About Hiroshima

The Origin of the Name “Hiroshima”

“The origin of the name “Hiroshima” dates back to the Sengoku Period about 430 years ago. It was named in 1591 to coincide with the construction of Hiroshima Castle by the samurai Terumoto Mori.

When the Hiroshima Castle was completed, many samurai (vassals) came to live at the castle with Terumoto. Terumoto invited craftsmen and merchants from all over Hiroshima to live close to the castle in order to develop the area around it. Terumoto built upon the designs of other castles including Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Osaka Castle, and built a thriving castle-town where many of the townspeople lived.
Even today, the downtown area around Hiroshima Castle is a thriving business district and is the economic center of Hiroshima.

Prehistoric Hiroshima (B.C.-593)

It is believed that people have lived in the area that is now Hiroshima for thousands of years. Many housing sites, shell mounds (garbage dumps for ancient people), and burial mounds (tombs of people of high status) that were built about 27,000 years ago have been discovered. In Miyoshi City, in particular, more than 4,000 kofun mounds (burial mounds), or one-third of all the existing kofun mounds in Hiroshima, have been discovered, and the city is known as one of the most densely packed areas of kofun mounds in the Chugoku region. You can see the most historic of the sites at “Miyoshi Fudoki-no-oka Park”.

Hiroshima in the Asuka-Nara Period (593-794)

In the year 593, the World Heritage Site of Itsukushima Shrine was built on the island of Miyajima. At the time of its construction, Itsukushima Shrine was smaller then it is today, and the shrine was not built over the water either.
Originally, Miyajima was called Itsu-KI-shima. The word “ITSUKI” means “to purify oneself and serve the gods”. In other words, Miyajima is a “holy island where god is enshrined”. In fact, there are various customs in Miyajima for religious reasons, some of which (such as the prohibition of cultivating fields) are still deeply rooted in the island today.

Over the course of more than 1,500 years since the founding of the Itsukushima Shrine, the name “Itsu-KI-shima” has come to be pronounced “Itsu-KU-shima”.

Hiroshima in the Heian Period (794-1192)

During the Heian Period, when aristocratic culture flourished, the samurai Taira-no-Kiyomori became the Governor of Aki.
Taira-no-Kiyomori renovated Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima and introduced the “Shinden-zukuri” style of shrine buildings, which was the trend at the time. The new portions of the Itsukushima Shrine had a mysterious appearance as if they were floating on the sea, and is said to represent “Heavenly Paradise”.

In 1174, the former emperor of Japan, Emperor Shirakawa, visited Miyajima and went to Itsukushima Shrine. The pine tree planted by Emperor Shirakawa during his visit can still be seen in Miyajima today.

Hiroshima in the Kamakura,
Muromachi, and Sengoku Periods (1192-1600)

Famous warlords such as Motonari Mori and others were active in Hiroshima during the Kamakura, Muromachi, and Sengoku Periods, when the samurai era began.

The Mori family was originally a family of samurai who controlled only part of Hiroshima. However, Motonari was an intelligent warrior with an excellent political sense, and he rose to become a warlord who ruled the entire Chugoku region.

Motonari was also known as a man who was very passionate about education. The “Teachings of the Three Arrows” is a good example of Motonari’s dedication to education.
Motonari gave each of his three sons an arrow and ordered them to “break the arrow”. Of course, a thin arrow is easy to break. Next, Motonari gave his sons three arrows and told them to “break all three arrows at once”.
Motonari taught the three brothers that if they worked together, they could overcome any challenge.

Hiroshima in the Edo Period (1603-1867)

During the Edo Period, when the Tokugawa family ruled Japan for generations as shoguns, Hiroshima was home to many industries that continue to thrive even today. The most famous of these industries are oyster farming and brush production.

Natural oysters have been eaten for thousands of years, but it is said that full-scale production of oysters did not begin until the Edo Period. Even today, oyster farming is an important industry in Hiroshima. In Hiroshima, you can eat a variety of fresh raw oysters and grilled oysters.

It is said that brush production began in the late Edo Period (1700-1867). Three craftsmen who were trained in the Arima region of Hyogo Prefecture introduced their brush-making techniques to Hiroshima, and the city became famous for its brush production. Among them, Kumano brushes are recognized as a traditional craft, and many of these brushes are still being produced today.

Hiroshima in the Meiji and Taisho Eras (1867-1926).

During the Meiji and Taisho Periods, when Hiroshima was undergoing modernization, various changes took place in terms of industry and culture. The abolition of the feudal system of government led to the establishment of present-day Hiroshima Prefecture, with the election of prefectural councillors including other changes.

Immigration to Hawaii also began in the Meiji and Taisho Periods. About 10,000 people from Hiroshima emigrated to Hawaii. A total of 650,000 Japanese immigrants to Brazil began to live there by the end of the Meiji Period. Today, about 300,000 people of Japanese descent live in Hawaii and 350,000 people of Japanese descent live in Brazil.

In 1888, the Naval Academy was moved to Etajima in Hiroshima. Today, the Maritime Self-Defense Force School is still located on Etajima. The Maritime Self-Defense Force School also has a restaurant where you can eat their famous “Navy Curry” and is a popular tourist attraction (reservation required).

The Port of Ujina was established in Hiroshima in 1889. The Port of Ujina (Hiroshima Port) is still popular with the people of the prefecture, as ships sail to and from Etajima and Matsuyama (Ehime Prefecture).

Hiroshima in the Showa Period (1926-1945)

Soon after the beginning of the Showa Era, World War II began. The war cast a dark shadow over Hiroshima as well.

In 1941, one of the largest battleships ever built, the Yamato, was built at the naval factory in Kure. Hiroshima was a modern city with a thriving munitions industry.

On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The heat and radiation from the bomb turned Hiroshima into a sea of fire in an instant. Seventy percent of the people within a one kilometer radius of the hypocenter were either killed immediately or died on the day of the bombing, and almost all the buildings within a two kilometer radius were reduced to rubble. In addition, after the bombing, “black rain” containing toxic substances fell, and the area affected by the radiation spread beyond the city of Hiroshima.
In 1945 alone, 140,000 citizens of Hiroshima died as a result of these A-bomb damages. The Atomic Bomb Dome and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum are visited by many people from Japan and abroad as places to learn about the devastation of the atomic bombing. The Atomic Bomb Dome is registered as a World Heritage Site.

Hiroshima in the Postwar Era (1945- )

After the war ended, Hiroshima recovered at an astonishingly rapid pace and grew to become a major city.

The automobile manufacturer Mazda grew rapidly after the war and became the fourth-largest company in Japan in terms of market share. Various other companies, such as Daiso, a famous 100-yen shop, were established in Hiroshima as well.

Hiroshima has also gained international importance as the first “City of Peace” in human history, since it was the first city to have been attacked using the atomic bomb. For this reason, former U.S. President Barack Obama visited Hiroshima in 2016 and Pope Francis in 2019.

In addition, Hiroshima has become famous for its sports. A number of professional sports teams have sprung up, including the Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball team and the Sanfrecce Hiroshima soccer team, and the success of their players has encouraged the people of Hiroshima. The Hiroshima Toyo Carp has won nine league championships and three Japan championships, while Sanfrecce Hiroshima has won three championships. Also, the Hiroshima Dragonflies (a professional basketball team founded in 2013) was promoted to the B1 division in 2019, only six years after the team was founded. More success is expected.

Hiroshima is also known as the birthplace of many celebrities. People from Hiroshima are active in a variety of fields, including fashion designer Issey Miyake (ISSAY MIYAKE INC.), Tite Kubo (the author of the manga “Bleach”), and SU-METAL of BABYMETAL.