Hiroshima

Hiroshima is the capital city of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan and a major urban centre of the Chūgoku region of western Honshū. As of the 2010s, the city had an estimated population of approximately 1.2 million people. Greater Hiroshima, or the Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, recorded a gross domestic product of around US $61.3 billion in 2010. Since April 2011 the city has been led by Mayor Kazumi Matsui. Today, Hiroshima forms the second largest metropolitan area in the Chūgoku region after the Okayama metropolitan area.

Early history

The area that is now Hiroshima began as a small fishing village along the shores of Hiroshima Bay. By the twelfth century it had achieved modest prosperity, supported in part by its economic links with Mitaki-ji, a local Zen temple. Increased trade under the influence of the Taira clan further stimulated development.

Sengoku and Edo periods (1589–1871)

Hiroshima was formally established in 1589 on the delta of the Ōta River by the warlord Mōri Terumoto. Hiroshima Castle was completed soon afterwards, and Terumoto took up residence there in 1593. The name Hiroshima translates as “wide island”, referring to the river delta on which the city stands.
After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Terumoto’s territories were largely confiscated by the victorious Tokugawa Ieyasu, who transferred Aki Province to Fukushima Masanori. From 1619 until the abolition of the han system in 1871, Hiroshima remained under the governance of the Asano clan.

Meiji and Shōwa periods (1871–1939)

Following the Meiji Restoration, Hiroshima became the capital of the newly created Hiroshima Prefecture. The city grew rapidly as Japan transitioned from a predominantly rural economy to one driven by industry. In the 1870s one of the seven government-sponsored English-language schools was founded in Hiroshima, signalling its emerging educational significance.
Ujina Harbour, constructed in the 1880s through the efforts of Governor Sadaaki Senda, transformed Hiroshima into an important maritime hub. Industrial growth accelerated with the extension of the San’yō Railway to the city in 1894. During the First Sino-Japanese War, a rail link between the main station and the harbour facilitated military transport, and the Japanese government temporarily relocated to Hiroshima. Emperor Meiji himself headquartered at Hiroshima Castle from September 1894 to April 1895.
By the early twentieth century, Hiroshima had diversified industrial facilities, including cotton mills and factories producing military supplies. The Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, completed in 1915 to showcase commercial products, would later become the iconic A-Bomb Dome. During the First World War, the city served as a centre of military activity and hosted about 500 German prisoners of war on Ninoshima Island.

Second World War and the atomic bombing (1939–1945)

During the Second World War, Hiroshima was a major military hub, hosting the headquarters of the Second General Army and the Chūgoku Regional Army, as well as large storage depots and naval facilities. Unlike many Japanese cities, Hiroshima was not subjected to extensive firebombing, though the threat was acknowledged and precautionary demolition of houses was undertaken to create firebreaks.
At 8:15 am on 6 August 1945, the United States Army Air Forces dropped the atomic bomb Little Boy from the B-29 Enola Gay onto Hiroshima. The explosion caused catastrophic destruction: at least 70,000 people died instantly, and by the end of 1945 an estimated 90,000–140,000 had died as a result of blast injuries, burns, and radiation exposure. Approximately 70 per cent of the city’s buildings were destroyed and a further 7 per cent severely damaged.
Information about the destruction and human impact was tightly controlled during the occupation of Japan. John Hersey’s article Hiroshima, first published in The New Yorker in 1946, provided one of the earliest widely read accounts of the experiences of survivors, the hibakusha.
The oleander (Nerium) became Hiroshima’s official flower after it was observed to be the first plant to bloom following the bombing, symbolising resilience and renewal.

Postwar period (1945–present)

Shortly after the bombing, on 17 September 1945, Hiroshima suffered further devastation when the Makurazaki Typhoon struck, damaging infrastructure and causing heavy casualties. The city remained under British Commonwealth Occupation administration from 1945 to 1952.
Reconstruction was supported by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law of 1949, which provided financial aid and made available former military land for redevelopment. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was conceived as a symbolic centre of remembrance, incorporating the preserved ruins of the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, now the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (A-Bomb Dome). The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum opened in 1955, and Hiroshima Castle was reconstructed in 1958.
A Peace Pagoda, built in 1966 by the Nipponzan-Myōhōji order, stands as an additional symbol of peace, uniquely constructed of steel rather than stone. In 1949 Hiroshima was formally declared a City of Peace by the Japanese parliament, reflecting the city’s postwar commitment to peace advocacy and international dialogue.