Hiroshima Castle
The five-story black-planked keep in front of you is a 1958 reconstruction — the original was levelled by the atomic bomb on 6 August 1945. Hiroshima Castle was founded in 1589 by Mōri Terumoto on the low delta of the Ōta River, and ranks alongside Osaka Castle and Okayama Castle as one of the earliest examples of the early modern flatland castle (*hirajiro*). It is also counted among Japan's Three Great Flatland Castles. During the Edo period (1603–1868) it served as the seat of the Asano clan — lords of a 426,000-*koku* domain — for twelve generations; the castle grounds once covered roughly 900,000 square metres, ringed by eighty-eight watchtowers. Its nickname, Carp Castle (*Rijō*), lives on in the name of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball team. Every stone wall and reconstructed turret you see inside the inner moat carries the shadow of what was lost before the war.
Japan · 34 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
Ikeda Hayato
Across the eastern moat from Hiroshima Castle stands a small plaza with a bronze statue of a man in a Western suit — Ikeda Hayato, Prime Minister during the Shōwa era. Born in 1899 in Yoshina village, Hiroshima Prefecture (now Takehara City), he rose to prominence after the war as Minister of International Trade and Industry and Finance Minister, becoming Prime Minister in 1960 and launching the Income Doubling Plan that drove Japan's high-growth era. He resigned in 1964 and died the following year. The inscription on the statue's base was written personally by his political mentor Yoshida Shigeru — hence the honorific character *kun* in the text. The original statue was replaced in 2015, funded by the family, after more than fifty years of weathering.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · 4travel.jp · tripadvisor.jp
Hiroshima Castle Site
This stone marker designates the site as a nationally protected Historic Site (*shiseki*) — Hiroshima Castle received that designation in 1926, and the keep was listed as a National Treasure in 1931. On 6 August 1945 the atomic bomb detonated roughly 710 metres above this spot, destroying the keep and every structure within the castle grounds. The Historic Site designation means the layout of the castle precincts and the stone walls are protected under Japan's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties; the path you are walking and the walls you are looking at remain within that protected boundary today.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · hiroshimacastle.jp
Memorial Monument
This memorial monument stands within the grounds of Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine and commemorates approximately 10,000 souls — mobilised students, women's volunteer corps, and others — killed in the atomic bombing of 6 August 1945, as well as soldiers who died in other wars. Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine enshrines some 92,000 war dead in total; the atomic bomb victims make up a significant portion of that number, and this monument is the most direct physical marker of that history within the shrine precincts.
Sources: h-gokoku.or.jp · ja.wikipedia.org
Original Keep Site
This marker, set beside the stone foundation platform of the main keep (*tenshu-dai*), indicates where the original keep stood. Hiroshima Castle's keep was built in 1591 and designated a National Treasure in 1931 — a five-storey, five-level wooden structure of the Edo period. On 6 August 1945, the atomic bomb detonated roughly 710 metres above and the keep collapsed in the blast, then burned. That National Treasure was gone that day. The reinforced-concrete keep you see now is the 1958 reconstruction; this marker is a reminder that before it, a real keep stood here — and was reduced to ash.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · hiroshimacastle.jp
11th Infantry Regiment Barracks Plan
Along the outer moat on the eastern side of Hiroshima Castle stands a set of stone markers documenting the 11th Infantry Regiment once garrisoned here. The regiment was established in April 1875 on the eastern side of the castle's inner compound, and went on to fight in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Russo-Japanese War, the Siberian Intervention, the Second Sino-Japanese War (primarily in northern China), and the Pacific War — including the landings on the Malay Peninsula and the fall of Singapore. The marker face bears a barracks layout plan showing the floor positions of every barrack building and facility within the castle grounds from the Edo period through the Meiji era. The marker was erected in July 1980 and re-engraved in August 1996.
Sources: ameblo.jp · 4travel.jp
Rising Carp Statue
To the right of Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine's main hall stands the *Shōri no Zō* — a carp leap… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: gosyuinlog.com · 4travel.jp · rekishinokura.com
Shrine History
This *yuisho* (founding history) marker outlines the origins of Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine. T… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: h-gokoku.or.jp · ja.wikipedia.org
Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine — Atomic Bomb Destruction and Reconstruction Memorial
This memorial records the shrine's destruction in the atomic bombing and its rebirth. On 6… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: h-gokoku.or.jp · ja.wikipedia.org
"Treasured Sovereignty, Endless"
The phrase *Hōso mukyū nari* — "the imperial line shall prosper without end" — comes from… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · crd.ndl.go.jp
Dedicated to the Fallen
*Eirei ni Sasagu* — "Dedicated to the Fallen" — is an artwork within Hiroshima Gokoku Shri… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: h-gokoku.or.jp · ja.wikipedia.org
Twin Carp Statue
To the left of the main hall stands the *Sōri no Zō*, two carp leaping side by side — one… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: 4travel.jp · h-gokoku.or.jp · rekishinokura.com
Main Hall Construction Completion Marker
This marker records the completion of Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine's main buildings. After the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: h-gokoku.or.jp · rekishinokura.com
Hiroshima Castle Full Grounds Plan
This stone-engraved plan of the entire Hiroshima Castle grounds gives visitors a sense of… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Hiroshima Castle Inner and Second Compound Plan
This plan marker, set near the second compound, shows the historical layout of the inner a… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Main Hall
The main hall (*honden*) of Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine is the core ritual space, where approx… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: h-gokoku.or.jp · rekishinokura.com
Hiroshima Castle Keep
The black-clapboard five-storey keep in front of you is a steel-reinforced concrete exteri… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · hiroshimacastle.jp
Ceremony Hall
The ceremony hall (*shikiden*) is the dedicated venue for Shinto wedding ceremonies and ot… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: h-gokoku.or.jp · rekishinokura.com
Shrine Office
The shrine office (*shamusho*) handles the administrative work of Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: h-gokoku.or.jp
Flat Turret
Step through the second compound's main gate and look to either side: this timber structur… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Main Gate
This is the formal entrance to the second compound (*ninomaru*). In the Edo period the com… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Drum Turret
The drum turret (*taiko-yagura*) is the southernmost corner tower of the second compound's… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Empress Shōken's Residence Site
This site marks where a two-storey Western-style wooden building stood, originally constru… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: fukuhatu.sub.jp · ja.wikipedia.org
Keep Foundation Stones
The stones arranged beside the inner compound's keep platform (*tenshu-dai*) are the origi… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · hiroshimacastle.jp
Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine
Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine stands within the inner compound of Hiroshima Castle, enshrining a… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Atomic-Bombed Great Torii
The *hibaku daitorii* — the atomic-bombed great torii — is a stone gate that stood at the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: gosyuinlog.com · peace-tourism.com · ja.wikipedia.org
Yūkyūden Hall
The *Yūkyūden* (lit. Hall of Eternity) is the large assembly hall where Hiroshima Gokoku S… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: h-gokoku.or.jp
Sacred Dance Stage
The *kagura-den* is the stage where Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine performs *kagura* — the sacred… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: h-gokoku.or.jp
Imperial General Headquarters Site
This site marks the former location of a two-storey Western-style wooden building, origina… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: peace-tourism.com · ja.wikipedia.org · fukuhatu.sub.jp
Stable Site
This is the site of the stables that stood in the second compound (*ninomaru*) during the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Guard Post Site
This is the site of the guard post (*bansho*) that stood in the second compound (*ninomaru… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Second Keep (Provisional)
The atomic bomb levelled Hiroshima Castle on 6 August 1945. In 1951, with the Hiroshima Na… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Third Keep (Current)
The keep in front of you is the third, reconstructed in 1958 for the Hiroshima Revival Gra… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Timber Keep Reconstruction Plan
Plans to reconstruct Hiroshima Castle's keep in timber can be traced back to the 1989 Basi… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Second Compound Timber Reconstruction Buildings
The timber buildings you see in the second compound — earthen walls, main gate, flat turre… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
FAQ
What overlooked corners are worth seeing inside Hiroshima Castle?
Ikeda Hayato, Hiroshima Castle Site, Memorial Monument and more — 34 spots in all, each with sources and a guide in your language to read or listen to on the spot.
Is the Hiroshima Castle guide free?
The first 5 spots are free to read; the other 29 unlock with a one-time purchase (not a subscription).