Fukui Prefecture

The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded animals such As Fukuiraptor, Fukuisaurus, Nipponosaurus, Koshisaurus, Fukuivenator, Fukuititan, and Tambatitanis,'' as well as an unnamed dromaeosaurid.

{{See also|Historic Sites of Fukui Prefecture}}

Fukui originally consisted of the old provinces of Wakasa and Echizen, before the prefecture was formed in 1871.Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" in {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC|Japan Encyclopedia, p. 780|page=780}}.

During the Edo period, the daimyō of the region was surnamed Matsudaira, and was a descendant of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

During World War II, Fukui was heavily bombed and its palace, Fukui Castle, surrounded by a moat, was demolished. Buildings for the Fukui Prefectural government were built on the site of the castle.

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Fukui faces the Sea of Japan, and has a western part (formerly Wakasa) which is a narrow plain between the mountains and the sea, and a larger eastern part (formerly Echizen) with wider plains including the capital and most of the population. The province lies within Japan's "Snow country".

File:Map of Fukui Prefecture Ja.svg

File:Japan Tojinbo02n4592.jpg, Sakai, Fukui]]

File:Row of sakura, Asuwa River, Fukui.jpg, Fukui, Fukui]]

File:Asakura Yakata of Ichijodani Asakura Family Historic Ruins02s3s4440.jpg]]

File:Myotsuji and pagoda.jpg, Obama, Fukui]]

File:Keep of Maruoka Castle 3.jpg, Sakai, Fukui]]

File:Fukui city aerial 03.jpg

File:Katsuyama basin.jpg

As of 31 March 2008, 15% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Hakusan National Park; Echizen-Kaga Kaigan and Wakasa Wan Quasi-National Parks; and Okuetsu Kōgen Prefectural Natural Park.{{cite web |url=http://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/doc/files/np_6.pdf |title=General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture |publisher=Ministry of the Environment |access-date=4 February 2012}}

{{See also|List of cities in Fukui Prefecture by population}}

Nine cities are located in Fukui Prefecture:

These are the towns in each district:

{{main|List of mergers in Fukui Prefecture}}

• Sabae is known for producing 90% of Japan's domestically-made glasses.
• There are several nuclear power plants located along Wakasa Bay in Tsuruga which supply power to the Keihanshin metropolitan region. Fukui has 14 reactors, the most of any prefecture.Fujioka, Chisa. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nuclear-debate-idUSTRE73719020110408 "Japan anti-nuclear movement gains traction as crisis drags on".] [https://www.reuters.com/ Reuters.] 2011-04-08. Retrieved 2014-02-07.

File:Fukui prefecture population pyramid in 2020.svg

{{historical populations|19=1920|20=599,155|21=1925|22=597,899|23=1930|24=618,144|25=1935|26=646,659|27=1940|28=643,904|29=1945|30=724,856|31=1950|32=752,374|33=1955|34=754,055|35=1960|36=752,696|37=1965|38=750,557|39=1970|40=744,230|41=1975|42=773,599|43=1980|44=794,354|45=1985|46=817,633|47=1990|48=823,585|49=1995|50=826,996|51=2000|52=828,944|53=2005|54=821,592|55=2010|56=806,314|57=2015|58=786,740|59=2020|60=766,863|percentages=pagr|source=Censuses{{Cite web|url=https://www.stat.go.jp/english/index.html|title=Statistics Bureau Home Page|website=www.stat.go.jp}}}}Fukui is one of the less populated prefectures of Japan; in September 2015 there were an estimated 785,508 people living in 281,394 households.{{cite web|url=http://www.pref.fukui.lg.jp/doc/toukei-jouhou/zinnkou/jinkou.html |title=福井県の推計人口 |trans-title=Fukui Prefecture Population Estimate |language=ja |publisher=Fukui Prefectural Government |date=1 October 2015 |access-date=27 October 2015}} As seen in most of Japan, Fukui is facing the problem of both an aging and decreasing population; 28.6% of the population was over the age of 65 in July 2015 and the population has decreased by 2.6% from the 806,000 measured in the October 2010 national census.{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.go.jp/data/kokusei/2010/final/pdf/01-02.pdf |title=第２章 人口の地域分布 |trans-title=Regional distribution of population |language=ja |access-date=27 October 2015}}

• Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins is one of the most important cultural heritage sites in Japan.
• Eihei-ji is a temple offering training and education to Buddhist monks. Founded by Dogen Zenji in 1244, Eiheiji is located on a plot of land covering about 33 hectares.
• Myōtsū-ji's Three-storied Pagoda and Main Hall are National Treasures of Japan.
• Fukui is home to Maruoka Castle, the oldest standing castle in Japan. It was built in 1576.
• Residents of Fukui Prefecture have a distinctive accent, Fukui-ben.
• Fukui has long been a center for papermaking in Japan (along with Kyoto). Its Echizen Papermaking Cooperative is a world-famous collection of papermakers making paper in the traditional Echizen style.
• Fukui is also renowned for its clean water and crops, which result in sake, rice, and soba noodles. [https://www.tsunagujapan.com] Japanese Echizen soba: what it is & where to eat it
• In August 2010 Fukui launched its own dating website entitled Fukui Marriage-Hunting Café in hopes of helping the declining population growth of Japan increase. Couples who meet in the site and continue on to marry receive monetary aid from the government as well as gifts.{{cite book|last1=Ansari|first1=Aziz|last2=Klinenberg|first2=Eric|title=Modern Romance|isbn=978-1594206276|pages=155|year=2015|publisher=Penguin }}

• {{flagicon|Finland}} Vihti, Finland
• {{flagicon|Germany}} Winsen (Luhe), Germany

• Fukui University
• Fukui University of Technology
• Fukui Prefectural University
• Jin-ai University

File:Hokuriku Shinkansen 2024 Map.jpg

• Echizen Railway
• Katsuyama-Eiheiji Line
• Mikuni-Awara Line
• Fukui Railway
• Fukubu Line
• Hokuriku Shinkansen (from March, 2024)
• JR West
• Hokuriku Line
• Kuzuryu Line
• Obama Line
• Hapi-Line Fukui Line

• Chubu Jukan Expressway
• Hokuriku Expressway
• Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway
• Mikata Lake Rainbow Road
• Mount Hoonji Toll Road

• Route 8
• Route 27
• Route 157
• Route 158
• Route 161
• Route 162
• Route 303
• Route 305
• Route 364
• Route 365
• Route 367
• Route 416
• Route 417
• Route 418
• Route 476

• Fukui Port
• Tsuruga Port - Ferry route to Niigata, Akita, Tomakomai, Otaru and International container hub

File:Tsuruga port10s3872.jpg

File:Mikuni festival 2022.jpg

File:アロサウルスの骨格化石.jpg

• Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins
• Eihei-ji Temple
• Echizen Ono Castle
• Maruoka Castle
• Tōjinbō, a scenic piece of coastline, which is also a notorious spot for suicide.
• Echizen crabs are a local delicacy available year-round, though the crabbing season is during the winter.
• Another traditional sea-side Fukui dish is genge, a small guppy-like fish that when eaten raw as sashimi, gives the body a brief tingling sensation.
• Awara is a famous onsen in the north of the prefecture.
• Takefu Chrysanthemum Character Doll Exhibition, held in Takefu Central Park every October to November, first held in 1952.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-27 |title=The Takefu Kiku Ningyo Festival: one of the three best chrysanthemum doll festivals in Japan {{!}} Fukui Album |url=https://taru-fukui-album.com/the-takefu-kiku-ningyo-festival-one-of-the-three-best-chrysanthemum-doll-festivals-in-japan/ |access-date=2024-10-24 |language=en-US}}
• Mikuni Festival, a combined portable shrine and floats traditional festival during May every year, first held in 1697.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}
• Many dinosaur fossils have been excavated in Fukui and they can be seen at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum in Katsuyama.

{{Reflist}}

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC Japan encyclopedia.] Cambridge: Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01753-5}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58053128?referer=di&ht=edition OCLC 58053128]

{{Wikivoyage|Fukui (prefecture)}}

{{Commons category|Fukui prefecture}}

• {{in lang|ja}} [https://www.pref.fukui.lg.jp/ Official Fukui Prefecture homepage]
• {{in lang|en}} [https://enjoy.pref.fukui.lg.jp/en/ Enjoy Fukui] - Official Fukui Prefecture tourism website
• [http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/crafts/1004/f1004.html Echizen Papermaking Cooperative] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927152657/http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/crafts/1004/f1004.html |date=2021-09-27 }}

{{Fukui}}

{{Regions and administrative divisions of Japan}}

{{Coord|35|59|N|136|11|E|scale:500000|display=title}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Chūbu region

Category:Prefectures of Japan

Category:Hokuriku region