other · Korea and Japan

Fukui Domain

1601 CE – 1871 CE · capital Fukui

The Echizen domain of a senior Tokugawa branch, whose lord Matsudaira Shungaku was a leading reformer in the last years of the shogunate.

Origins

In 1601 Tokugawa Ieyasu gave Echizen, with 680,000 koku, to his second son Yuki Hideyasu, who rebuilt the former castle of Shibata Katsuie at Kitanosho; the town was later renamed Fukui. The family took the surname Matsudaira.

Rule and society

Hideyasu's son Matsudaira Tadanao was exiled in 1623 for misconduct, and the domain was cut in stages, falling to 250,000 koku in 1686 before being partly restored to 320,000. In the 19th century Matsudaira Yoshinaga, known as Shungaku, employed Hashimoto Sanai and Yokoi Shonan, promoted Western learning, medicine and trade, and in 1862 became the shogunate's director of political affairs, urging reform.

Decline and legacy

Shungaku worked for a peaceful transfer of power, and his retainer Yuri Kimimasa drafted the Charter Oath of 1868. After abolition in 1871 the domain became part of Fukui Prefecture.

Lineage

Fukui DomainEmpire of Japan 1868 CE – 1945 CE

Connections (1)

Fukui Domain was part of Tokugawa Shogunate1603 CE – 1867 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Fukui Domain. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/fukui-domain
MLA: “Fukui Domain.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/fukui-domain. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Fukui Domain.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/fukui-domain.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Fukui Domain’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/fukui-domain (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻