Former province of Japan
Hiroshige
ukiyo-e
"Wakasa" in "The Famous Scenes of the Sixty States" (六十余州名所??), depicting fishing in Wakasa Bay
Wakasa Province
(
若??
,
Wakasa-no-kuni
)
was a
province of Japan
in the area that is today the southwestern portion of
Fukui Prefecture
in the
Hokuriku region
of Japan.
[1]
Wakasa bordered on
Echizen
,
?mi
,
Tanba
,
Tango
, and
Yamashiro
Provinces. It was part of
Hokurikud?
Circuit
. Its abbreviated form name was
Jakush?
(
若州
)
. Under the
Engishiki
classification system, Wakasa was ranked as a "medium country" (中?) and a near country (近?) in terms of its importance and distance from the capital.
History
[
edit
]
Ancient and classical Wakasa
[
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]
Wakasa existed as a political entity before the
Ritsury?
system and the implementation of the
Taih? Code
of the
Nara period
. Wooden shipping tags labelled "Wakasa" have been found in the ruins of
Fujiwara-ky?
. Per the
Nihon Shoki
, ancient Wakasa was governed by a
Kuni no miyatsuko
, who was a descendant of
Amenohiboko
, a semi-legendary prince of
Shilla
, who settled in
Tajima province
during the reign of
Emperor Suinin
. There are archaeological indications that Wakasa was under control of the
Yamato state
from the mid-4th century. The province of Wakasa was formally established with the creation of the
Ritsury?
provincial system around 701 AD, and initially consisted of the two
districts
of
Ony?
and
Mikata
. In 825 AD,
?i
was separated from Ony?.
During the Nara and
Heian periods
, Wakasa was an important source of sea products (salt, fish and
konbu
) to the aristocracy of the capital, so much so that the province was nicknamed
Miketsu Province
(
御食?
,
Miketsu-no-kuni
)
. Salt production was especially and important industry. Wakasa was also a strategically important province due to its seaport on the
Sea of Japan
and was the closest ocean harbour to
Kyoto
.
The exact location of the
provincial capital
of Wakasa is unknown, but is believed to have been in what is now the city of
Obama
. The
Wakasa Kokubun-ji
and the
ichinomiya
of Wakasa, the
Wakasahiko Shrine
are also located in Obama.
Medieval and pre-modern Wakasa
[
edit
]
Due to its location and strategic importance, during the
Kamakura period
, the position of
shugo
of Wakasa Province was retained directly by the
H?j? clan
. After the start of the
Muromachi period
, the
shugo
of Wakasa was held by the
Shiba clan
, followed by the
Isshiki clan
, and then by a cadet branch of the
Takeda clan
. During the
Sengoku period
, the Takeda clan were powerful supporters of the
Ashikaga shogunate
and their
kanrei
, the
Hosokawa clan
. However, when the Takeda clan erupted into a civil war over an internal succession dispute, the
Asakura clan
from neighbouring Echizen Province asserted control. The Asakura were in turn destroyed by
Oda Nobunaga
. The province was the briefly held by
Niwa Nagahide
, and under the rule of
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
by
Yamauchi Kazutoyo
.
Following the
Battle of Sekigahara
in 1600, the victorious
Tokugawa Ieyasu
assigned the province to
Ky?goku Takatsugu
, as
daimy?
of the 92,000
koku
Obama Domain
. Ky?goku Takatsugu began the construction of
Obama Castle
and rebuilt the ancient port town as a
j?kamachi
and a centre for the
kitamaebune
coastal trade network. The
Ky?goku clan
were transferred to
Izumo Province
in 1634 and were replaced by
Sakai Tadakatsu
, an important retainer of the shogunate, who had served as
Tair?
under
sh?gun
Tokugawa Iemitsu
and
Tokugawa Ietsuna
. The
Sakai clan
continued to rule Obama for fourteen generations over 237 years to the end of the Edo period.
Meiji period and beyond
[
edit
]
During the
Bakumatsu period
, Obama Domain initially supported the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1865, the domain executed
Mito rebellion
leader
Takeda K?unsai
and 353 of his followers and nominally participated in the
Battle of Toba?Fushimi
of the
Boshin War
. However, seeing that the shogunate was doomed,
Sakai Tadaaki
came out of retirement to seize control of the domain from his adopted son and defected to the imperial cause. Consequently, he was appointed imperial governor of Wakasa by the new
Meiji government
until the
abolition of the han system
in 1871.
At the end of 1871, Wakasa was joined by
Tsuruga District
,
Imadate District
and
Nanj? District
to form "Tsuruga Prefecture". In 1876, Tsuruga Prefecture was divided, with former Wakasa and Tsuruga District joining
Shiga Prefecture
. In 1881, these area were given to Fukui Prefecture, which then assumed its present borders. Due to geography and these political changes, the area of former Wakasa Province and Tsuruga District have a separate identity, and form the
Reinan
(
嶺南
)
region of modern Fukui.
Historical districts
[
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]
Wakasa Province consisted of three districts:
Bakumatsu period domains
[
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]
Notes
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Wakasa Province
at Wikimedia Commons