Jun/9/2021
Fukui is one of the prefectures in Japan.
What does Fukui mean in Japanese?
Fuku is written as 福, which means good fortune, good luck, and happiness, and i, which is written as 井, means a well, or a deep hole in the ground from which people take water. In other words, Fukui means a well of good fortune, good luck, and happiness.
Where did the name Fukui come from?
It was named by Matsudaira Tadamasa, a feudal lord from Fukui. The Fukui region was once called Kitanosho (北庄). However, the name included kita (北), which reminded people in Fukui of defeat (敗北) because it also contains the character for kita (北). For this reason, they thought Kitanosho was an unlucky name.
For this reason, the name was changed from Kitanosho to Fukui (福居), which means a place where there is good fortune or happiness, by Matsudaira Tadamasa in 1624.
Between the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Fukui (福居) was changed to 福井.
This is the interesting history behind the name of Fukui.
Today, Fukui is known as the happiest prefecture in Japan. A study by a Japanese think tank found that it’s been the happiest since 2014.
The feudal lord named this place Fukui with the wish that there’d be a lot of good fortune and happiness here. The lord’s dream came true because today it is the happiest prefecture in Japan!
（References）
「福井県の歴史散歩」（編：福井県の歴史散歩編集委員会）（山川出版社）
「福井「地理・地名・地図」の謎」（編：実業之日本社）（実業之日本社）
「福井県 謎解き散歩」（編：松原信之）（新人物往来社）