Kiyosu Castle was built between 1394 and 1427,[3] to guard the strategic junction of the Ise Kaidō with the Nakasendō highways connecting Kyoto with Kamakura.

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.

Kiyosu Castle itself came under the control of Nobunaga’s second son, Oda Nobukatsu, who began large scale renovations in 1586, which included a double ring of moats, as well as a large and a small donjon[2] It was remodeled by expanding the castle grounds to roughly 1.6 km east to west and 2.8 km north to south.

However, Nobukatsu fell afoul of Toyotomi Hideyoshi when he refused orders to change his domains, and was replaced at Kiyosu by Fukushima Masanori in 1595.

After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Fukushima Masanori was relocated to Hiroshima Castle, and Kiyosu was reassigned to Tokugawa Ieyasu’s 4th son, Matsudaira Tadayoshi.

In 1989, to mark the centennial of the foundation of the modern town of Kiyosu, a reinforced concrete replica donjon was built.