Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Hiroshima rapidly transformed into a major urban center and industrial hub.

This occurred on August 6, 1945, in the Pacific theatre of World War II, at 8:15 a.m., when the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped the atomic bomb "Little Boy" on the city.

Like much of Japan, Hiroshima experiences a seasonal temperature lag in summer, with August rather than July being the warmest month of the year.

The total area of the city is 905.08 square kilometres (349.45 sq mi), with a population density of 1321 persons per km2.

From the 12th century, the village was rather prosperous and was economically attached to a Zen Buddhist temple called Mitaki-Ji.

[12] Hiroshima was established on the delta coastline of the Seto Inland Sea in 1589 by powerful warlord Mōri Terumoto.

The San'yō 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.

[19] Further industrialization in Hiroshima was stimulated during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, which required development and production of military supplies.

[20] The building, now known as the A-Bomb Dome, part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, a World Heritage Site since 1996, permanently remains the only structure still standing and is a state of preserved ruin.

[23] The bombing of Tokyo and other cities in Japan during World War II caused widespread destruction and hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths.

To protect against potential firebombings in Hiroshima, school children aged 11–14 years were mobilized to demolish houses and create firebreaks.

[25] On Monday, August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m. (Hiroshima time), the American Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the Enola Gay, flown by Paul Tibbets (23 February 1915 – 1 November 2007), dropped the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" on Hiroshima,[26] directly killing at least 70,000 people, including thousands of Korean slave laborers.

The public release of film footage of the city following the attack, and some of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission research on the human effects of the attack, were restricted during the occupation of Japan, and much of this information was censored until the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco in 1951, restoring control to the Japanese.

As Ian Buruma observed: News of the amazing explosion of the atom bomb attacks on Japan was deliberately withheld from the Japanese public by US military censors during the Allied occupation—even as they sought to teach the natives the virtues of a free press.

"Hiroshima", the account written by John Hersey for The New Yorker, had a huge impact in the US, but was banned in Japan.

As [John] Dower says: "In the localities themselves, suffering was compounded not merely by the unprecedented nature of the catastrophe ... but also by the fact that public struggle with this traumatic experience was not permitted.

"[30]The book Hiroshima by John Hersey was originally published in article form in the magazine The New Yorker,[31] on August 31, 1946.

[31][35] Oleander (Nerium) is the official flower of the city of Hiroshima because it was the first to bloom again after the explosion of the atomic bomb in 1945.

It provided financial assistance for reconstruction, along with land donated that was previously owned by the national government and used by the Imperial military.

[41] Hiroshima was proclaimed a City of Peace by the Japanese parliament in 1949, at the initiative of its mayor, Shinzo Hamai (1905–1968).

[42][43] On May 27, 2016, Barack Obama became the first sitting United States president to visit Hiroshima since the atomic bombing.

[54] Notable art institutions include the Elisabeth University of Music and Actor's School Hiroshima.

Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport, 43 kilometres (27 mi) south-west of Hiroshima, re-instated commercial flights on December 13, 2012.

Hiroshima is known for okonomiyaki, a savory (umami) pancake cooked on an iron plate, usually in front of the customer.

The layers are typically egg, cabbage, bean sprouts (moyashi), sliced pork/bacon with optional items (mayonnaise, fried squid, octopus, cheese, mochi, kimchi, etc.

), and noodles (soba, udon) topped with another layer of egg and a generous dollop of okonomiyaki sauce (Carp and Otafuku are two popular brands).

Defunct clubs include Rijo Shukyu FC, who won the Emperor's Cup in 1924 and 1925, and Ẽfini Hiroshima SC.

The now-called Hiroshima Prefectural Sports Center was one of the host arenas of the 2006 FIBA World Championship (basketball).

The Japanese city and the Prefecture of Hiroshima may have been devastated by the atomic bomb over 77 years ago, but today, this site of the destruction is one of the top tourist destinations in the entire country.

Statistics released by the nation's tourist agency revealed that around 363,000 visitors went to the metropolis during 2012, with Americans making up the vast majority of that figure, followed by Australians and Chinese.