Portal:Japan/Geography/Selected prefecture/34

Hiroshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima. The area around Hiroshima, formerly divided into Bingo and Aki provinces, has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded history. Hiroshima is a traditional center of the Chūgoku region and was the seat of the Mōri clan until the Battle of Sekigahara. Hiroshima is home to two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Atomic Dome in Hiroshima, one of the few remnants of prewar Hiroshima following the atomic bombing in 1945 and Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima, famed for filling with water and appearing to "float" during high tide. Located on the island of Okunoshima (city of Takehara), are the remains of a toxic gas factory linked to Unit 731. Different types of chemical weapons were produced there during the first part of the Shōwa era like mustard gas, yperite, lewisite and cyanide. These weapons were used against Chinese soldiers and civilians and during the experiments on humans by Shiro Ishii's units. Hiroshima prefecture lies in the middle of Chūgoku, facing Shikoku across the Seto Inland Sea. Most of the prefecture consists of mountains leading towards Shimane Prefecture, but rivers produce rich plains near the coast, and the prefecture also includes many small islands in the Inland Sea. The sheltered nature of the Inland Sea makes Hiroshima's climate very mild.