Historical Circumstances
HIROSHIMA BEFORE THE BOMBING
Hiroshima was built on a delta formed by deposits of dirt and sand
carried from the upper reaches of the Ota River. The city prospered
during the Edo period (1603-1867) as the largest castle town in the
Chugoku and Shikoku regions. After
the Meiji Restoration (1868), the city was born anew as the capital of
Hiroshima Prefecture. The land reclamation that had progressed during
the Edo period was expanded on an entirely new scale during the Meiji
period. Large tracts of land were developed and an outer port was
constructed. The industrial economy developed at a rapid pace. In
addition, many army facilities were built and the city became an
important military center. It also became an important city in terms
of education and culture. Many schools were built, including the
Higher School of Education which trained teachers. Hiroshima gradually
assumed two distinctive images: a military city and an education city.
In the early Showa period, around the 1930s, heavy industries related
to the military began to develop. The Hiroshima Bay area, including
the navy port at Kure, became one of the few military bases in Western
Japan during wartime.
Showa Period and Wartime (1925-1945)
Japan's war on the China
mainland was triggered by the Manchurian Incident of 1931 and
developed into a full war with China in 1937. In addition, Japan took
on the United States, United Kingdom and other Allied Forces when it
launched the Pacific War with its attack on the US military base at
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in December 1941.
All the factories in Hiroshima cooperated with orders from the
government and rapidly converted from producing civilian goods to
military supplies. The daily life of citizens became difficult and
many were mobilized to serve in battle or in military factories.