The Niwase domain was founded in 1600, when Togawa Michiyasu, a retainer of Ukita Hideie, rebelled against his lord and sided with the Tokugawa clan at the Battle of Sekigahara. As a reward, the Tokugawa granted Togawa a 29,000 koku fief centered at Niwase Castle. Between the 2nd and fourth generations, parts of the territory were handed out to Michiyasu's various brothers, leaving Niwase with 20,000 "koku" by the tenure of the 4th generation lord, Yasukaze. Yasukaze died without an heir, and the Togawa family came to an end, with the domain confiscated by the shogunate. In 1683, the Kuze family was transferred to Niwase from Sekiyado, its landholdings were 50,000 "koku". The Kuze were there for only one generation, under Kuze Shigeyuki, before being transferred to the Tanba-Kameyama Domain. Matsudaira Nobumichi became the next lord of Niwase, with a 30,000 "koku" territory; however, he too was transferred, after only 4 years, to the Kaminoyama Domain in Dewa Province.