Nishio Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Nishio Castle, also called the "Crane Castle" (Tsuru-jō), was the seat of the Nishio domain in the southern Mikawa plain. Tradition traces the site back to the Saijō fortress, founded around 1221 by Ashikaga Yoshiuji, whose line took the name Kira. The castle took its modern form in the Edo period and was finally held by the Ōgyū Matsudaira. Dismantled in 1872, it has gradually been revived in the city's historic park: the Ushitora turret of the honmaru, about ten metres high, and the Chūjaku-mon gate, whose name refers to brass fittings, were rebuilt in 1996; the keep base was rebuilt in 2014 with stones found during excavations, and a second turret with a rare folding-screen-shaped stepped wall was completed in 2020. The park also contains the city museum and part of the former Konoe residence moved from Kyoto.