Morita

Roads

Expressways

Hokuriku Expressway The , (abbreviated as , is a 4-laned national Expressways of Japan, expressway in Japan. It is owned and managed by East Nippon Expressway Company and Central Nippon Expressway Company. Overview The first section was opened in 1972 by Japan ...

Japan National Route

* * * * *

Seaways

Sea Port

*Port of Takasu

Visitor attractions

Asakura Yakata of Ichijodani Asakura Family Historic Ruins09n4592

* Asuwa River * Fukui International Activities Plaza * Harmony Hall Fukui * Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins, one of the most important cultural heritage sites in Japan * Fukui Castle * Fukui Fine Arts Museum *

Peace Pagoda A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa: a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most, though not all, peace pagodas built since World War II ...

, the second of its kind in the world, inaugurated in 1959 * Yōkōkan Garden * " Yoroppaken", creator of Fukui's trademark dish, File:Youkoukan03s4592.jpg, Yōkōkan Garden File:Youkoukanteien.jpg, The Yōkōkan Kantei File:Fukui Castle04bs4592.jpg, Fukui Castle File:Fukui District Court01b3200.jpg, Fukui District Court File:Fukui International Activities Plaza03b3200.jpg, Fukui International Activities Plaza File:Harmony Hall Fukui.JPG, Harmony Hall Fukui File:Koshino beach.jpg, Koshino beach

Culture

Sports

Baseball

* Fukui Wild Raptors ( BC.League)

Handball

*Hokuriku Electric Power Company Blue Thunder ( JHL)

Soccer

* Fukui United FC (

Hokushinetsu Football League is a soocer league based in five prefectures in the Hokushinetsu region, which comprises Hokuriku and Shin'etsu in Japan. They are ( Nagano, Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui). It is a league of club teams registered in Class 1. Its nam ...

) File:FUKUI"fenikkususutajiamu".JPG, Fukui Phoenix Stadium File:Fukui Prefectural Gymnasium 20110617121141.jpg, Fukui Prefectural Gymnasium File:Technoport Fukui 20140504.JPG, Technoport Fukui Stadium File:2018年夏の福井県営陸上競技場.jpg, Fukui Prefectural sports Park (9.98 Stadium) File:Fukui-keirin-2.jpg, Fukui Velodrome

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in Fukui Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan