Castle of Hiroshima

The castle of Hiroshima (広島城, Hiroshima-jō), sometimes called castle of the Carp (鯉城, IH-jō) is a Japanese castle with Hiroshima with the Japan. It was the seat of the Daimyō (feudal chief) of the Han stronghold of Hiroshima. Originally built in 1590, the castle was entirely destroyed by the atomic bomb of 1945. It was rebuilt in 1958 and is used as museum of the history of Hiroshima before the Second world war.

History

Mori Terumoto, one of the five regents of the council of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, built the castle 1589 on the delta of the river Otagawa. The town of Hiroshima then did not exist yet. This area was called Gokamura, which meant “five villages.” Starting from 1591, Mori controls nine provinces since this castle. These provinces correspond currently about to the prefectures of Shimane, Yamaguchi, Tottori, Okayama and Hiroshima.

When the construction of the castle started, Gokamura was famous Hiroshima. " Hiro" was taken of Oeno Hiromoto, an ancestor of the Mori family, and " Shima" was taken of Fukushima Motonaga which helped Mori Terumoto to choose the place of construction. “Hiroshima” means “broad island also literally” what refers to several large islands of the delta of Otagawa close to the castle.

After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Mori was forced to leave the castle and to withdraw themselves with Hagi in the current prefecture of Yamaguchi. Fukushima Masanori became the lord of the provinces of Aki and Bingo (currently prefecture of Hiroshima). However, new the Shogunat de Tokugawa prohibits any construction of castle without the permission of the government of Edo; it is partly how the shogunat prevented the daimyō to gain to be able about it and to make it possible to reverse the shogunat. When Fukushima repaired the castle following a flood in 1619, it was dispatched in Kawanakajima in current the Préfecture of Nagano. Asano Nagaakira became the lord of the castle then.

From 1619 and until the abolition of the Han feudal system during the restoration Meiji (1869), the family Asano were the lords of the provinces of Aki and Bingo.

After the Meiji restoration, the castle was used militarily and the imperial general headquarter of the army settled there during the Sino-Japanese geurre of 1894 with 1895. The foundations of additional buildings at the general headquarter remain visible to a few hundreds of step of the principal tower.

The castle was destroyed by the atomic bomb the August 6th 1945. The current tower, rebuilt mainly out of concrete, was finished in 1958.

The daimyō of Hiroshima

Mori Terumoto (1591 - 1600) *; 1 ' 120 ' 000 Koku
Fukushima Masanori (1600 - 1619); 498 ' 223 koku
Asano Nagaakira (1619 - 1632); 426 ' 500 koku **
Asano Mitsuakira (1632 - 1672)
Asano Tsunaakira (1672 - 1673)
Asano Tsunanaga (1673 - 1708)
Asano Yoshinaga (1708 - 1752)
Asano Munetsune (1752 - 1763)
Asano Shigeakira (1763 - 1799)
Asano Narikata (1799 - 1830)
Asano Naritaka (1831 - 1858 )
Asano Yoshiteru (1858 - 1858)
Asano Nagamichi (1858 - 1869)
Asano Nagakoto (1869 - 1869)

* the years correspond to the last years in the castle and not to the dates of its birth and its death.

** the koku did not evolve/move any more after Asano Nagaakira and remained with 426 ' 500 koku .

Structure

The castle in the beginning was built out of wood, mainly of the pine. It was finished some share between 1592 and 1599, and was indicated national treasure in 1931. The rebuilt castle comprises only the principal tower ( honmaru ), which is made mainly reinforced concrete. Its 5 stages measure 26,6 meters, it rests on a stone foundation measuring 12,4 meters.

Excel example of hirajiro or castle of plain, the castle of Hiroshima in the past had three concentric ditches in addition to the river in the west, which provided an additional natural barrier. The two external ditches were stopped at the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of 20th, and most of what was the circumference of the castle is currently an urban area including/understanding of the houses, the schools, the offices and stores. A number of appendices of the castle, turns and turrets were there. A temple Shinto called Hiroshima Gokoku Jinja is located in the ditch more close to the castle.

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