Hiroshima Castle

After Fukushima Masanori encamped in the early Edo period, the castle grounds, including the outer moat, became approximately 900,000 square meters. The current historic site of Hiroshima Castle is the remains of the Honmaru and Ninomaru citadels, including the inner moat, within Hiroshima City Central Park, covering an area of ​​approximately 120,000 square meters, with only a portion of the Sannomaru citadel remaining. Article 6-3 of the Hiroshima City Park Ordinance designates Hiroshima Castle and its surrounding area as the "Hiroshima Castle Area" of Central Park (commonly referred to as Hiroshima Castle Park). While Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine is located within the castle grounds, the shrine grounds were excluded from the park area in 1956. Along with Osaka Castle and Okayama Castle, it is a representative example of an early modern castle, and is counted among Japan's three greatest flatland castles, along with Nagoya Castle and Okayama Castle. It has been selected as one of Japan's 100 Greatest Castles. During the Edo period, the castle served as the residence of 12 generations of the Asano clan, who ruled the Hiroshima Domain, one of the largest fiefdoms in western Japan, with a stipend of 426,000 koku. According to the "Hiroshima Domain Memorandum," written in the mid-Edo period, the castle housed a group of five- and three-story castle towers, as well as 88 turrets. The main tower, built by Mori Terumoto in 1592, was designated a National Treasure in 1931 due to its clapboard exterior and a balustrade on the top floor. In more recent times, during the Sino-Japanese War, the castle served as the military center of Hiroshima, with the Imperial Headquarters located in the Honmaru (main citadel). The original castle tower collapsed, and the turrets and castle gates were also lost when the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. The original main tower has been restored and is now used as a history museum, Hiroshima Castle. Apart from the remains of the Honmaru and Ninomaru baileys, urban development has left no trace of the castle ruins, and the only remains that can be confirmed outside the historic site are the top stone of the moat's stone wall, the remains of the earthen ramparts of the central moat on the grounds of Hiroshima High Court, and the remains of the outer tower on the south side of the east end of Karasaya Bridge.