The Graduate School of Letters of Hiroshima University was established in 1953, following the completion of the Faculty of Letters of the new Hiroshima University founded in 1949. The new University in turn was an offshoot of the Hiroshima University of Literature and Science established in 1929. Since its establishment, the number of courses in the Faculty of Letters has gradually increased, making it one of the largest bases for research and education in the field of Human Sciences in Japan.

It conducts advanced research and plays the role of a leader in the academic world, and at the same time fully demonstrates the functions of a researcher training university, producing individuals that have made significant contributions to many higher education institutions throughout the country. The Faculty boasts outstanding achievements in the field of academic research as well, having produced three recipients of the Japan Academy Award and one of them further received the Imperial Award.

In 1994, the Faculty of Letters moved from the Higashi Senda Campus (Hiroshima City), the original location of the Hiroshima University of Literature and Science, to the larger Higashi Hiroshima Campus(Higashi Hiroshima City).

In 1997, the Faculty was reorganized from three courses of study to a single expansive one, and 2001 saw the start of the shift in staff and administration to the Graduate School of Letters, through which 14 Majors were reorganized to form a single Major with five education and research fields.

The creation of this new School of Letters has now begun at this new location, which prides itself on its fresh and green natural surroundings.