Nishio Castle, Japanese castle in Nishio, Japan

Nishio Castle is a flatland hill castle in Nishio whose Honmaru and Ninomaru baileys now form the Nishio City Historical Park. The 1996 reconstruction recreated the three-story Honmaru Ushitora yagura, the Chujaku gate and earthen walls and moats; in 2020 the Ninomaru Ushitora yagura and a folding earthen wall with two screen folds were completed. The keep's stone base is finished, and a wooden reconstruction of the keep is planned.

Ashikaga Yoshiuji is said to have built Saijō-jō here around 1221. In 1585 Sakai Shigetada, on Tokugawa Ieyasu's orders, expanded the east and obi enclosures, dug moats, laid stone walls and added a donjon in the second bailey. Tanaka Yoshimasa added gates and turrets in 1590, and the castle was dismantled in 1872.

In 1995 the sukiya-style dwelling and tea-ceremony rooms of the Konoe family were moved to the castle grounds. The Konoe were court nobles, not warriors, so these buildings show aristocratic tea practice rather than daimyo life. Look for the tea rooms beside the castle park.

Plan to spend time exploring both the outer stone walls and the interior spaces for a complete visit. Free access to most areas allows visitors to walk around the grounds and view the different buildings and rooms at their own pace.

The castle carried multiple names throughout its past, some referencing cranes which hold special meaning in Japanese symbolism as symbols of fortune and long life. These different names show how people gave the place layers of meaning over time.