Nishio Castle

It is located in Nishio, eastern Aichi Prefecture. At the end of the Edo period, Nishio Castle was home to the Ogyu Matsudaira, Japanese feudal lord of Nishio Domain. 

The castle dates to the Kamakura period with a fortification called Saijo- jō was built by Ashikaga Yoshiuji in around 1221. The territory came under the control of the Tokugawa clan in the Sengoku period, and by order of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Sakai Shigetada reconstucted the castle in 1585 with moats, stone walls, several watchtower, gates and a donjon.The castle was expanded further under Tanaka Yoshimasa, rulers of Sunpu Castle under Toyotomi Hideyoshi.


 

Following the establlishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, the castle became the headquarters of Nishio Domain, which changed hands many times during the Edo period. 

It was dismantled in 1872, following the Meiji Restoration. The current structures include a large watch tower and gate, reconstructed in 1996 to boost local tourism along with a local history museum.