Who first built this castle and when are completely unknown. One theory states that it may have been built by Shiba Yoshishige between 1394 and 1427. Other theories say that it was built later around 1478.
Oda Nobunaga, in his efforts to unite all of Owari (Nagoya and vicinity), killed Oda Nobutomo from a rival faction of the same Oda family in 1555 and took Kiyosu-jo by force. Nobunaga completed the unification of Owari with the capture of Iwakura-jo in 1559. Nobunaga remained in Kiyosu-jo until he moved to Komaki-jo in 1563. Tokugawa's ninth son Yoshinao was the last occupant of Kiyosu-jo. It was torn down in 1610 after Yoshinao moved to the newly completed Nagoya-jo.
Many interesting stories surround the history of Kiyosu-jo. Once Oda Nobunaga pardoned his younger brother Nobuyuki for acts of treason. Nobuyuki did not learn his lesson and again Nobunaga discovered his treasonous activities. This time Nobunaga feigned illness and when his brother came to visit him Nobunaga had him executed.
Another story involves Nobunaga's successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Once a 180 meter section of a moat around the castle collapsed. Hideyoshi divided the collapsed section into 10 parts and offered a reward to the team that finished rebuilding their section first. The collapsed moat was rebuilt in less than a day. It is said that this incident is what made Nobunaga first take notice of the abilities in his lieutenant, Hideyoshi.
Kiyosu-jo has always been a little special for me. When I lived in Nagoya I lived just a short walk from this castle. I went to the festival held here and often took walks around the castle area. It is also a rather aesthetically pleasing reconstructed castle. You can also see it frm the Shinkansen on the way into Nagoya.
|English Name||Kiyosu Castle|
|Castle Condition||Reconstructed main keep|
|Historical Period||Pre Edo Period|
|Main Keep Structure||3 levels, 4 stories|
|Year Reconstructed||1989 (concrete)|
|Features||main keep, gates, bridges, stone walls, walls|
|Access||Kiyosu Station (Tokaido Honsen) or Shin Kiyosu Station (Meitetsu Nagoya Honsen), walk 15 minutes.|
|Location||Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture|
|Coordinates||35° 12' 59.58" N, 136° 50' 36.64" E|
|Added to Jcastle||1999|
|Admin Year Visited||1995|
|Admin Visits||several times in 1995-1996|
|Friends of JCastle|
|Malcolm Fairman Photography - Kiyosu Castle|
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