Kiyosu Castle

Kiyosu Castle 清洲城
Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Reconstructed Main Keep of Kiyosu Castle
Type	flatland-style Japanese castle
Site information
Owner	reconstructed 1989
Open to the public	yes
Site history
Built	1394-1407
Built by	Shiba Yoshishige
In use	Sengoku period
Demolished	1609

Kiyosu Castle (清洲城, Kiyosu-jō^?) is a Japanese castle located in Kiyosu, eastern 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.