Maruoka Castle

Echizen Province (present-day Fukui Prefecture) has long been known as a major sword-producing region, and its history reaches back to Chiyozuru Kuniyasu of the Nanboku-chō period. Chiyozuru Kuniyasu is said to be a swordsmith who moved from Kyoto to Echizen-Fuchū and is regarded as the founder of Echizen uchihamono (forged cutlery). Afterward, many swordsmiths gathered in Echizen and mass-produced swords with a practical, sturdy style. Echizen blades were widely used in battles of the Sengoku period, and warlords valued them for their reliability in actual combat. The Echizen uchihamono tradition continues steadily in present-day Echizen City, which, as one of Japan's leading cutlery industry areas, produces a wide variety of blades including kitchen knives, sickles, and scissors. At the core of that craft lies the forging technique cultivated by Echizen swordsmiths. An essential figure in discussing Echizen's sword culture is Echizen Yasutsugu. The first Yasutsugu was summoned by Tokugawa Ieyasu on the recommendation of Yūki Hideyasu of Echizen, was granted the character 'Yasu,' and became an official swordsmith. As an official swordsmith to the shogunate, Yasutsugu was permitted to cut the hollyhock crest into the tang, and many of his copies carry the inscription of Honda Narishige, lord of Maruoka Castle, as their owner. Yasutsugu's swords, known by the nickname 'Aoi Shimosaka,' are highly regarded as masterpieces combining practicality and dignity. The Yasutsugu name was passed down through generations and continued until the end of the Bakumatsu period. Shibata Katsuie, the uncle of Shibata Katsutoyo who built Maruoka Castle, was the man who governed Echizen after the fall of the Asakura clan, and is directly connected to Echizen's martial history of the Sengoku period. At the Fukui Prefectural Ichijōdani Asakura Family Site Museum, visitors can see artifacts excavated from the Asakura clan's castle town, and visiting it together with the Echizen uchihamono Kaikan in Echizen City allows a comprehensive understanding of Echizen's sword culture. The culture of Echizen swords and cutlery is a rare tradition that has continued unbroken from the medieval period to the present, and its continuity shows the foundation of Japan's craftsmanship culture. The area around Maruoka Castle is also close to Fukui's representative sightseeing spots such as Tōjinbō and Eihei-ji, offering a Hokuriku-specific journey where you can experience castle, nature, and Zen culture together. After touching the spirit of Zen at Eihei-ji, standing in the plain keep of Maruoka Castle, one will likely come to feel how deeply Japan's bushidō and Zen are connected.