Early history The region where Hiroshima stands today was originally a small fishing village along the shores of
Hiroshima Bay. From the 12th century, the village was rather prosperous and was economically attached to a
Zen Buddhist temple called
Mitaki-dera. This new prosperity was partly caused by the increase of trade with the rest of Japan under the auspices of the
Taira clan.
Sengoku and Edo periods (1589–1871) Hiroshima was established on the delta coastline of the
Seto Inland Sea in 1589 by powerful warlord
Mōri Terumoto.
Hiroshima Castle was quickly built, and in 1593 Mōri moved in. The name Hiroshima means wide island in Japanese. Terumoto was on the losing side at the
Battle of Sekigahara. The winner of the battle,
Tokugawa Ieyasu, deprived Mōri Terumoto of most of his fiefs, including Hiroshima and gave
Aki Province to
Masanori Fukushima, a
daimyō (Feudal Lord) who had supported Tokugawa. From 1619 until 1871, Hiroshima was ruled by the
Asano clan. File:Mitaki-dera Taho-to.jpg|
Mitaki-dera File:Fudoin Kondo.jpg|Fudoin File:Hiroshima-Castle-1.jpg|
Hiroshima Castle Meiji and Showa periods (1871–1939) After the
Han was abolished in 1871, the city became the capital of
Hiroshima Prefecture. Hiroshima became a major urban center during the
imperial period, as the Japanese economy shifted from primarily
rural to
urban industries. During the 1870s, one of the seven government-sponsored English language schools was established in Hiroshima. Ujina Harbor was constructed through the efforts of Hiroshima Governor
Sadaaki Senda in the 1880s, allowing Hiroshima to become an important port city. The
San'yō Railway was extended to Hiroshima in 1894, and a rail line from the main station to the harbor was constructed for military transportation during the
First Sino-Japanese War. The significance of Hiroshima for the Japanese government can be discerned from the fact that the first round of talks between Chinese and Japanese representatives to end the Sino-Japanese War was held in Hiroshima, from February 1 to 4, 1895. New industrial plants, including
cotton mills, were established in Hiroshima in the late 19th century. Further industrialization in Hiroshima was stimulated during the
Russo-Japanese War in 1904, which required development and production of military supplies. The Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall was constructed in 1915 as a center for trade and the exhibition of new products. Later, its name was changed to Hiroshima Prefectural Product Exhibition Hall, and again to Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. The building, now known as the A-Bomb Dome, part of the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial, a
World Heritage Site since 1996, permanently remains the only structure still standing and is a state of preserved ruin. During
World War I, Hiroshima became a focal point of military activity, as the Japanese government joined the Allies at war. About 500 German POWs were held in Ninoshima Island in Hiroshima Bay. The growth of Hiroshima as a city continued after the First World War, as the city now attracted the attention of the Catholic Church, and on May 4, 1923, an
Apostolic Vicar was appointed for that city. File:Mitsui Bank Hiroshima Branch 1928 - 1.jpg|Old
Mitsui Bank Hiroshima Branch (1928) File:Hiroshima map circa 1930.PNG|Map of Hiroshima City in the 1930s (Japanese edition) File:Hiroshima University Hospital 04.jpg|Old Hiroshima Army Weapon Depot
World War II and the atomic bombing (1939–1945) During
World War II, the
Second General Army and Chūgoku Regional Army was headquartered in Hiroshima, and the Army Marine Headquarters was located at Ujina port. The city also had large depots of military supplies, and was a key center for shipping. The
bombing of Tokyo and
other cities in Japan during World War II caused widespread destruction and hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths. There were no such air raids on Hiroshima. However, a real threat existed and was recognized. To protect against potential
firebombings in Hiroshima, school children aged 11–14 years were mobilized to demolish houses and create
firebreaks. On Monday, August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m. (Hiroshima time), an American
Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the
Enola Gay, flown by
Paul Tibbets (23 February 1915 – 1 November 2007), dropped the
nuclear weapon "
Little Boy" on Hiroshima, directly killing at least 70,000 people, including thousands of
Korean slave laborers. Fewer than 10% of the casualties were military. By the end of the year, injury and radiation brought the total number of deaths to 90,000–140,000. The population before the bombing was around 345,000. About 70% of the city's buildings were destroyed, and another 7% severely damaged. The public release of film footage of the city following the attack, and some of the
Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission research on the human effects of the attack, were restricted during the
occupation of Japan, and much of this information was censored until the signing of the
Treaty of San Francisco in 1951, restoring control to the Japanese. As
Ian Buruma observed: The book
Hiroshima by
John Hersey was originally published in article form in the magazine
The New Yorker, Although the article was planned to be published over four issues, "Hiroshima" made up the entire contents of one issue of the magazine.
Hiroshima narrates the stories of
six bomb survivors immediately before and four months after the dropping of the
Little Boy bomb. Oleander (
Nerium) is the official flower of the city of Hiroshima because it was the first to bloom again after the explosion of the atomic bomb in 1945. File:Hiroshima aftermath.jpg|Hiroshima August 1945 File:AtomicEffects-Hiroshima.jpg|Hiroshima in October 1945, two months after the bombing File:Looking South East General view looking south east building 5H-21 (5-H).jpg|Old
Teikoku Bank Hiroshima Branch (1945)
Postwar period (1945–present) visiting Hiroshima in 1947, where he held a speech encouraging the city's citizens in the aftermath of the war. The domed
Hiroshima Peace Memorial can be seen in the background. On September 17, 1945, Hiroshima was struck by the Makurazaki Typhoon (
Typhoon Ida).
Hiroshima Prefecture suffered more than 3,000 deaths and injuries, about half the national total. More than half the bridges in the city were destroyed, along with heavy damage to roads and railroads, further devastating the city. From 1945 to 1952, Hiroshima came under
occupation from the British Empire. Hiroshima was rebuilt after the war, with help from the national government through the Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law passed in 1949. It provided financial assistance for reconstruction, along with land donated that was previously owned by the national government and used by the Imperial military. In 1949, a design was selected for the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, the closest surviving building to the location of the bomb's detonation, was designated the
Genbaku Dome (原爆ドーム) or "Atomic Dome", a part of the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum was opened in 1955 in the Peace Park. The historic castle of Hiroshima was rebuilt in 1958. Hiroshima also contains a
Peace Pagoda, built in 1966 by
Nipponzan-Myōhōji. Uniquely, the pagoda is made of
steel, rather than the usual stone. Hiroshima was proclaimed a City of Peace by the Japanese parliament in 1949, at the initiative of its mayor,
Shinzo Hamai (1905–1968). As a result, the city of Hiroshima received more international attention as a desirable location for holding international conferences on peace as well as social issues. As part of that effort, the Hiroshima Interpreters' and Guide's Association (HIGA) was established in 1992 to facilitate interpretation for conferences, and the Hiroshima Peace Institute was established in 1998 within the
Hiroshima University. The city government continues to advocate the abolition of all
nuclear weapons and the Mayor of Hiroshima is the president of
Mayors for Peace, an international Mayoral organization mobilizing cities and citizens worldwide to abolish and eliminate nuclear weapons
by 2020. On May 27, 2016,
Barack Obama became the first sitting United States president to visit Hiroshima since the atomic bombing. The 49th annual
G7 summit was held in Hiroshima in May 2023. File:Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum 2.jpg|
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park File:Atomic Bomb Dome and Motoyaso River, Hiroshima, Northwest view 20190417 1.jpg|alt=Atomic Bomb Dome by night on 8 September 2017|
Atomic Bomb Dome by
Jan Letzel and modern Hiroshima File:Hiroshima Andersen 20200803-1.JPG|
Andersen Takaki Bakery File:Genbakudome by night.jpg|Atomic Bomb Dome by night File:Hiroshima A-bomb dome.jpg|Genbaku Dome seen from Orizuru tower in 2019 == Geography ==