Echizen (越前国; -no kuni) was an old province of Japan, which is today the northern part of Fukui prefecture.
Echizen is famous for Washi (traditionally-produced paper). A text dated AD 774 mentions the washi made in this area. Echizen-produced Washi is still the most commonly sold traditional paper in Japan today. Echizen is also well known for its ceramics. It is one of the so called six old kiln sites of Japan (the others being Shigaraki , Bizen, Seto, Tamba, and Tokoname) and as such it is highly revered in the Japanese and international ceramics community.
The ancient capital is believed to have been near Takefu, but by the Sengoku period the province was divided among many fiefs and in the Edo period the daimyo maintained their seat at Fukui city.
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