Kiyosu Castle

Kiyosu Castle (清洲城, Kiyosu-jō) is a Japanese castle located in Kiyosu, western Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is noted for its association with the rise to power of the Sengoku period warlord Oda Nobunaga. The kanji in the name of the castle was written as 清須城. The current partial reconstruction dates to 1989 and was built as a centennial celebration for the modern-day city of Kiyosu.

Kiyosu Castle was built between 1394 and 1427, to guard the strategic junction of the Ise Kaidō with the Nakasendō highways connecting Kyoto with Kamakura. The area was dominated by Shiba Yoshishige, then head of the Shiba clan and the shugo (governor) of Owari, Echizen and Tōtōmi Provinces.

Upon completion of construction, Oda Toshisada was installed in the castle as the shugodai (vice-governor of the province). It is thought to have been intended as a defensive stronghold meant to protect Orizu Castle, the seat of Owari's provincial government until its destruction during battle in 1478 during a civil war between various factions of the Oda clan. After the loss of Orizu Castle, Oda Nobuhide shifted his seat to Kiyosu, bringing prosperity to the city, from which he ruled the four counties of lower Owari Province.

After Nobuhide died in 1551, his son Oda Nobunaga was initially unable to assume control of the entire clan. Nobuhide’s younger brother Oda Nobutomo, with the support of Shiba Yoshimune, took over Kiyosu Castle in 1553. After Yoshimune revealed to Nobunaga an assassination plot in 1554, Nobutomo had Yoshimune put to death. The next year, Nobunaga retook Kiyosu Castle and captured his uncle, forcing him to commit suicide not long after. Nobunaga also had his younger brother, Oda Nobuyuki assassinated at Kiyosu Castle’s donjon in 1557. Nobunaga sealed his alliance with Tokugawa Ieyasu during treaty negotiations held at Kiyosu Castle in 1562. Nobunaga relocated from Kiyosu to Iwakura Castle in 1563.

After Nobunaga's death, Toyotomi Hideyoshi assembled his retainers at Kiyosu Castle and proclaimed his regency over Nobunaga’s infant grandson, Oda Hidenobu. Kiyosu Castle itself came under the control of Nobunaga’s second son, Oda Nobukatsu, who began large scale renovations in 1586, which included a double ring of moats, as well as a large and a small donjon It was remodeled by expanding the castle grounds to roughly 1.6 km east to west and 2.8 km north to south.

Text adapted from “Kiyosu Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Kiyosu Castle ranks #597 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #29 of the 297 mapped in Japan. Founded 1394, it is older than 55% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 582 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 12,036 times in the last 60 days, more than 94% of the atlas. 10 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Nagoya, 7 km away. See how Japan compares in the castle statistics.

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