Hiroshima serves as the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, situated within the Chugoku Region on the delta coastline of the Seto Inland Sea. It is an industrial city characterized by wide boulevards and criss-crossing rivers along the coast. As the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, it functions as a major urban center and administrative hub for the area.

The city was founded in 1589 by warlord Mōri Terumoto as a castle town on the Ōta River delta. Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, it transformed into a significant industrial hub and gained official city status in 1889. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial, including the preserved ruin known as the A-Bomb Dome, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site designated since 1996.

Hiroshima is defined by its modern cosmopolitan atmosphere, featuring ferroconcrete architecture and blinking neon lights alongside historic sites. Key landmarks include the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum, established in 1955, and the Genbaku Dome. The city also retains historical structures like the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, which stands as a preserved ruin of its imperial era.

The city offers excellent cuisine and a bustling nightlife, attracting visitors with its blend of history and modernity. Oleander is the official flower, chosen because it was the first to bloom after the 1945 atomic bombing. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum draws people interested in the site's traumatic past and its subsequent reconstruction as a symbol of peace.

As of June 1, 2019, the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391, while verified facts list 1,198,021 as of 2021. The Greater Hiroshima area had a GDP of US$61.3 billion in 2010. It is accessible via the San'yō Railway and Shinkansen, serving as a key port city with Ujina Harbor established in the 1880s.