Karatsu, Saga
Due to its proximity to mainland Asia, Karatsu has long been known as a stopover to Korea and China.Under ritsuryō, the current city area was part of the Hizen Province. In 1591, on the coast of the northern part of the city (formerly the town of Chinzei), Nagoya Castle was constructed. The following year, it became the location from which the Imjin War was launched by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In the middle of 1593, Terasawa Hirotaka created the Karatsu domain and began governing it. In 1602, replacing Nagoya Castle, Karatsu Castle was constructed in what is now the heart of Karatsu. The tower of Karatsu Castle was built in 1966 .
Kiyosu
Kiyosu is located in far western Aichi Prefecture, bordered by the Nagoya metropolis to the east. Kiyosu was the location of a post town (Kiyosu-juku) on the junction of the Nakasendō and the Minoji connecting Kamakura with Kyoto and the Ise Shrine during the Kamakura period. In the Muromachi period, the area was fortified with the construction of Kiyosu Castle, which subsequently became a stronghold of the Oda clan and the base from which Oda Nobunaga consolidated his control over Owari Province during the Sengoku period. After the start of the Edo period, Kiyosu Castle was dismantled by order of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and most of the population relocated to Nagoya. By the start of the Meiji period, the area was a rural area organized into Nishikasugai District of Aichi Prefecture. The town of Kiyosu was proclaimed on August 1, 1889.