Nirengi Castle was a Japanese castle in what is now the city of Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, during the Sengoku Period. There are no extant structures left; however, a park was built on the site where the castle once stood, and a stone monument and some explanatory signboards were erected by the city.The name of the castle and the surrounding area, Nirengi, means "Two Elm Trees" in Japanese, after the elm trees which once grew abundantly in the region.HistoryIn 1465, Toda Munemitsu, a retainer of the Ashikaga shogunate was ordered to advance from Kyoto into Mikawa province, to hunt down members of the Maruyama and Ōhira families and to subdue the area. Munemitsu started with the Chita peninsula, and proceeded southeast around Mikawa Bay and into the Atsumi peninusula, where he constructed Ōtsu Castle in 1479 and Tahara Castle in 1480 as bases for the prosecution of his campaign. With the Atsumi area subdued, he left Tahara Castle in the care of his eldest son, Norimitsu, and turned his attention to the east.Munemitsu built Nirengi Castle in 1493 as a forward base against the eastern forces of Tame Matasaburo, who had built the mountaintop Funagatayama Castle in 1492. From Nirengi, Munemitsu devoted himself to the task of crushing his enemies. In 1505, Makino Kohaku built Imabashi Castle. Although only two kilometers separated Nirengi and Imabashi Castles, numerous battles occurred over the next few years on the fields between them. Finally, Munemitsu was able to compel the head of the Makino family to become a Buddhist priest, and then forced an alliance with the Makino. Although the Toda clan was able to persevere, Munemitsu died in 1508.