| Nishio Castle (西尾城, Nishio-jō) is a Japanese castle located in the city of Nishio, eastern Aichi Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Nishio Castle was home to the Ogyu Matsudaira, daimyō of Nishio Domain. The castle was also known as Tsuru-jō (鶴城), Tsuruga-jō (鶴ヶ城), or Saijo-jō (西条城). Nishio Castle dates to the Kamakura period with a fortification called Saijō-jō was built by Ashikaga Yoshiuji in around 1221. The Saijō was a cadet branch of the Ashikaga clan and late changed their name to "Kira", serving the Sunpu-based Imagawa clan. After the Battle of Okehazama in 1600, the castle was captured by Tokugawa Ieyasu. He assigned it to one of his generals, Sakai Shigetada, who rebuilt it with moats, stone walls, several yagura, gates and a donjon. After the transfer of the Tokugawa clan to the Kanto region by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the castle was assigned to one of Hideyoshi's generals, Tanaka Yoshimasa, who was also castellan of Okazaki Castle. |
