Japan between 1573 and 1651 underwent massive political and social transformation. The warlord Oda Nobunaga began the process of reunifying the archipelago after nearly a century of civil war, a process that was completed by his junior ally Toyotomi Hideyoshi. More conflict, both domestic and international, led to a third warlord, Tokugawa Ieyasu, positioning himself and his family as the new dynasty of military leaders who ruled a thoroughly pacified Japan beginning in 1603. His son, the second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, and grandson, the third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, successively overcame diverse barriers to Tokugawa hegemony and incrementally established the early modern system that is often anachronistically assumed to have begun with Ieyasu. Their emphasis on pageantry, political immobility, strict control of borders, persecution of independent religion, and the constant threat of violence defined Tokugawa rule and allowed a fragile peace to persist until the mid-nineteenth century.

This chapter lays out the vibrant social networks and rich cultural activities of the elite residents of Ichijōdani, pushing back against the derivative claim that provincial capitals were mere “Little Kyotos.”

The prologue provides an introduction to the history of Ichijōdani, as well as an overview of the three primary methodological interventions of the book. It reviews the scholarly literature on medieval urban life in Japan and explains this study’s distinctive contributions. The chapter also provides details on the theoretical literature in material culture studies and their articulations in this book. The Prologue ends with a discussion of ruins and the emphasis this study places on the violent destruction of Ichijōdani as a central and defining feature of the site.

This chapter examines the chain of events that led to the utter ruination of Ichijōdani in 1573, arguing that the Asakura were not mere roadblocks to the glorious process of unification, but central political actors exploring an alternative vision of prosperous, provincial rule. Their decimation at the command of Oda Nobunaga, part of larger campaign of genocidal violence, meant more than the elimination of a warlord family or even a provincial city. A “small universe” of meaningful lives, unique spaces, and powerful creations that is key to understanding the rich diversity of medieval Japan was, in that act of destruction, erased.

The Epilogue moves from the museumification of Ichijōdani as a prefectural heritage site to the display of medieval urban archaeological materials in general. The excavation, analysis, and display of material culture from Ichijōdani provides us with an opportunity to rethink how we tell the story of medieval Japan and its relationship to modern history, particularly around issues of war, community, and national identity.

This chapter digs into the stuff of the city, examining the range of objects excavated from homes, garbage pits, moats, and even toilets to try to imagine the rhythms and character of daily life for the residents of Ichijōdani.

This chapter examines the layout of the city, its neighborhoods, its interior and exterior, and its relationship to the natural environment that framed and constrained its growth. The chapter also provides an overview of the layout of the Asakura palace, the key neighborhoods, the doctor's residence, and the active neighborhoods found outside the city gates that help us to understand the larger hybrid function of the city.

This chapter traces the rise of the Asakura clan from mid-ranking warriors to warlords of the province of Echizen, and the emergence of Ichijōdani as the thriving capital of the region for a century. It considers the construction of a palatial residence near a fortified castle, and the resulting growth of a city around this pairing, as one of many forms of elite warrior politics in late medieval Japan

This chapter explores the excavated evidence of religious institutions and diverse faith-based practices across the city, revealing a bare and unvarnished set of concerns and habits focused on the commemoration of death and ritual use of objects.