Shirakami Shrine

Shirakami Shrine is located along Hiroshima's main street, Heiwa Boulevard. It's now surrounded by buildings, but over 600 years ago, before Hiroshima Castle was built, this spot was a reef jutting out into the sea. It's said that the shrine's name comes from the fact that "white paper" was placed on the rocks as a marker to prevent ships from running aground. The rugged rock surfaces exposed throughout the shrine grounds attest to the area's former coastline. Around 1600, prior to the construction of Hiroshima Castle by Lord Mori Terumoto, a large shrine building was erected here, and the shrine came to be widely worshipped as "Shirakami Daimyojin." The atomic bomb was dropped in 1945 at a close distance of just about 500 meters from the hypocenter, and while the shrine building and large torii gate were destroyed, the sturdy reef and camphor trees withstood the intense heat rays. Currently, stone structures such as the guardian lions and nightlights that remain from before the bombing have been designated as "Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Ruins," and are valuable historical remains that convey the traces of the blast and heat rays of that time to the present day.
The current shrine building was rebuilt in 1989. Within the grounds, camphor trees have regenerated after overcoming the bombing and now have lush green leaves, giving many people a sense of vitality and the march toward peace.