A-bombed Hiroshima castle main tower to close in March

The exterior of the castle tower, located within Hiroshima Castle Ruins, a national historic site, will be retained even after the closure, but the interior exhibition rooms in the five-story building will no longer be open to the public.

Many people hope that the main tower will be rebuilt as a wooden structure.

The city government of Hiroshima is considering whether that is feasible.

Daimyo feudal baron Mori Terumoto began the construction of Hiroshima Castle in 1589.

In 1931, the main tower was designated as a former national treasure, but when the atomic bomb was dropped in August 1945 in the closing days of World War II, the tower, located about one kilometer from the epicenter, collapsed.

After the war, the current third-generation tower was constructed with reinforced concrete in 1958, following the second-generation wooden temporary tower.

Earlier this month, many citizens visited a countdown exhibition introducing the history of the castle tower and listened to explanations by curator Miwako Honda, 61.

Honda explained the structure of the castle tower and how its timber from the post-bombing collapse was used to rebuild lives in the city's urban area.

She noted that some people opposed the reconstruction of the tower after the bombing as they claimed the destroyed tower should be preserved as part of history.

"I feel sad about the closure because the castle tower has a long history," a 60-year-old man from the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, said after Honda's explanation.

"I hope it will be reconstructed in a new form."

A 78-year-old man from the city of Hiroshima expressed hope that the tower "will be built with wood again."

In 2021, the Hiroshima city government began investigating how to rebuild the tower as a wooden structure. A panel of experts was established to address related issues.

At a meeting, the panel indicated that wooden restoration is "the most likely" option, as it could symbolize the history before the atomic bombing and reconstruction, and that a wooden structure could be maintained semi-permanently with regular repairs.

However, even if it is to be restored as a wooden structure, the city government does not expect completion until fiscal 2049 at the earliest, as the current castle tower needs to be dismantled.

Honda has worked at Hiroshima Castle for 24 years.

"The history of Hiroshima Castle was born from (the region's) post-atomic bombing reconstruction," she said.

"I want people to reevaluate the current building, which is filled with the feelings of various people, and become attached to the castle tower."