Mōri Terumoto (1553–1625) was the grandson and rightful heir of the renowned Mōri Motonari. When Terumoto became the head of the Mōri clan in 1571, he inherited vast territories covering a large part of the San’in and San’yō regions in western Honshū. In addition, the Mōri clan possessed the largest and most technologically advanced naval fleet of its time.
By 1589, Terumoto found his ancestral Yamato Koriyama Castle too cramped and ordered the construction of a new fortress in the delta of the Ōta River. By 1591, the castle was completed, and Terumoto moved his residence there. He relocated his vassals, as well as artisans and merchants, to the new castle town, intending to turn Hiroshima into a major commercial and economic center modeled after Kyoto and Osaka.
During the Sekigahara campaign, Terumoto joined the Western Coalition, which was defeated by the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu. As a result of this defeat, Terumoto’s main domains—the provinces of Aki and Bingo with a total income of 498,000 koku of rice—were transferred to a former ally of the Toyotomi and Mōri clans, Fukushima Masanori.
However, Masanori was not among the daimyō known for their loyalty to the shogunate, and the Tokugawa government therefore sought any opportunity to weaken his position in the region. Such an opportunity arose in 1617, when a major flood destroyed part of the castle structures. Under Tokugawa shogunate law, daimyō were forbidden to expand, rebuild, or repair castles without special government permission. Masanori repeatedly submitted petitions to the authorities, but each time received the same response: “the matter is under consideration.” In 1619, he decided to carry out reconstruction without permission and thus fell into a carefully prepared trap. For violating the law, his wealthy lands in Hiroshima were confiscated, and Masanori himself was transferred to a low-income domain in what is now Nagano Prefecture.
The castle then came into the possession of Asano Nagaakira. For twelve generations, the Asano clan ruled the castle until the Meiji Restoration. During this period, the fortress was repaired, and the surrounding castle town expanded significantly.
In the Edo period, the castle occupied a vast area. Its fortification system included seven baileys separated by three moats, while the Ōta River provided additional natural defense on the western side.
During the Meiji period, the castle was declared property of the new government. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, Hiroshima Castle was used as the campaign headquarters, and Emperor Meiji stayed there for about seven months. Toward the end of the period, the outer moats were filled in, and most of the castle grounds were built over. Today, office buildings and schools occupy the area. The remaining inner moat, the main bailey (Honmaru), and the second bailey (Ninomaru) were designated a “National Historic Site” in 1953.
The castle keep survived in excellent condition until the 20th century and was designated a “National Treasure” in 1931. However, World War II spared neither it nor the city.
The first attempt to reconstruct the keep was made in 1951. The structure was built of wood and was not an exact replica of the original castle, as the tower was erected as part of a Culture and Sports Exhibition. Once the event ended, the keep was dismantled, and this reconstruction stood for only about six months.
Nevertheless, it played an important role. After the war, many Hiroshima residents wanted to preserve the castle ruins as a memorial to the atomic bombing. However, after the appearance of the “temporary” reconstruction, the citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of rebuilding the keep. A new keep made of reinforced concrete was completed in 1958.
It is a five-story tower with a total height of 39 meters, including its base. Inside the keep is a local history museum. Unfortunately, the current keep is once again not an exact reproduction of the historical original, and for many years there have been ongoing debates about replacing it with a more authentic reconstruction.
In addition to the keep, several structures of the second bailey, Ninomaru, were reconstructed. This bailey in Hiroshima is unusually small in area and resembles an umadashi barbican more than a full-fledged defensive line. The restored structures include a bridge, the Omote Gomon gate, the Hirayagura corner turret, the long connecting Tamon’yagura turret, and the Taikoyagura drum tower.
Taikoyagura drum towers were primarily used to signal the time, but during sieges the Taiko drum was also used to transmit military signals, such as orders for defenders to assemble at a specific location. Very few Japanese castles can boast reconstructed towers of this type.
There are several theories regarding the origin of the castle’s and the city’s name. The settlement where Terumoto built his castle was called Gokamura, meaning “five villages.” Seeking a more harmonious name, Terumoto took the character “hiro” from the name of Ōe no Hiromoto, an ancestor of the Mōri clan, and the character “shima” from the name of Fukushima Motonaga, who identified the site for the castle’s construction.
According to another theory, the castle was named after a large island in the Ōta River delta, since “Hiroshima” literally means “wide island.” The castle also has a nickname, Rijō, meaning “Carp Castle,” which arose from an association with the name of a nearby area, Koi-no-ura, or “Carp Coast.” In 2006, the Japan Castle Foundation (Nihon Jōkaku Kyōkai) included Hiroshima Castle in its list of the “100 Outstanding Castles of Japan.”
See also
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Fukuyama Castle
After the defeat of Toyotomi Hideyori’s supporters in the Osaka Campaigns of 1614–1615, many clans in Japan still remained not fully loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate, especially in the western Chūgoku region. Mizuno Katsunari (1564–1651), a cousin of Tokugawa Ieyasu, became the first of the Tokugawa house’s close retainers, the so-called fudai daimyō, to be relocated to this strategically important area.
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Tiba Castle
The founder of the Chiba clan is considered to be Chiba Tsunesige (1083–1180), who in 1126 moved his residence to the Inohana area and built a strongly fortified stronghold there. Although Tsunesige himself came from the Taira clan, the Chiba clan later supported Minamoto no Yoritomo, the future founder of the first shogunate.
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Sunomata Castle
Oda Nobunaga, as part of his “final solution” to the conflict with the Saitō clan, conceived the construction of a fort in the Sunomata area, which was intended to serve as a forward base for an attack on Inabayama Castle (later renamed Gifu). Sunomata was a swampy area located between Ogaki Castle, a stronghold of the Oda clan, and Inabayama, the main fortress of the Saitō clan. Earlier attempts to build fortifications in this area, carried out by Oda generals Sakuma Nobumori and Shibata Katsuie, had all ended in failure. After that, the task was entrusted to the young vassal Kinoshita Tokichirō, who later became known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
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Shibata Castle
The exact time when structures first appeared on the site of the present-day castle is unknown; however, it is generally believed that the first fortified buildings were constructed here during the Muromachi period, when these lands were controlled by the Shibata clan.
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Okayama Castle
According to a number of accounts, the earliest fortifications on the site of present-day Okayama Castle appeared as early as the 14th century and were built by the Nawa clan. The Asahigawa River was used as a natural defensive barrier, protecting one side of the fortifications.
In the early 16th century, the Kanamitsu clan constructed a new castle here, which at the time was known as Ishiyama. In 1573, it came under the control of the Ukita clan, after which Ukita Naoie (1529–1582) launched large-scale reconstruction efforts. He did not live to see the work completed, and construction was continued by his son Hideie. -
Nagahama Castle
Hashiba, later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, received Odani Castle and the surrounding lands from Oda Nobunaga after the defeat of the Azai clan. However, Odani Castle was located high in the mountains, which made it poorly suited for the effective administration of the territory. For this reason, in 1575 Hideyoshi began constructing a new castle in the village of Imahama on the shore of Lake Biwa. Taking the character naga from Nobunaga’s name, he renamed both the village and the new castle Nagahama.
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Kokura Castle
Kokura Castle is traditionally considered to have been founded by Hosokawa Tadaoki (1563–1645), although by the time the Hosokawa clan came to control these lands, the fortification had already existed since at least 1569 and was most likely built by members of the Mori clan.
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Ikeda Castle
In 1334, Ikeda Noriyoshi built a small fort on this site, which over time was repeatedly expanded and rebuilt. During the Ōnin War of 1467–1477, the Ikeda clan supported the Western Coalition. As a result, Ikeda Castle was attacked and captured by the forces of the Eastern Coalition, but it was soon recaptured, allowing it to avoid serious destruction.
