The lost Japanese city of Ichijodani was once a thriving centre of samurai power, culture, trade and home to thousands of people during one of the most violent periods in the country’s history. From around 1471 to 1573, the narrow Ichijo Valley in central Japan was controlled by the powerful Asakura clan, whose rulers built a fortified castle town that eventually rivalled Kyoto in wealth and sophistication. The city disappeared after the armies of warlord Oda Nobunaga destroyed it by fire in 1573, burying its streets, homes and possessions beneath fields for centuries. Archaeologists rediscovered the remains in the 1960s, and more than 100 excavation campaigns have since discovered an extraordinary collection of buildings and objects. As described by Archaeology Magazine, the site offers an unusually detailed glimpse into everyday life in medieval Japan.
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