Hiroshima Castle Ruins (historic site)

*Hiroshima Castle's main tower will close in March 2026 due to aging and other reasons.
The exterior of the main tower will remain open to the public even after the closure.

Also known as Rijo Castle or Zaima Castle, this castle was built by Mori Terumoto as the new base for the powerful daimyo Mori clan.
The Mori clan distinguished themselves during the Jokyu War (1221) that occurred during the Kamakura period, and were awarded the position of land steward of Yoshida Manor in Aki Province (Akitakata City) by the shogunate. They were a powerful clan that expanded their influence from Koriyama Castle.

Motonari was an outstanding figure among them. During the turbulent Sengoku period, he defeated powerful samurai from all over the country, including the Amago clan of San'in, and became a powerful daimyo unrivaled in the Chugoku region.
Motonari's grandson, Terumoto, also wielded great power as a feudal lord with 1.12 million koku of land under the Toyotomi government.

He decided to move his base from Koriyama Castle to the mouth of the Ota River, a key point on inland sea transportation and politically, militarily, and economically advantageous location.

At the time, the mouth of the Ota River was known as "Gokamura," and was said to have been a desolate village overgrown with reeds.

With the guidance of local clan leader Fukushima Motonaga and others, Terumoto inspected sites such as Koiyama and Futabayama, and ultimately decided to build his castle on Aima, the largest of the five villages.

Construction of the castle was extremely difficult. Construction began in the spring of 1589 (Tensho 17), with Ninomiya Naritoki and Hoda Motokiyo appointed as construction commissioners.

However, the foundation work, which involved digging a moat in the low-lying marshes of the Kawaro Delta and raising the castle grounds with excavated soil and sand, was extremely difficult.
The materials and stone needed for castle construction were brought from Nihojima and Ebajima, while timber was brought from Ukishima in Suo Province (Yamaguchi Prefecture).

After roughly two years, this difficult construction was partially completed, and around February 1591, Terumoto moved into the new castle.
The castle measures approximately 992m east to west and 1,010m north to south. In the center, there is the Honmaru and Ninomaru, surrounded by an inner moat. Outside the inner moat, there is the Sannomaru, where the residences of the clan's daimyo and senior vassals were located. Surrounding these is an outer moat, with the Ota River also serving as a natural outer moat.

The central Honmaru was divided into upper and lower levels. The upper level housed the Otate (palace), where the feudal lord lived and conducted government affairs. A five-story, five-storey castle tower was located in the northwest corner, with smaller three-storey towers to the east and south of that.
In parallel with the castle construction, the townspeople's quarters, waterways, and land routes were also developed, centered on the south side of the castle.
Wealthy merchants invited by Terumoto from all over the country also participated in this work, and a neat grid-like layout of the town was completed.
And thus was born the new city of Hiroshima, which would become the political and economic center of the Chugoku region.

As Hiroshima's history unfolds, Terumoto was defeated in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, less than 10 years after entering the castle, and Fukushima Masanori became the castle's successor.
During the 20 years of the Fukushima era, the production and distribution of goods flourished in Hiroshima, the population grew, and the town area gradually expanded.

However, as a feudal lord favored by Hideyoshi, the Fukushima clan came under the scrutiny of the shogunate, and for unauthorized castle renovations, they were demoted to Kawanakajima, Shinano Province (Nagano Prefecture).

The next lord of Hiroshima Castle was Asano Nagaakira, who moved from Wakayama in 1619.

The Asano clan continued to rule the domain for 12 generations and 250 years, culminating in the Meiji Restoration.

After the Restoration, Hiroshima Castle underwent rapid changes.

In 1871, the First Chinzei Chindai Army Sub-Barracks was established here, and during the Sino-Japanese War in 1894 and 1895, the Imperial Headquarters was established within the Honmaru, and the area was primarily used as an army facility until the end of the Pacific War.

The outer moat was filled in at the end of the Meiji period, and the area was turned into a tramway and residential area.
The castle tower (formerly a National Treasure) and Taiko Yagura (drum tower) remained, but were lost in the atomic bombing.

However, in 1958, the castle tower was restored using reinforced concrete as a symbol of Hiroshima's reconstruction.
Furthermore, in 1989, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the construction of Hiroshima Castle, the Ninomaru area was renovated. The Omote-Mikomon Gate and Mikadobashi Bridge were completed in 1991, and the Hira-Yagura, Tamon-Yagura, and Taiko-Yagura were completed in 1994, restoring the original appearance of the Ninomaru area.

Date of Designation: March 31, 1953
Overview: Designated Area: 118,019.33 m2