is the capital of

Hiroshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...

(GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima

Urban Employment Area is a definition of metropolitan areas used in Japan, defined by the Center for Spatial Information Service of the University of Tokyo. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry defined 233 areas for the UEAs of Japan. It is different from ...

, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010.

Kazumi Matsui is a Japanese politician and the current mayor of Hiroshima, the capital city of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. Early life Matsui was born on January 8, 1953 in Hiroshima, Japan. His parents are ''hibakusha'', atomic bomb survivors. He earned a ...

has been the city's mayor since April 2011. Hiroshima was founded in 1589 as a castle town on the

Ōta River is a 103 kilometer (64 mile) long river in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Its main stream originates in (1,339m) and empties through a flood control channel into the Seto Inland Sea. The river is one of the major rivers in the prefecture and desce ...

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

. Following the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

in 1868, Hiroshima rapidly transformed into a major urban center and industrial hub. In 1889, Hiroshima officially gained city status. The city was a center of military activities during the

imperial era The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, playing significant roles such as in the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...

, the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

, and the two world wars. Hiroshima was the first military target of a nuclear weapon in human history. This occurred on August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m., when the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) dropped the atomic bomb "

Little Boy "Little Boy" was the type of atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 during World War II, making it the first nuclear weapon used in warfare. The bomb was dropped by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress ''Enola Gay'' p ...

" on the city. Most of Hiroshima was destroyed, and by the end of the year between 90,000 and 166,000 had died as a result of the blast and its effects. The

Hiroshima Peace Memorial The , originally the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, and now commonly called the Genbaku Dome, , is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The ruin ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

) serves as a memorial of the bombing. Since being rebuilt after the war, Hiroshima has become the largest

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the

Chūgoku region The , also known as the region, is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In 2010, it had a population of 7,563,428. History '' ...

of western

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

History

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 Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

temple called ''

Mitaki-Ji is a historic Japanese temple in the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Overview Mitaki-dera was founded in 809 during the Daidō era. Mitaki-dera is familiar with the name of . There are three falls, and the water will be used as an offering of water ...

''. This new prosperity was partly caused by the increase of trade with the rest of Japan under the auspices of the

Taira clan The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided ...

Sengoku and Edo periods (1589–1871)

Hiroshima was established on the delta coastline of the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka ...

in 1589 by powerful warlord

Mōri Terumoto Mōri Terumoto (毛利輝元, January 22, 1553 – June 2, 1625) was a Japanese ''daimyō''. The son of Mōri Takamoto, and grandson and successor of the great warlord Mōri Motonari, he fought against Oda Nobunaga but was eventually overco ...

Hiroshima Castle , sometimes called , is a castle in Hiroshima, Japan that was the residence of the ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the Hiroshima Domain. The castle was originally constructed in the 1590s, but was destroyed by the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945. ...

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 Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

. The winner of the battle,

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

, deprived Mōri Terumoto of most of his fiefs, including Hiroshima and gave

Aki Province or Geishū () was a province in the Chūgoku Region of western Honshū, comprising the western part of what is today Hiroshima Prefecture. History When Emperor Shōmu ordered two official temples for each province (one for male Buddhist prie ...

Masanori Fukushima was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period to early Edo period who served as lord of the Hiroshima Domain. A retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he fought in the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, and soon became known as one of Seven Spears ...

, a ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' (Feudal Lord) who had supported Tokugawa. From 1619 until 1871, Hiroshima was ruled by the

Asano clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan, and the Emperor Seiwa (850-881), the 56th Emperor of Japan. The Main Lineage (''sōke'', 宗家) were Lords (daimyō) of the Hiroshima Domain in Aki Province and another fam ...

. File:Mitaki-dera Taho-to.jpg,

Mitaki-dera is a historic Japanese temple in the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Overview Mitaki-dera was founded in 809 during the Daidō era. Mitaki-dera is familiar with the name of . There are three falls, and the water will be used as an offering of wate ...

File:Fudoin Kondo.jpg, Fudoin File:Hiroshima-Castle-1.jpg,

Meiji and Showa periods (1871–1939)

After the

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

was abolished in 1871, the city became the capital of

. 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 was the governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from 1880 to 1889. His most ambitious project was the construction of Ujina port (later to become Hiroshima Port), which was completed in November 1889. He was governor of Niigata Prefecture (1889–1891), ...

in the 1880s, allowing Hiroshima to become an important port city. The

San'yō Railway The was established in 1887 and served as a major railroad company during the Meiji period in Japan. The railroad was headquartered in Kobe, and Nakamigawa Hikojirō served as head of the railroad. Rail lines The first rail line opened in 1888 ...

was extended to Hiroshima in 1894, and a rail line from the main station to the harbor was constructed for military transportation during the

. During that war, the

Japanese government The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...

moved temporarily to Hiroshima, and

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

maintained his headquarters at

from September 15, 1894, to April 27, 1895.Kosakai, ''Hiroshima Peace Reader'' 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 mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Althou ...

s, were established in Hiroshima in the late 19th century. Further industrialization in Hiroshima was stimulated during the

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. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Hiroshima became a focal point of military activity, as the Japanese government entered the war on the Allied forces. About 500 German P.O.W.'s 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, and

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

was appointed for that city. File:Mitsui Bank Hiroshima Branch 1928 - 1.jpg, Old

Mitsui Bank was a major Japanese bank from 1876 to 1990. It merged with Taiyo Kobe Bank to form Mitsui Taiyo Kobe Bank (MTKB), which was renamed The Sakura Bank in April 1992. Sakura Bank is now part of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). History T ...

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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Second General Army ''Dai-ni Sōgun'' , image = , caption = , dates = April 8, 1945-November 30, 1945 , country = Empire of Japan , allegiance = Empe ...

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 The was a series of firebombing air raids by the United States Army Air Force during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. Operation Meetinghouse, which was conducted on the night of 9–10 March 1945, is the single most destructive bombing ...

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

firebreak A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...

s. On Monday, August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m. (Hiroshima time), the

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

" was dropped on Hiroshima from an American

Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

, the ''

Enola Gay The ''Enola Gay'' () is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, piloted by Tibbets and Robert A. Lewis during the final stages of World War II, it be ...

'', flown by Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. (23 February 1915 – 1 November 2007), 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 The Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) (Japanese:原爆傷害調査委員会, ''Genbakushōgaichōsaiinkai'') was a commission established in 1946 in accordance with a presidential directive from Harry S. Truman to the National Academy of Sc ...

research on the human effects of the attack, were restricted during the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...

, and much of this information was censored until the signing of the

Treaty of San Francisco The , also called the , re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers on behalf of the United Nations by ending the legal state of war and providing for redress for hostile actions up to and including World War II. It w ...

in 1951, restoring control to the Japanese. As

Ian Buruma Ian Buruma (born December 28, 1951) is a Dutch writer and editor who lives and works in the United States. In 2017, he became editor of ''The New York Review of Books'', but left the position in September 2018. Much of his writing has focused on ...

observed: The US occupation authorities maintained a monopoly on scientific and medical information about the effects of the atomic bomb through the work of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, which treated the data gathered in studies of

hibakusha ''Hibakusha'' ( or ; ja, 被爆者 or ; "person affected by a bomb" or "person affected by exposure o radioactivity) is a word of Japanese origin generally designating the people affected by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at th ...

as privileged information rather than making the results available for the treatment of victims or providing financial or medical support to aid victims. The book ''

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

'' by

John Hersey John Richard Hersey (June 17, 1914 – March 24, 1993) was an American writer and journalist. He is considered one of the earliest practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, in which storytelling techniques of fiction are adapted to n ...

was originally published in article form in the magazine ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', on August 31, 1946. It is reported to have reached Tokyo, in English, at least by January 1947 and the translated version was released in Japan in 1949. Although the article was planned to be published over four issues, "Hiroshima" made up the entire contents of one issue of the magazine.Sharp, "From Yellow Peril to Japanese Wasteland: John Hersey's 'Hiroshima'", Twentieth Century Literature 46 (2000): 434–452, accessed March 15, 2012.Jon Michaub, "Eighty-Five From the Archive: John Hersey" ''The New Yorker'', June 8, 2010, np. ''Hiroshima'' narrates the stories of six bomb survivors immediately before and four months after the dropping of the

bomb.Roger Angell, From the Archives, "Hersey and History", ''The New Yorker'', July 31, 1995, p. 66.John Hersey, Hiroshima (New York: Random House, 1989). Oleander (''

Nerium ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the ge ...

'') 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 was a major Japanese bank from 1876 to 1990. It merged with Taiyo Kobe Bank to form Mitsui Taiyo Kobe Bank (MTKB), which was renamed The Sakura Bank in April 1992. Sakura Bank is now part of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). History Th ...

Hiroshima Branch（1945）

Postwar period (1945–present)

On September 17, 1945, Hiroshima was struck by the Makurazaki Typhoon ( Typhoon Ida).

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. 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 is a memorial park in the center of Hiroshima, Japan. It is dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear attack at the end of World War II, and to the memorie ...

. 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

. The

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is a museum located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in central Hiroshima, Japan, dedicated to documenting the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II. The museum was established in August 1955 with the H ...

was opened in 1955 in the Peace Park. The historic castle of Hiroshima was rebuilt in 1958. Hiroshima also contains a

Peace Pagoda A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa; a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most, though not all, peace pagodas built since World War II ...

, built in 1966 by Nipponzan-Myōhōji. Uniquely, the pagoda is made of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

, 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 ''Shinzo'', known as in Japan, is an anime television series produced by TV Asahi, Toei Advertising, and Toei Animation. It was directed by Tetsuo Imazawa, with Mayori Sekijima handling series scripts, Sachiko Kamimura designing the charact ...

(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 is a Japanese national university located in Higashihiroshima and Hiroshima, Japan. Established in 1929, it was chartered as a university in 1949 following the merge of a number of national educational institutions. History Under the Nationa ...

. The city government continues to advocate the abolition of all

s and the Mayor of Hiroshima is the president of

Mayors for Peace Mayors for Peace is an international organization of cities dedicated to the promotion of peace that was established in 1982 at the initiative of then Mayor of Hiroshima Takeshi Araki, in response to the deaths of around 140,000 people due to the ...

, an international Mayoral organization mobilizing cities and citizens worldwide to abolish and eliminate nuclear weapons by 2020. On May 27, 2016,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

became the first sitting United States president to visit Hiroshima since the atomic bombing. Hiroshima is situated on the

delta, on

Hiroshima Bay is a bay in the Inland Sea, Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Hiroshima Wan" in . Administratively, the bay is divided between Hiroshima and Yamaguchi Prefectures. The bay's shore is a Ria. Its surface area is about 1,000 km², ...

, facing the

on its south side. The river's six channels divide Hiroshima into several islets. File:Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum 2.jpg,

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 The , originally the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, and now commonly called the Genbaku Dome, , is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The ruin ...

Jan Letzel Jan Letzel (April 9, 1880 – December 26, 1925) was a Czech architect, most famous for designing a building in Hiroshima whose ruins are now the A-Bomb Dome or Peace Memorial. Biography Jan Letzel was born in the town of Náchod, Bohemia. ...

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

Geography

Climate

Hiroshima has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

characterized by cool to mild winters and hot, humid summers. Like much of Japan, Hiroshima experiences a seasonal temperature lag in summer, with August rather than July being the warmest month of the year. Precipitation occurs year-round, although winter is the driest season. Rainfall peaks in June and July, with August experiencing sunnier and drier conditions.

Wards

Hiroshima has eight

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

(''ku''):

Cityscape

File:An Overview of Hiroshima and the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park as Seen From a Hotel Rooftop as Secretary Kerry Visited the City (26370244825).jpg, Hiroshima City CBD (2016) File:Night views from Mount Kogane01.jpg,

Skyline A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skylines ...

of Hiroshima City from Mount Futaba（2019） File:North entrance of Hiroshima Station20210330.jpg,

Hiroshima Station is a railway station in Minami-ku, Hiroshima, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Hiroshima Station is the terminal station for several lines, and all San'yō Shinkansen trains stop here. Station layout Hiroshima Station ...

(2021) File:鯉城通り - panoramio (1).jpg, Around Hondōri Station (2010) File:20100722 Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park 4478.jpg,

(2010)

Demographics

In 2017, the city has an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 1,195,327. The total area of the city is , with a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 1321 persons per km². The population around 1910 was 143,000. Before

, Hiroshima's population had grown to 360,000, and peaked at 419,182 in 1942. Following the atomic bombing in 1945, the population dropped to 137,197. By 1955, the city's population had returned to pre-war levels.

Surrounding municipalities

;

Kure is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan M ...

Higashihiroshima is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. As of July 31. 2016 the city has an estimated population of 185,418 and a population density of 291.85 persons per km2. The total area is 635.32 km2. Higashihiroshima is a university town of ...

* Akitakata *

Hatsukaichi is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The name derives from a market traditionally held on the 20th of each month with ''hatsuka'' (廿日) meaning "20th day" and ''ichi'' (市) translating to "market". The market continues to this day ...

* Akiota * Kitahiroshima * Fuchū *

Saka The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...

* Kumano * Kaita

Economy and infrastructure

Mazda Motor Corporation , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, M ...

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

, Kawasaki,

JMU James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

cor IHI Kure Works, Mitsui and other shipyards on the area *

HI Kanon and Eba Works,

IHI Ihi, Ehee (Nepal Bhasa:ईही) is a ceremony in the Newar community in Nepal in which pre-adolescent girls are "married" to the Suvarna Kumar which is a symbol of the god Vishnu, ensuring that the girl becomes and remains fertile. It is bel ...

Kure machinery Rijo-dori Street from platform of Hondori Station at dusk

Hiroshima-Hondori Shopping Street at dusk 2

Health care

Hospitals

*Hiroshima City Hospital *Hiroshima City Asa Hospital *Hiroshima City Funairi Hospital *Hiroshima Prefectural Hospital *Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital & Atomic-bomb Survivors Hospital *Hiroshima University Hospital *Japan Post Hiroshima Hospital *JR Hiroshima Hospital

Media

The '' Chūgoku Shimbun'' is the local newspaper serving Hiroshima. It publishes both morning paper and evening editions. Television stations include

Hiroshima Home Television , a.k.a. is a television station in Hiroshima. It is a network station of ANN. It is broadcast in Hiroshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a po ...

Hiroshima Telecasting Hiroshima Telecasting Co., Ltd. (HTV, 広島テレビ放送株式会社, callsign: JONX-TV) is a TV station in Hiroshima. It is affiliated with Nippon News Network and Nippon Television Network System. It is broadcast in Hiroshima Prefecture. ...

Shinhiroshima Telecasting TSS-TV Co., Ltd. (株式会社テレビ新広島, Television Shin-Hiroshima System), named Shinhiroshima Telecasting Co., Ltd. until 2008, is a TV station serving in Hiroshima Prefecture and eastern Yamaguchi Prefecture, affiliated with of Fuji N ...

, and the

RCC Broadcasting RCC Broadcasting Company (株式会社中国放送 ''Kabushiki Gaisha Chugoku Hoso''; later name: RCC) is a Japanese broadcaster which serves the Hiroshima region. It is a member of JRN and NRN networks for radio and JNN for television. His ...

. Radio stations include

Hiroshima FM Hiroshima FM is an FM and Teletext radio station in Hiroshima for around Seto Inland area. The station was founded on February 27, 1982, and went on the air on December 5, 1982. It is the 9th nongovernmental FM radio station in Japan, and a mem ...

Chugoku Communication Network Chugoku Communication Network (Hiroshima P-station) is a Japanese local FM radio station in Naka-ku, Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product ...

FM Fukuyama FM Fukuyama (RADIO BINGO) is a Japanese local FM radio station in Fukuyama. The station was founded on January 9, 1996, and went on the air on August 8, 1996. External linksFM Fukuyama (RADIO BINGO) Mass media in Fukuyama Radio in Japan Comp ...

FM Nanami Itsukaichi Community Broadcast (FM Nanami) was a Japanese community FM radio station in Saeki-ku, Hiroshima is one of the eight wards of the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The Hiroshima Branch of the Japan Mint The is an Independent Administ ...

, and

Onomichi FM Onomichi FM (JOZZ8AF-FM 79.4 MHz) is a Japanese community FM radio station in Onomichi is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, facing the Inland Sea. The city was founded on April 1, 1898. As of April 30, 2016, the city has an ...

. Hiroshima is also served by

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

, Japan's public broadcaster, with television and radio broadcasting. The Maxwell Rayner TV Co. filmed a documentary released in 2012. The documentary contained general information about the city.

Education

University

was established in 1949, as part of a national restructuring of the education system. One national university was set up in each

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

, including Hiroshima University, which combined eight existing institutions (Hiroshima University of Literature and Science, Hiroshima School of Secondary Education, Hiroshima School of Education, Hiroshima Women's School of Secondary Education, Hiroshima School of Education for Youth, Hiroshima Higher School, Hiroshima Higher Technical School, and Hiroshima Municipal Higher Technical School), with the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical College added in 1953. But in 1972 the relocation of Hiroshima University was decided from urban areas of Hiroshima City to wider campus in

City. By 1995 almost all campuses were relocated to

. But, School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Graduate School in these fields in Kasumi Campus and Law School and Center for Research on Regional Economic System in Higashi-Senda Campus are still in Hiroshima City. Notable art institutions include the

Elisabeth University of Music is a Jesuit university in Hiroshima, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1948. It was chartered as a university in 1963. History Belgian Jesuit Father Ernest Goossens began a music classroom for youths right after the devasta ...

and Actor's School Hiroshima.

Transportation

Airways

Airport

Hiroshima is served by

Hiroshima Airport is an airport in the city of Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Located east of Hiroshima, it is the largest airport in the Chūgoku region. History The New Hiroshima Airport was opened for public use on 29 October 1993 as a replacement ...

, located east of the city, with regular flights to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, and also to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport is a United States Marine Corps air station located in the Nishiki river delta, southeast of Iwakuni Station in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. History The Japanese government bought a large portion of what is today MCAS Iw ...

, south-west of Hiroshima, re-instated commercial flights on December 13, 2012.

Railways

High-speed rail

;

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

San'yō Shinkansen The is a line of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Osaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka, the two largest cities in western Japan. Operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), it is a westward cont ...

Trains

;

San'yō Main Line The is a major railway line owned by JR Group companies in western Japan, connecting Kōbe Station and Moji Station, largely paralleling the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, Inland Sea, in other words, the southern coast of western Honshu. The Sa ...

Kure Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) within Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. It begins at Mihara Station in Mihara and terminates at Kaitaichi Station in Kaita. It is one of the main lines of JR West. The secti ...

Geibi Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in the mountainous area of the Chūgoku region in Japan. It begins at Bitchū Kōjiro Station on the west side of Niimi, Okayama Prefecture, connecting through Miyoshi St ...

Kabe Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) within the city of Hiroshima in Japan. It connects Hiroshima Station and Aki-Kameyama Station in Asakita-ku, Hiroshima, Asakita-ku. The actual junction station is Yokogawa S ...

* Hiroshima New Transit Line 1 * Hiroshima Short Distance Transit Seno Line

Tramways

Hiroshima is notable, in Japan, for its light rail system, nicknamed ''

Hiroden is a Japanese transportation company established on June 18, 1910, that operates streetcars and buses in and around Hiroshima Prefecture. It is known as for short. The company's rolling stock includes an eclectic range of trams manufactur ...

'', and the "Moving Streetcar Museum". Streetcar service started in 1912, was interrupted by the atomic bomb, and was restored as soon as was practical. (Service between Koi/Nishi Hiroshima and Tenma-cho was started up three days after the bombing.) Streetcars and light rail vehicles are still rolling down Hiroshima's streets, including streetcars 651 and 652, which survived the atomic blast and are among the older streetcars in the system. When Kyoto and Fukuoka discontinued their trolley systems, Hiroshima bought them up at discounted prices, and, by 2011, the city had 298 streetcars, more than any other city in Japan. *

Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

Ujina Line The is a streetcar line of Hiroshima Electric Railway (Hiroden) in Hiroshima, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is border ...

, Eba Line, Hakushima Line, Hijiyama Line, Yokogawa Line, Miyajima Line

Roads

Expressway

* Hiroshima Expressway

Japan National Route

Hiroshima is served by

Japan National Route 2 is a major highway on the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū in Japan. It follows the old Sanyōdo westward from the city of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture in the Kansai region to the city of Kitakyūshū in Fukuoka Prefecture, passing through the Sa ...

Japan National Route 54 National Route 54 is a national highway of Japan connecting Naka-ku, Hiroshima and Matsue, Shimane. Route data *Length: 174.5 km (108.43 mi). References 054 The Type 054 (NATO Codename Jiangkai I) is a class of People's Republi ...

Japan National Route 183 National Route 183 is a national highway of Japan connecting Naka-ku, Hiroshima and Yonago, Tottori is a city in western Tottori Prefecture, Japan, facing the Sea of Japan and making up part of the boundary of Lake Nakaumi. It is adjacent to ...

Japan National Route 261 National Route 261 is a national highway of Japan connecting Naka-ku, Hiroshima and Gōtsu, Shimane is a city located in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. It is the smallest and least populous city in Shimane Prefecture. The city was founded on Ap ...

Japan National Route 433 National Route 433 is a national highway of Japan connecting Ōtake, Hiroshima is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. As of May 1, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 27,684, with 12,939 households, and a population den ...

Japan National Route 487 National Route 487 is a national highway of Japan. The highway connects Kure, Hiroshima and Minami-ku, Hiroshima is one of the eight wards of the city of Hiroshima, Japan. As of March 1, 2012, the ward had an estimated population of 138,471 ...

Japan National Route 488 National Route 488 is a national highway of Japan connecting between Masuda, Shimane and Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The name derives from a market traditionally held on the 20th of each month with ...

Prefectural Route

Hiroshima Prefectural Route 37 (Hiroshima-Miyoshi Route), Hiroshima Prefectural Route 70 (Hiroshima-Nakashima Route), Hiroshima Prefectural Route 84 (Higashi Kaita Hiroshima Route), Hiroshima Prefectural Route 164 (Hiroshima-Kaita Route), and Hiroshima Prefectural Route 264 (Nakayama-Onaga Route). File:Hiroshima Station Building.jpg,

File:Hiroshima Bus Center- arrivalside2017.jpg,

Hiroshima Bus Center is the key bus terminal located in central Hiroshima. History Hiroshima Bus terminal opened on July 29, 1957, with bus stops around Kamiya-cho, Hiroshima. The current "Bus Center" opened in October 1974 as a part of "Hiroshima Center Buildin ...

File:Hiroden 5006B 20150502.jpg, A Hiroshima tram, 2015 File:Hiroden 5200 20190623.JPG,

File:広島西飛行場01.jpg,

Hiroshima–Nishi Airport was an airport in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima, Nishi Ward, located southwest of Hiroshima, Hiroshima City, Japan. History Hiroshima's first airport, , opened on a nearby island in Naka-ku, Hiroshima in 1940. It was largely destroyed during the atomic ...

File:Port of Hiroshima, Moto-Ujina 01.jpg, Port of Hiroshima File:海田大橋.jpg, Niho JCT File:Shinonome IC pt1.jpg, Hiroshima Expressway

Culture

Hiroshima has a professional

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

, which has performed at Wel City Hiroshima since 1963. There are also many museums in Hiroshima, including the

, along with several art museums. The

Hiroshima Museum of Art The is an art museum founded in 1978. It is located in the Hiroshima Central Park in Hiroshima, Japan. Collections Gallery 1 *From Romanticism to Impressionism Gallery 2 *Neo-Impressionists and Post-Impressionists Gallery 3 *Fauvism and Pi ...

, which has a large collection of French

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

art, opened in 1978. The

Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum The is an art museum founded in 1968. It was reconstructed in 1996. It is located near Shukkei-en in Hiroshima, Japan. Access *Hiroden Shukkeien-mae Station * JR Hiroshima Station Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum Void 2014.jpg, Atrium of the ...

opened in 1968 and is located near

Shukkei-en is a historic Japanese garden in the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum is located adjacent to the garden. History Construction began in 1620 during the Edo period at the order of Asano Nagaakira, ''daimyō'' of the ...

gardens. The

Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art The is an art museum founded in 1989. It is in Hijiyama Park in Hiroshima, Japan. The building was designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa. Representative collections Access *Hiroden Hijiyama-shita Station See also *Hiroshima Museum of Art * ...

, which opened in 1989, is located near Hijiyama Park. Festivals include

Hiroshima Flower Festival The is a flower festival held annually in Hiroshima, Japan. Overview The Hiroshima Flower Festival has been held every year since 1977 during Golden Week (Japan), Golden Week, from 3 May to 5 May. More than one million people take part in the f ...

and

Hiroshima International Animation Festival The International Animation Festival Hiroshima is a biennial animation festival hosted in Hiroshima, Japan. The festival was founded in 1985 by ''Association International du Film d'Animation'' or ''ASIFA'' as ''International Animation Festival f ...

, which includes the

, draws many visitors from around the world, especially for the

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony is an annual Japanese vigil. Every August 6, "A-Bomb Day", the city of Hiroshima holds the Peace Memorial Ceremony to console the victims of the atomic bombs and to pray for the realization of lasting world pea ...

, an annual commemoration held on the date of the atomic bombing. The park also contains a large collection of monuments, including the

Children's Peace Monument The is a monument for peace to commemorate Sadako Sasaki and the thousands of child victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. This monument is located in Hiroshima, Japan. Sadako Sasaki, a young girl, died of leukemia from radiation of the ato ...

, the

Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims is one of the National Memorial Halls in Hiroshima, Japan. Overview The Hall was founded by the Japanese national government to mourn the atomic bomb victims in 2002. It was desig ...

and many others. Hiroshima's rebuilt castle (nicknamed ''Rijō'', meaning ''

Koi or more specifically , are colored varieties of the Amur carp ('' Cyprinus rubrofuscus'') that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens. Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of ''C. rubrofuscus'' ke ...

Castle'') houses a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

of life in the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine is a Japanese Shinto Shrine in Hiroshima, Japan. Overview The original shrine was founded in 1869, the first year of the Meiji period, in Hiroshima. The shrine was established to mourn the Hiroshima-Han victims of the Boshin War. In 1934, it w ...

is within the walls of the castle. Other attractions in Hiroshima include

, Fudōin,

, and Hijiyama Park.

Events

*Hiroshima Flower Festival, May 3–5, Heiwa Odori,

*Toukasan, first Friday to Sunday in June, Mikawa-Cho, Chuo Dori *Ebisu Festival, November 18–20, Ebisucho, Hacchobori, Chuo Dori *

, August 6,

1994 Asian Games The 1994 Asian Games ( ja, 1994年アジア競技大会, ''Senkyūhyakukyūjūyon-nen Ajia kyōgi taikai''), also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games ( ja, 第12回アジア競技大会, Daijūni-kai Ajia kyōgi taikai), were held from ...

Cuisine

Hiroshima is known for

okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients (mixed, or as toppings) cooked on a '' teppan'' (flat griddle). Common additions include cabbage, meat, and seafood, and toppings include ''okonomiyaki' ...

, a savory (

umami Umami ( from ja, 旨味 ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It has been described as savory and is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and ...

) pancake cooked on an iron plate, usually in front of the customer. It is cooked with various ingredients, which are layered rather than mixed as done with the

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

version of okonomiyaki. The layers are typically egg, cabbage,

bean sprout Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth. In the field of nutrition, the term signifies ...

s (moyashi), sliced pork/bacon with optional items (mayonnaise, fried squid, octopus, cheese,

mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...

kimchi ''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including ''gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), sprin ...

, etc.), and noodles (

soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. The variety ''Nagano soba'' includes wheat flour. In Japan, soba noodles can be found i ...

udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...

) topped with another layer of egg and a generous dollop of okonomiyaki sauce (Carp and Otafuku are two popular brands). The amount of cabbage used is usually 3 to 4 times the amount used in the Osaka style. It starts piled very high and is generally pushed down as the cabbage cooks. The order of the layers may vary slightly depending on the chef's style and preference, and ingredients will vary depending on the preference of the customer.

Sports

MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima facade

Hiroshima has several professional sports clubs.

Football

The city's main

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club is

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima ( ja, サンフレッチェ広島, translit=''Sanfuretche Hiroshima'') is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the coun ...

, who play at the

Hiroshima Big Arch The , known under current sponsorship as , is a multi-purpose stadium in Hiroshima, Japan. It used mostly for association football matches and also for athletics. The venue is the home of J. League club Sanfrecce Hiroshima. It has a capacity of ...

. As Toyo Kogyo Soccer Club, they won the

Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional ...

five times between 1965 and 1970 and the

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. After adopting their current name in 1992, the club won the

J.League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most successfu ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. The city's main women's football club is

Angeviolet Hiroshima was a women's football club. Its hometown was the city of Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urba ...

. Defunct clubs include

Rijo Shukyu FC was a Japanese amateur football club based in Hiroshima. The club name "Rijo" came from the nickname of the Hiroshima Castle. History The club was founded by the students and alumni of the Hiroshima Daiichi Chūgaku, the former Hiroshima Ko ...

, who won the Emperor's Cup in 1924 and 1925, and

Ẽfini Hiroshima SC Ẽfini Hiroshima Soccer Club was a Japanese football club based in Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiros ...

Baseball

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

are the city's major

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

club, and play at the

Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima , also called , is a baseball stadium in Minami-ku, Hiroshima, Japan. It is used primarily for baseball and is the home of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Japanese Central League. The ballpark has a capacity of 32,000 people and opened on Apri ...

. Members of the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

, the club won the

in 1975, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1991, 2016, 2017 and 2018, the club won the

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

in 1979, 1980 and 1984.

Basketball

Hiroshima Dragonflies The Hiroshima Dragonflies (広島ドラゴンフライズ) are a professional basketball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. In October 2014 they commenced competing in the Western Conference of the Japanese National Basketball League. In Septembe ...

(

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Handball

Hiroshima Maple Reds Hiroshima Maple Reds is a women's handball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. It plays in the Japan Handball League. The club was founded in 1994 and belonged to IZUMI, a supermarket company in Hiroshima. The club was dissolved in 2001, then reinst ...

(

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

Volleyball

JT Thunders is a men's volleyball team based in Hiroshima city, Hiroshima, Japan. It plays in V.Premier League. The owner of the club is Japan Tobacco. History The club was founded in 1931 as a club of the Ministry of Finance Japan Hiroshima Monopoly ...

(

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Other sports

The

Woodone Open Hiroshima The Woodone Open Hiroshima was a professional golf tournament in Japan. Founded in 1972 as the Hiroshima Open, it was an event on the Japan Golf Tour from 1973 to 2007. Except for the 1997 tournament, which was held at Yonex Country Club in Niigata ...

was part of the

Japan Golf Tour The Japan Golf Tour ( ja, 日本ゴルフツアー機構) is a prominent golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006 it offers the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after th ...

between 1973 and 2007. The city also hosted the

, using the Big Arch stadium, which is now used for the annual

Mikio Oda Memorial International Amateur Athletic Game is one of the international athletic games, which takes place every April at Hiroshima Big Arch stadium in Hiroshima, Japan. In 1967, this game began to commemorate the feat of Mikio Oda, a native of Hiroshima and the first Japanese Olympic gol ...

. The now-called

Hiroshima Prefectural Sports Center is an indoor arena located in Hiroshima, Japan. The original arena was built sometime shortly after World War II. The arena was rebuilt for the 1994 Asian Games. It hosted some of the group games for the 2006 FIVB Men's World Championship an ...

was one of the host arenas of the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

(basketball).

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Hiroshima has ten

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

: *

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

, Italy (since May 1962) *

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

, China (since October 1986) *

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, OH, United States (since July 1990) *

Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

, Spain (since Feb 1961) *

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

, South Korea (since May 1997) *

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

, Germany (since June 1983) *

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, HI, United States (since June 1959) *

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, QC, Canada (since June 1998) *

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" (). ...

, France (since March 1986) *

Volgograd Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

, Russia (since September 1972) Within Japan, Hiroshima has a similar relationship with

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

Tourism

The Japanese city and the Prefecture of Hiroshima may have been devastated by the atomic bomb over 76 years ago, but today, this site of the destruction is one of the top tourist destinations in the entire country. Statistics released by the nation's tourist agency revealed that around 363,000 visitors went to the metropolis during 2012, with Americans making up the vast majority of that figure, followed by Australians and Chinese. In 2016, some 1.18 million foreigners visited Hiroshima, a 3.2-fold jump from about 360,000 in 2012. Americans were the largest group, accounting for 16%, followed by Australians at 15%, Italians at 8% and Britons at 6%. The numbers of Chinese and South Korean visitors were small, representing only 1% and 0.2% of the total.

Places of interest

There are many popular tourist destinations near Hiroshima. A popular destination outside the city is Itsukushima Island, also known as

Miyajima may refer to: Places * Miyajima, another name for the Japanese island Itsukushima * Miyajima, Hiroshima, a former town on this island, merged into Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The name derives from a m ...

, which is a sacred island with many temples and shrines. But inside Hiroshima there are many popular destinations as well, and according to online guidebooks, these are the most popular tourist destinations in Hiroshima: #

# The Atomic Bomb Dome #

# Mitaki-dera Temple # Hiroshima Gogoku Shrine # Kamiyacho and Hatchobori (''A major center in Hiroshima which is a shopping area. It is directly connected to the

'') #

Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park is a zoo in Hiroshima, Japan. Overview Asa Zoological Park opened in 1971 in Asakita-ku, Hiroshima as the 62nd zoo in Japan. The gross area of the zoo is 49.6 ha. There are about 170 varieties of animals including giraffes, lions, black rhino ...

# Hiroshima Botanical Garden Other popular places in the city include the

Hondōri is a commercial area in Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan, which centers on the Hondōri street which today is a shopping arcade. Hondōri, which means "Main Street", runs from Hatchōbori to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Hondōri was also previo ...

shopping arcade.

Notes

References

* *

External links

*
Hiroshima City official website
(In English)
Official tourist information website (in 5 languages)Hiroshima before and after atomic bombing
– interactive aerial maps
Hiroshima atomic bomb damage
– interactive aerial map
Is Hiroshima still radioactive?
– No. Includes explanation. *
CBC Digital Archives – Shadows of Hiroshima
– interactive with points of interest
BBC World Service
BBC Witness programme interviews a schoolgirl who survived the bomb
Hope Elizabeth May, "Creating Peace through Law: the City of Hiroshima"

hiroshima-navi"Hiroshima" By John Hersey, A Reporter at Large August 31, 1946 Issue of The New Yorker
* {{Authority control Cities in Hiroshima Prefecture Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Populated places established in 1589 Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan World War II sites in Japan 1589 establishments in Asia Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan Destroyed cities

History

Early history

Sengoku and Edo periods (1589–1871)

Meiji and Showa periods (1871–1939)

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

Postwar period (1945–present)

Geography

Climate

Wards

Cityscape

Demographics

Surrounding municipalities

Economy and infrastructure

Health care

Hospitals

Media

Education

University

Transportation

Airways

Airport

Railways

High-speed rail

Trains

Tramways

Roads

Expressway

Japan National Route

Prefectural Route

Culture

Events

Cuisine

Sports

Football

Baseball

Basketball

Handball

Volleyball

Other sports

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Tourism

Places of interest

Notes

References

Further reading

External links