Ancient and classical Wakasa Wakasa existed as a political entity before the
Ritsuryō system and the implementation of the
Taihō Code of the
Nara period. Wooden shipping tags labelled "Wakasa" have been found in the ruins of
Fujiwara-kyō. 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
Ritsuryō provincial system around 701 AD, and initially consisted of the two
districts of
Onyū and
Mikata. In 825 AD,
Ōi was separated from Onyū. 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 . 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 Due to its location and strategic importance, during the
Kamakura period, the position of
shugo of Wakasa Province was retained directly by the
Hōjō 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
Kyōgoku Takatsugu, as
daimyō of the 92,000
koku Obama Domain. Kyōgoku Takatsugu began the construction of
Obama Castle and rebuilt the ancient port town as a
jōkamachi and a centre for the
kitamaebune coastal trade network. The
Kyōgoku clan were transferred to
Izumo Province in 1634 and were replaced by
Sakai Tadakatsu, an important retainer of the shogunate, who had served as
Tairō under
shōgun 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 During the
Bakumatsu period, Obama Domain initially supported the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1865, the domain executed
Mito rebellion leader
Takeda Kōunsai 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
Nanjō 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 region of modern Fukui. ==Historical districts==