It is one of the oldest high schools in Japan, with a history of over 290 years.

Shudo was originally the Domain School (藩校) teaching sons of samurais in the feudal domain, but was changed to a private school by the Twelfth Lord, Nagakoto Asano, in 1878.

[2] The school, students and teachers suffered severely from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima City in 1945.

[7] Shudo has educated generations of Japanese statesmen, bureaucrats, artists, professors, businessmen and athletes including Tomosaburo Kato, 12th Prime Minister of Japan, and Kōji Kikkawa, rock musician and actor.

Football, swimming and climbing teams of the school have won the All Japan High School Championships several times.