Hiroshima Castle

Hiroshima Castle 広島城
Hiroshima, Japan
Reconstructed main keep.
Coordinates	34°24′10″N 132°27′33″E / 34.402726°N 132.459047°E / 34.402726; 132.459047Coordinates: 34°24′10″N 132°27′33″E / 34.402726°N 132.459047°E / 34.402726; 132.459047
Type	Azuchi-Momoyama castle
Height	12.4 meters (stone base), 26.6 meters (reconstructed keep, five stories)
Site information
Controlled by	Mōri clan (1592–1600), Fukushima Masanori (1600–1619), Asano clan (1619–1869),  Japan (1869–1945)
Condition	Reconstructed, serves as history museum
Site history
Built	1592–1599 (original) 1958 (reconstruction)
Built by	Mōri Terumoto
In use	1592–1945
Materials	stone, wood, plaster walls (original); concrete, steel, wood, stone, plaster (reconstruction)
Demolished	6 August 1945 as a result of the atomic bombing.

Hiroshima Castle (広島城, Hiroshima-jō^?), sometimes called Carp Castle (鯉城, Rijō^?), was a castle in Hiroshima, Japan that was the home of the daimyō (feudal lord) of the Hiroshima han (fief). The castle was constructed in the 1590s, but was destroyed by the atomic bombing on August 6 1945. It was rebuilt in 1958, a replica of the original that now serves as a museum of Hiroshima's history prior to World War II.

Mōri Terumoto, one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's council of Five Elders, built Hiroshima castle between 1589 and 1599. It was located on the delta of the Otagawa river. There was no Hiroshima city or town at the time, and the area was called Gokamura, meaning 'five villages.' Beginning in 1591, Mōri governed nine provinces from this castle, including much of what is now Shimane, Yamaguchi, Tottori, Okayama and Hiroshima Prefectures.