Fukui Castle Ruins

Fukui Castle Ruins are the remains of a castle that once stood in Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture. After the Battle of Sekigahara, it was built by Yuki Hideyasu, Tokugawa Ieyasu’s second son. It was one of the shogunate’s large-scale "tenka-bushin" construction projects and is said to have had a four-tier keep about 37 meters tall. Multiple hidden entrances have also been found within the stone walls. Today, however, only portions of the stone walls and moat, along with the Oroka-bashi (covered corridor bridge), remain. Beneath the keep’s stone base is the site of a well called "Fuku no I"—considered the origin of the name Fukui. The Fukui Prefectural Government office now stands on the former castle grounds. Because you must cross the Oroka-bashi to reach the prefectural office, you can see the somewhat unusual scene of people heading to the government building via a bridge over the moat. There is also a local superstition that if you spot the single golden carp said to live in the moat when looking down from the Gohonjo-bashi, it will be a lucky day. In Chuo Park, display stones set in the lawn mark where the Nishi-ninomaru, Nishi-sannomaru, and moats once were. To get to Fukui Castle Ruins, it is about a 5-minute walk from Fukui Station.