Sengoku period
Hiroshima was founded on the river delta coastline of the Seto Inland Sea in 1589 by the powerful warlord M?ri Terumoto, who made it his capital after leaving Koriyama Castle in Aki Province. Hiroshima Castle was quickly built, and Terumoto moved in, in 1593. Terumoto was on the losing side at the Battle of Sekigahara. The winner, Tokugawa Ieyasu, deprived Mori Terumoto of most of his fiefs including Hiroshima and gave Aki province to Masanori Fukushima, a daimyo who had supported Tokugawa.
Tokugawa period
The castle passed to Asano Nagaakira in 1619, and Asano was appointed the daimyo of this area. Under Asano rule, the city prospered, developed, and expanded, with few military conflicts or disturbances Asano's descendants continued to rule until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Hiroshima served as the capital of Hiroshima Domain during the Tokugawa period.
Imperial period
After the han was abolished in 1871, the city became the capital of Hiroshima prefecture. Hiroshima became a major urban center during the imperial period as the Japanese economy shifted from primarily rural to urban industries.
During 1870s, one of the seven government-sponsored English language schools was established in Hiroshima. Ujina Harbor was constructed through the efforts of Hiroshima Governor Sadaaki Senda in the 1880s, allowing Hiroshima to become an important port city.
The Sanyo Railway was extended to Hiroshima in 1894, and a rail line from the main station to the harbor was constructed for military transportation during the First Sino-Japanese War. During that war, the Japanese government moved temporarily to Hiroshima, and Emperor Meiji maintained his headquarters at Hiroshima Castle from September 15, 1894 to April 27, 1895. The significance of Hiroshima for the Japanese government can be discerned from the fact that the first round of talks between Chinese and Japanese representatives to end
