designated city
A , also known as a or , is a Japanese city that has a population greater than 500,000 and has been designated as such by order of the Cabinet of Japan under Article 252, Section 19, of the Local Autonomy Law.
Designated cities are delegat ...
in the
Kansai region
The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...
of
Honshu
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island se ...
Special wards of Tokyo
are a special form of municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparable to other forms of municipalities.
Although the auton ...
and
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
. With a population of 2.7 million in the 2020 census, it is also the largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, which is the second-largest metropolitan area in Japan and the 10th largest urban area in the world with more than 19 million inhabitants.
Osaka was traditionally considered Japan's economic hub. By the Kofun period (300–538) it had developed into an important regional port, and in the 7th and 8th centuries, it served briefly as the imperial capital. Osaka continued to flourish during the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...
(1603–1867) and became known as a center of Japanese culture. Following the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
, Osaka greatly expanded in size and underwent rapid industrialization. In 1889, Osaka was officially established as a municipality. The construction boom accelerated population growth throughout the following decades, and by the 1900s, Osaka was the industrial hub in the Meiji and Taishō periods. Osaka made noted contributions to redevelopment, urban planning and zoning standards in the postwar period, the city developed rapidly as one of the major financial center in the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area.
Osaka is a major financial center of Japan, and it is recognized as one of the most
multicultural
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
and
cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
cities in Japan. The city is home to the Osaka Exchange as well as the headquarters of multinational
electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
corporations such as
Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...
and
Sharp
Sharp or SHARP may refer to:
Acronyms
* SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme
* Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 19 ...
. Osaka is an international center of research and development and is represented by several major universities, notably Osaka University,
Osaka Metropolitan University
, abbreviated to OMU, is a Japanese public university that was established through the integration of Osaka City University (OCU) and Osaka Prefecture University (OPU) on 1 April 2022.
OMU was inaugurated with 1 undergraduate college, 11 unde ...
, and
Kansai University
, abbreviated as or , is a private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as Kansai Law School in 1886, It has been recognized as one o ...
. Famous landmarks in the city include
Osaka Castle
is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Layout
The main tower ...
,
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
The is an aquarium located in the ward of Minato in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, near Osaka Bay. When it first opened, it was the largest public aquarium in the world. It is a member of the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The a ...
Tsūtenkaku
, owned by , is a tower and well-known landmark of Osaka, Japan and advertises Hitachi. It is located in the Shinsekai district of Naniwa-ku, Osaka. Its total height is 103 m; the main observation deck is at a height of 91 m.
History
The c ...
in
Shinsekai
is an old neighbourhood located next to south Osaka City's downtown "Minami" area. The neighbourhood was created in 1912 with New York (specifically, Coney Island) as a model for its southern half and Paris for its northern half. At this locatio ...
,
Tennōji Park
The is a park with botanical garden at 1–108, Chausuyama-cho, Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Japan.
Establishments
* Tennoji Zoo
*Osaka Municipal Museum of Art
*Greenhouse
*Keitakuen
*Chausuyama Tomb
Tenshiba Area
Restaurants, cafes, vegetable and fru ...
,
Abeno Harukas
is a multi-purpose commercial facility in Abenosuji Itchome, Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan. It consists of the (main tenants: Osaka Abenobashi Station, Kintetsu Department Store Main Store Abeno Harukas Wing Building), (Miyako City Osaka Tennoji), a ...
Shitennō-ji
Shitennō-ji ( ja, 四天王寺, ''Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings'') is a Buddhist temple in Ōsaka, Japan. It is also known as Arahaka-ji, Nanba-ji, or Mitsu-ji. The temple is sometimes regarded as the first Buddhist and oldest officially-a ...
, one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan.
Etymology
''Ōsaka'' means "large hill" or "large slope". It is unclear when this name gained prominence over Naniwa, but the oldest written evidence for the name dates back to 1496.
By the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...
, (''Ōsaka'') and (''Ōsaka'') were mixed use, and the writer , in his book ''Setsuyo Ochiboshu'' published in 1808, states that the
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
was abhorred because it "returns to the earth," and then was used. The kanji (earth) is also similar to the word (knight), and means against, so can be understand as "samurai rebellion," then was official name in 1868 after the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
. The older kanji (坂) is still in very limited use, usually only in historical contexts. As an abbreviation, the modern kanji refers to Osaka City or Osaka Prefecture.
History
Origins: Jōmon and Yayoi period
In the Jōmon period (7,000 BCE), Osaka was mostly submerged by the Seto Inland Sea, and the small Uemachi-daichi plateau (12 km long and 2.5 km wide), located in the southern part of the city called Uehonmachi, was a peninsula. The Uehonmachi area consisted of a peninsula with an inland sea ( Seto Inland Sea) in the east. It is considered one of the first places where inhabitants of Japan settled, both for the favorable geological conditions, rich in fresh water and lush vegetation, and because it was in a position difficult to attack from a military point of view.
The earliest evidence of settlements in the Osaka area are the which is located in the central Chuo-ku district. Buried human skeletons and a kaizuka (a mound containing remains), were found as well as shell mounds, oysters, and other interesting archaeological discoveries from the Jomon period. In addition to the remains of consumed food, there were arrow heads, stone tools, fishing hooks and crockery with remains from rice processing. It is estimated that the ruins contain 2,000-year-old debris between the Jomon and
Yayoi period
The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age.
Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon ...
. The findings of the archeological sites are exhibited in an adjacent building.
In the years between the end of the Jōmon period and the beginning of the Yayoi period, the sediments that were deposited north of the Uemachi-daichi peninsula / plateau transformed the sea that stretched to the east into a lagoon which was called Kawachi. During the
Yayoi period
The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age.
Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon ...
(300 BCE-250 CE), permanent habitation on the plains grew as rice farming became popular. Navigate to the equivalent Japanese page ( istory of Osaka, A timetrip back 20,000 years for additional information.
At the beginning of the third century CE the grand shrine of
Sumiyoshi-taisha
, also known as Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan. However, the oldest shrine that enshrines the Sumiyoshi sanjin, the th ...
was inaugurated near the harbor, commissioned by consort
Empress Jingū
was a legendary Japanese empress who ruled as a regent following her husband's death in 200 AD. Both the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Jingū's alleged lifetime. Leg ...
. This
Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
shrine structure survived historical events, which inaugurated a new style in the construction of Shinto shrines, called
Sumiyoshi-zukuri
is an ancient Japanese Shinto shrine architectural style which takes its name from Sumiyoshi Taisha's ''honden'' in Ōsaka. As in the case of the '' taisha-zukuri'' and '' shinmei-zukuri'' styles, its birth predates the arrival of Buddhism in Jap ...
. The maritime panorama enjoyed from the shrine gardens inspired several artists, and nowadays the representations of that type of landscape are called ''Sumiyoshi drawings''.
Towards the end of the Yayoi period the Uemachi-daichi plateau-peninsula expanded further, transforming the Kawachi Lagoon (河内湖) into a lake connected to the mouth of the
Yodo River
The , also called the Seta River (瀬田川 ''Seta-gawa'') and the Uji River (宇治川 ''Uji-gawa'') at portions of its route, is the principal river in Osaka Prefecture on Honshu, Japan. The source of the river is Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefectur ...
, which had widened to the south.
Kofun period
By the Kofun period, Osaka developed into a hub port connecting the region to the western part of Japan. The port of Naniwa-tsu was established and became the most important in Japan. Trade with other areas of the country and the Asian continent intensified. The large numbers of increasingly larger keyhole-shaped Kofun mounds found in the plains of Osaka are evidence of political-power concentration, leading to the formation of a state. The findings in the neighboring plains, including the mausoleum of Emperor Nintoku was discovered nearby in
Sakai
is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...
testify to the status of imperial city that Osaka had reached. Four of these mounds can be seen in Osaka, in which important members of the nobility are buried. They are located in the southern districts of the city and date back to the 5th century. A group of megalithic tombs called
Mozu Tombs
The are a group of ''kofun'' ()—megalithic tombs—in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Originally consisting of more than 100 tombs, only less than 50% of the key-hole, round, and rectangular tombs remain.
The , the largest ''kofun'' in Japan ...
are located in
Sakai
is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...
, Osaka Prefecture.
Important works of the Kofun period is the excavation that diverted the course of the
Yamato River
The is a river which flows through Nara Prefecture and Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is designated Class A by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).
The river flows via towns:
*Nara Prefecture
** Yamatokōriyama
*Os ...
, whose floods caused extensive damage, and the construction of important roads in the direction of
Sakai
is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...
and
Nara
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...
. Maritime traffic connected to the port of Naniwa-tsu increased in such a way that huge warehouses were built to stow material arriving and departing.
File:Corbicula_sandai_-_Osaka_Museum_of_Natural_History_-_DSC07755.JPG, Ancient shells found in the Morinomiya kaizuka (Jomon period)
Asuka and Nara period
The Kojiki records that during 390–430 AD, there was an imperial palace located at Osumi, in what is present day Higashiyodogawa ward, but it may have been a secondary imperial residence rather than a capital.
In 645,
Emperor Kōtoku
was the 36th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 孝徳天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.
The years of his reign lasted from 645 through 654.
Traditional narrative
Before Kōtoku's ascen ...
built his
Naniwa Nagara-Toyosaki Palace
, is a historical palace which was located in present-day central Osaka city, Japan. The palace of this period is also sometimes referred to as the , to contrast it with the (Latter) Naniwa Palace built in the same location in 744 AD.
Constructi ...
in what is now Osaka, making it the capital of Japan. The city now known as Osaka was at this time referred to as Naniwa, and this name and derivations of it are still in use for districts in central Osaka such as Naniwa () and Namba ().This name was historically written as or , with the same pronunciation, though these renderings are uncommon today. Although the capital was moved to
Asuka
Asuka may refer to:
People
* Asuka (name), a list of people
* Asuka (wrestler), professional wrestler
* Asuka (wrestler, born 1998), professional wrestler also known as Veny outside of Japan
Places In Japan
* , an area in Yamato Province (now ...
(in
Nara Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayam ...
today) in 655, Naniwa remained a vital connection, by land and sea, between
Yamato
was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan.
Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan.
Japanese his ...
(modern day
Nara Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayam ...
),
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, and China.
Naniwa was declared the capital again in 744 by order of
Emperor Shōmu
was the 45th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 聖武天皇 (45)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749, during the Nara period.
Traditional narrative
...
, and remained so until 745, when the Imperial Court moved back to Heijō-kyō (now
Nara
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...
). By the end of the Nara period, Naniwa's seaport roles had been gradually taken over by neighboring areas, but it remained a lively center of river, channel, and land transportation between Heian-kyō (Kyoto today) and other destinations.
Sumiyoshi Taisha
, also known as Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan. However, the oldest shrine that enshrines the Sumiyoshi sanjin, the thr ...
Grand Shrine was founded by Tamomi no Sukune in 211 CE.
Shitennō-ji
Shitennō-ji ( ja, 四天王寺, ''Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings'') is a Buddhist temple in Ōsaka, Japan. It is also known as Arahaka-ji, Nanba-ji, or Mitsu-ji. The temple is sometimes regarded as the first Buddhist and oldest officially-a ...
was first built in 593 CE and the oldest
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
temple in Japan.
File:Sumiyoshi-taisha,_keidai-2.jpg,
Sumiyoshi Taisha
, also known as Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan. However, the oldest shrine that enshrines the Sumiyoshi sanjin, the thr ...
Grand Shrine
File:Shitennoji07s3200.jpg,
Shitennō-ji
Shitennō-ji ( ja, 四天王寺, ''Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings'') is a Buddhist temple in Ōsaka, Japan. It is also known as Arahaka-ji, Nanba-ji, or Mitsu-ji. The temple is sometimes regarded as the first Buddhist and oldest officially-a ...
File:Naniwa-no-miya-ato,_zenkei-2.jpg, Remains of Naniwa-no-Miya Palace (2017)
Heian to Edo period
In 1496, Jōdo ShinshūBuddhists established their headquarters in the heavily fortified
Ishiyama Hongan-ji
The was the primary fortress of the Ikkō-ikki, leagues of warrior priests and commoners who opposed samurai rule during the Sengoku period. It was established in 1496, at the mouth of the Yodo River, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. At the t ...
, located directly on the site of the old Naniwa Imperial Palace. Oda Nobunaga began a decade-long siege campaign on the temple in 1570 which ultimately resulted in the surrender of the monks and subsequent razing of the temple.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
constructed
Osaka Castle
is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Layout
The main tower ...
in its place in 1583. Osaka Castle played a pivotal role in the
Siege of Osaka
The was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages (winter campaign and summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege ...
(1614–1615).
Osaka was long considered Japan's primary economic center, with a large percentage of the population belonging to the merchant class (see
Four divisions of society
The four occupations () or "four categories of the people" ()Hansson, pp. 20-21Brook, 72. was an occupation classification used in ancient China by either Confucian or Legalist scholars as far back as the late Zhou dynasty and is considered a ...
). Over the course of the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...
(1603–1867), Osaka grew into one of Japan's major cities and returned to its ancient role as a lively and important port. ''
Daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...
s'' (feudal lords) received most of their income in the form of
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
.
Merchants
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry ...
in Osaka thus began to organize storehouses where they would store a ''daimyō''s rice in exchange for a fee, trading it for either coin or a form of receipt; essentially a precursor to
paper money
A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand.
Banknotes were originally issued ...
. Many if not all of these
rice brokers
Rice brokers, which rose to power and significance in Osaka and Edo in the Edo period (1603-1867) of Japanese history, were the forerunners to Japan's banking system. The concept actually originally arose in Kyoto several hundred years earlier; ...
also made loans, and would actually become quite wealthy and powerful. Osaka merchants coalesced their shops around Dōjima, where the Rice Exchange was established in 1697 and where the world's first
futures
Futures may mean:
Finance
*Futures contract, a tradable financial derivatives contract
*Futures exchange, a financial market where futures contracts are traded
* ''Futures'' (magazine), an American finance magazine
Music
* ''Futures'' (album), a ...
market would come to exist to sell rice that was not yet harvested.
The popular culture of Osaka was closely related to ''
ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk t ...
'' depictions of life in Edo. By 1780, Osaka had cultivated a vibrant arts culture, as typified by its famous
Kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is though ...
and
Bunraku
(also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers ...
theaters.C. Andrew Gerstle, ''Kabuki Heroes on the Osaka Stage 1780–1830'' (2005) In 1837,
Ōshio Heihachirō
was a Japanese philosopher, revolutionary, writer, and Yoriki of the in Osaka. Despite working for the government, he was openly against the Tokugawa regime. He is known for his role as leader in the rebellion against the Tokugawa shogunate.
...
, a low-ranking
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
, led a peasant insurrection in response to the city's unwillingness to support the many poor and suffering families in the area. Approximately one-quarter of the city was razed before shogunal officials put down the rebellion, after which Ōshio killed himself. Osaka was opened to foreign trade by the government of the
Bakufu
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura ...
at the same time as Hyogo Town (modern Kobe) on January 1, 1868, just before the advent of the Boshin War and the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
. The
Kawaguchi foreign settlement
The Kawaguchi foreign settlement, or known as the Old Kawaguchi settlement (Japanese: 旧川口居留地), was a foreign settlement located in north Kawaguchi, straddling in western present-day Nishi-ku, Osaka as well. It was also called the forme ...
, now the Kawaguchi subdistrict, is a legacy of the foreign presence in Osaka.
Osaka residents were stereotyped in Edo literature from at least the 18th century.
Jippensha Ikku
was the pen name of Shigeta Sadakazu (重田 貞一), a Japanese writer active during the late Edo period of Japan. He was among the most prolific writers of the late Edo period — between 1795 and 1801 he wrote a minimum of twenty novels ...
in 1802 depicted Osakans as stingy almost beyond belief. In 1809, the derogatory term "Kamigata zeeroku" was used by Edo residents to characterize inhabitants of the Osaka region in terms of calculation, shrewdness, lack of civic spirit, and the vulgarity of Osaka dialect. Edo writers aspired to samurai culture, and saw themselves as poor but generous, chaste, and public spirited. Edo writers by contrast saw "zeeroku" as obsequious apprentices, stingy, greedy, gluttonous, and lewd. To some degree, Osaka residents are still stigmatized by Tokyo observers in the same way today, especially in terms of gluttony, evidenced in the phrase, .Richard Torrance, "Literacy and Literature in Osaka, 1890–1940," ''The Journal of Japanese Studies'' 31#1 (Winter 2005), pp. 27–60
File:Osaka Castle 02bs3200.jpg,
Osaka Castle
is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Layout
The main tower ...
(first built in 1583)
File:Osaka-zu byobu.jpg, The Sumiyoshi-matsuri in the 16th century
File:The Siege of Osaka Castle.jpg, Japanese painting of the
Siege of Osaka
The was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages (winter campaign and summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege ...
(1615)
File:Newly compiled and enlarged plan of Ōsaka (14042582876).jpg, Map of Osaka, 1686
File:Dojima-Rice-Exchange-Osaka-by-Yoshimitsu-Sasaki.png, Dōjima Rice Exchange ukiyo-e by Yoshimitsu Sasaki
Meiji to Heisei period
With the enormous changes that characterized the country after the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
(1868), and the relocation of the capital from
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
to
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, Osaka entered a period of decline. From being the capital of the economy and finance, it became a predominantly industrial center. The modern municipality was established in 1889 by government ordinance, with an initial area of , overlapping today's Chuo and Nishi wards. Later, the city went through three major expansions to reach its current size of . Osaka was the industrial center most clearly defined in the development of capitalism in Japan. It became known as the "
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
of the Orient". In 1925, it was the largest and most populated cities in Japan and sixth in the world.
The rapid industrialization attracted many Asian immigrants (Indians, Chinese, and Koreans), who set up a life apart for themselves.Chisato Hotta, "The Construction of the Korean Community in Osaka between 1920 and 1945: A Cross-Cultural Perspective." PhD dissertation U. of Chicago 2005. 498 pp. DAI 2005 65(12): 4680-A. DA3158708 Fulltext:
ProQuest
ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...
Dissertations & Theses The political system was pluralistic, with a strong emphasis on promoting industrialization and modernization.Blair A. Ruble, ''Second Metropolis: Pragmatic Pluralism in Gilded Age Chicago, Silver Age Moscow, and Meiji Osaka.'' (2001) Literacy was high and the educational system expanded rapidly, producing a middle class with a taste for literature and a willingness to support the arts.Richard Torrance, "Literacy and Literature in Osaka, 1890–1940," ''Journal of Japanese Studies'' 31#1 (Winter 2005), p.27-60 in
Project MUSE
Project MUSE, a non-profit collaboration between libraries and publishers, is an online database of peer-reviewed academic journals and electronic books. Project MUSE contains digital humanities and social science content from over 250 univers ...
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
,
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...
, and Buick vehicles, operated and staffed by Japanese workers and managers. In the nearby city of
Ikeda Ikeda may refer to:
* Ikeda (surname), a Japanese surname
* Ikeda (comics), a character in ''Usagi Yojimbo''
* Ikeda clan, a Japanese clan
* Ikeda map, chaotic attractor
* ''Ikeda'' (annelid) a genus of the family Ikedidae
Places
* Ikeda, Osaka i ...
in Osaka Prefecture is the headquarters of
Daihatsu
, commonly known as Daihatsu, is a Japanese automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers. The company's headquarters are located in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture.
Historically, Daihatsu was ...
, one of Japan's oldest automobile manufacturers.
Like its European and American counterparts, Osaka displayed slums, unemployment, and poverty. In Japan it was here that municipal government first introduced a comprehensive system of poverty relief, copied in part from British models. Osaka policymakers stressed the importance of family formation and mutual assistance as the best way to combat poverty. This minimized the cost of welfare programs.Kingo Tamai, "Images of the Poor in an Official Survey of Osaka, 1923–1926." ''Continuity and Change'' 2000 15(1): 99–116. Fulltext: Cambridge UP
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
as part of the
air raids on Japan
Air raids conducted by Allied forces on Japan during World War II caused extensive destruction to the country's cities and killed between 241,000 and 900,000 people. During the first years of the Pacific War these attacks were limited to the ...
heavy bombers
Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...
took part in the raid against Osaka. According to an American
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
who was held in the city, the air raid took almost the entire night and destroyed of the city. The U.S. bombed the city again twice in June 1945 and again on August 14, a day before
Japan's surrender
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ( ...
.
In the decades after World War II, the reconstruction plan and the industriousness of its inhabitants ensured Osaka even greater prosperity than it was before the war. Osaka's population regrew to more than three million in the 1960s when large-scale prefectural suburbanization began and doubled to two million by the 1990s. The factories were rebuilt and trade revived, the city were developed rapidly it became a major multicultural and financial center in the postwar period between the 1950s and the 1980s, it is known as the "
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
and
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
of the Orient". Osaka Prefecture was chosen as the venue for the prestigious
Expo '70
The or Expo 70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan between March 15 and September 13, 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...
, the first
world's fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
ever held in an Asian country. Since then, numerous international events have been held in Osaka, including the 1995 APEC Summit.
The modern municipality, which when it was established in 1889 occupied an area of just 15 km2 including the districts of Chūō and Nishi, following three successive expansions has reached an area of 222 km2. It was one of the first cities in Japan to obtain
designated city
A , also known as a or , is a Japanese city that has a population greater than 500,000 and has been designated as such by order of the Cabinet of Japan under Article 252, Section 19, of the Local Autonomy Law.
Designated cities are delegat ...
status in 1956.
21st century to present
The plan to reorganize Osaka and its province into a metropolis like Tokyo met with stiff opposition in some municipalities, particularly the highly populated
Sakai
is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...
. He then fell back on a project that included the suppression of the 24 wards of Osaka, thus dividing the city into 5 new special districts with a status similar to that of the 23
Special wards of Tokyo
are a special form of municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparable to other forms of municipalities.
Although the auton ...
. It was introduced by former mayor
Tōru Hashimoto
is a Japanese TV personality, politician and lawyer. He was the mayor of Osaka city and is a member of Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Osaka Restoration Association. He is one of Japan's leading right-wing conservative-populist politicians.
Early ...
, leader of the reform party
Osaka Restoration Association
The , also referred to as One Osaka, is a regional political party in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Founded in 2010 by then-Governor Tōru Hashimoto, its main platform is pursuing the Osaka Metropolis plan of merging the prefecture and some of its ci ...
which he founded. The referendum of May 17, 2015 called in Osaka for the approval of this project saw the narrow victory of no, and consequently Hashimoto announced his withdrawal from politics. A second referendum for a merger into 4 semi-autonomous wards was narrowly voted down by 692,996 (50.6%).
According to the
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
list of ''The World's Most Expensive Places To Live 2009'', Osaka was the second most expensive in the world after
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
. By 2020 it slipped to 5th rank of most expensive cities.
On March 7, 2014, the 300-meter tall
Abeno Harukas
is a multi-purpose commercial facility in Abenosuji Itchome, Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan. It consists of the (main tenants: Osaka Abenobashi Station, Kintetsu Department Store Main Store Abeno Harukas Wing Building), (Miyako City Osaka Tennoji), a ...
opened, which is the tallest skyscraper in Japan.
File:Osaka_Umeda_Sky_Building_Panoramablick_05.jpg, Skyscrapers in
Umeda
is a major commercial, business, shopping and entertainment district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, and the city's main northern railway terminus (Ōsaka Station, Umeda Station). The district's name means "plum field".
History
Umeda was historica ...
district
File:Sennichimae Osaka ca1916.JPG, Sennichimae area in 1916
File:Osaka after the 1945 air raid.JPG, View of Osaka after the bombing in 1945
File:Abeno_Harukas_20140507-002.jpg,
Abeno Harukas
is a multi-purpose commercial facility in Abenosuji Itchome, Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan. It consists of the (main tenants: Osaka Abenobashi Station, Kintetsu Department Store Main Store Abeno Harukas Wing Building), (Miyako City Osaka Tennoji), a ...
, tallest building in Japan
Geography and climate
Geography
The city's west side is open to
Osaka Bay
Osaka Bay (大阪湾 ''Ōsaka-wan'' ) is a bay in western Japan. As an eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Kii Channel and from the neighbor western part of the Inland Sea by the Akashi Strait. ...
, and is otherwise completely surrounded by more than ten satellite cities, all of them in Osaka Prefecture, with one exception: the city of
Amagasaki
270px, Amagasaki Castle
270px, Aerial view of Amagasaki city center
270px, Amagasaki Station
is an industrial city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 455,555 in 223812 households, and a population de ...
, belonging to Hyōgo Prefecture, in the northwest. The city occupies a larger area (about 13%) than any other city or village within Osaka Prefecture. When the city was established in 1889, it occupied roughly the area known today as the Chuo and Nishi wards, only that would eventually grow into today's via incremental expansions, the largest of which being a single expansion in 1925. Osaka's highest point is Tokyo Peil in Tsurumi-ku, and the lowest point is in
latitude
In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
(41.90),
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
(40.41),
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
(37.77) and
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Cfa''), with four distinct seasons. Its winters are generally mild, with January being the coldest month having an average high of . The city rarely sees snowfall during the winter. Spring in Osaka starts off mild, but ends up being hot and humid. It also tends to be Osaka's wettest season, with the —the rainy season—occurring between early June and late July. The average starting and ending dates of the rainy season are June 7 and July 21 respectively. Summers are very hot and humid. In August, the hottest month, the average daily high temperature reaches , while average nighttime low temperatures typically hover around . Fall in Osaka sees a cooling trend, with the early part of the season resembling summer while the latter part of fall resembles winter. Precipitation is abundant, with winter being the driest season, while monthly rainfall peaks in June with the "tsuyu" rainy season, which typically ends in mid to late July. From late July through the end of August, summer's heat and humidity peaks, and rainfall decreases somewhat. Osaka experiences a second rainy period in September and early October, when tropical weather systems, including typhoons, coming from the south or southwest are possible.
Cityscape
Osaka's sprawling cityscape has been described as "only surpassed by Tokyo as a showcase of the Japanese urban phenomenon".
File:Central Osaka.jpg, Central Osaka looking north from the Abeno Harukas observation deck (2014)
File:Ufoto-wiki-01 Osaka-Skyline May2014.jpg, Osaka skyline towards Umeda (2014)
Neighborhoods
Central Osaka is roughly divided into downtown and uptown areas known as and .
Kita is home to the
Umeda
is a major commercial, business, shopping and entertainment district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, and the city's main northern railway terminus (Ōsaka Station, Umeda Station). The district's name means "plum field".
History
Umeda was historica ...
district and its immediate surrounding neighborhoods, a major business and retail hub that plays host to Osaka Station City and a large subterranean network of shopping arcades. Kita and nearby
Nakanoshima
is a 3 km long and 50 hectares narrow sandbank in Kita-ku, Osaka city, Japan, that divides the Kyū-Yodo into the Tosabori and Dōjima rivers. Many governmental and commercial offices (including the city hall of Osaka), museums and other ...
contain a prominent portion of the city's skyscrapers and are often featured in photographs of Osaka's skyline.
Minami, though meaning "south", is essentially in and geographically central within the city. Well known districts here include Namba and
Shinsaibashi
is a district in the Chūō-ku ward of Osaka, Japan and the city's main shopping area. At its center is , a covered shopping street, that is north of Dōtonbori and Sōemonchō, and parallel and east of Mido-suji street. Associated with Shin ...
shopping areas, the Dōtonbori canal entertainment area,
Nipponbashi
is a shopping district of Naniwa Ward, Osaka, Japan. The area is centered along Sakaisuji Avenue, extending from the Ebisu-chō Interchange of the Hanshin Expressway in the south, to Nansan-dōri (just east of Nankai Namba Station) in the n ...
Den Den Town, as well as arts and fashion culture-oriented areas such as
Amerikamura
Amerikamura (also America mura; アメリカ村, ''American Village'') is a sizable retail and entertainment area near Shinsaibashi in the Chūō-ku district of Osaka, Japan. It is usually referred to by locals as "Ame-mura". Amerikamura is a ...
and Horie. The 300-meter tall
Abeno Harukas
is a multi-purpose commercial facility in Abenosuji Itchome, Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan. It consists of the (main tenants: Osaka Abenobashi Station, Kintetsu Department Store Main Store Abeno Harukas Wing Building), (Miyako City Osaka Tennoji), a ...
is the tallest skyscraper in the country since 2014.
The business districts between Kita and Minami such as Honmachi and Yodoyabashi, called , house the regional headquarters of many large-scale banks and corporations. The
Midōsuji
Avenue is the primary main street in central Osaka, Japan. It runs north-south, passing Umeda, Nakanoshima, Shinsaibashi, Dōtonbori, Ame-mura, and Namba districts. Underneath the street is the Midōsuji Line subway. Especially in autumn whe ...
boulevard runs through Semba and connects Kita and Minami.
Further south of Minami are neighborhoods such as
Shinsekai
is an old neighbourhood located next to south Osaka City's downtown "Minami" area. The neighbourhood was created in 1912 with New York (specifically, Coney Island) as a model for its southern half and Paris for its northern half. At this locatio ...
(with its
Tsūtenkaku
, owned by , is a tower and well-known landmark of Osaka, Japan and advertises Hitachi. It is located in the Shinsekai district of Naniwa-ku, Osaka. Its total height is 103 m; the main observation deck is at a height of 91 m.
History
The c ...
Shitennō-ji
Shitennō-ji ( ja, 四天王寺, ''Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings'') is a Buddhist temple in Ōsaka, Japan. It is also known as Arahaka-ji, Nanba-ji, or Mitsu-ji. The temple is sometimes regarded as the first Buddhist and oldest officially-a ...
and
Abeno Harukas
is a multi-purpose commercial facility in Abenosuji Itchome, Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan. It consists of the (main tenants: Osaka Abenobashi Station, Kintetsu Department Store Main Store Abeno Harukas Wing Building), (Miyako City Osaka Tennoji), a ...
), and the
Kamagasaki
is an old place name for a part of Nishinari-ku in Osaka, Japan. became the area's official name in May 1966.
Geography
Sections of four different towns — , , , and — are collectively known as Kamagasaki.
Image:Airin-District_Os ...
slums, the largest slum in Japan.
The city's west side is a prominent bay area which serves as its main port as well as a tourist destination with attractions such as
Kyocera Dome
The (official name: ) is a baseball stadium located in Osaka, Osaka, Japan. Opened in 1997, the stadium was the home field of the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. In 2005, the stadium became one of the homes of the Orix Buffaloes, a result of the mer ...
,
Universal Studios Japan
is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of NB ...
and the Tempozan Harbour Village. Higashiosaka is zoned as a separate city, although the east side of Osaka city proper contains numerous residential neighborhoods including Tsuruhashi KoreaTown, as well as the
Osaka Castle Park
is a public urban park and historical site situated at Osaka-Jō in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. It lies on the south of the Ōkawa (Kyū-Yodo River) and occupies a large area in the center of the city of Osaka. This park is the second largest ...
,
Osaka Business Park
refers to a planned city surrounding Chūō-ku, Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following ...
and the hub Kyōbashi Station.
Osaka contains numerous urban canals and bridges, many of which serve as the namesake for their surrounding neighbourhoods. The phrase "808 bridges of Naniwa" was an expression in old Japan used to indicate impressiveness and the "uncountable". Osaka numbered roughly 200 bridges by the Edo period and 1,629 bridges by 1925. As many of the city's canals were gradually filled in, the number dropped to 872, of which 760 are currently managed by Osaka City.
File:Nakanoshima, Osaka in 201504.JPG,
Nakanoshima
is a 3 km long and 50 hectares narrow sandbank in Kita-ku, Osaka city, Japan, that divides the Kyū-Yodo into the Tosabori and Dōjima rivers. Many governmental and commercial offices (including the city hall of Osaka), museums and other ...
, a boundary of Kita (right) and Semba (left)
File:Aerial photo of Umeda 14-Aug-2019.jpg,
Umeda
is a major commercial, business, shopping and entertainment district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, and the city's main northern railway terminus (Ōsaka Station, Umeda Station). The district's name means "plum field".
History
Umeda was historica ...
Population numbers have been recorded in Osaka since as early as 1873, in the early Meiji era. According to the census in 2005, there were 2,628,811 residents in Osaka, an increase of 30,037 or 1.2% from 2000. There were 1,280,325 households with approximately 2.1 persons per household. The population density was 11,836 persons per km2. The Great Kantō earthquake caused a mass migration to Osaka between 1920 and 1930, and the city became Japan's largest city in 1930 with 2,453,573 people, outnumbering even Tokyo, which had a population of 2,070,913. The population peaked at 3,252,340 in 1940, and had a post-war peak of 3,156,222 in 1965, but continued to declined since, as the residents moved out to the suburbs.
There were 144,123 registered foreigners, the two largest groups being Korean (60,110) and Chinese (39,551) 2021 years. Ikuno, with its Tsuruhashi district, is the home to one of the largest population of Korean residents in Japan, with 20,397 registered
Zainichi Koreans
comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...
.
Dialect
The commonly spoken dialect of this area is ''Osaka-ben'', a typical sub-dialect of ''Kansai-ben''. Of the many other particularities that characterize Osaka-ben, examples include using the copula ''ya'' instead of ''da'', and the suffix ''-hen'' instead of ''-nai'' in negative verb forms.
Government
The
Osaka City Council
The is the legislature of Osaka City. It is responsible for the "enactment, amendment and repeal of ordinances, budgetary decisions, approval of account settlements, matters of financial importances including acquisition and disposal of city a ...
is the city's local government formed under the
Local Autonomy Law
The , passed by the House of Representatives and the House of Peers on March 28, 1947 and promulgated as Law No. 67 of 1947 on April 17,Ministry of Justice, Japanese Law Translation Database SystemLocal Autonomy Act/ref> is an Act of devolution t ...
. The council has eighty-nine seats, allocated to the twenty-four wards proportional to their population and re-elected by the citizens every four years. The council elects its president and Vice President. Toshifumi Tagaya ( LDP) is the current and 104th president since May 2008. The mayor of the city is directly elected by the citizens every four years as well, in accordance with the Local Autonomy Law.
Tōru Hashimoto
is a Japanese TV personality, politician and lawyer. He was the mayor of Osaka city and is a member of Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Osaka Restoration Association. He is one of Japan's leading right-wing conservative-populist politicians.
Early ...
, former governor of Osaka Prefecture is the 19th mayor of Osaka since 2011. The mayor is supported by two vice mayors, currently Akira Morishita and Takashi Kashiwagi, who are appointed by him in accordance with the city bylaw.
Osaka also houses several agencies of the Japanese government. Below is a list of governmental offices housed in Osaka.
*
Japan Coast Guard
The is the coast guard of Japan.
The Japan Coast Guard consists of about 13,700 personnel and is responsible for the protection of the coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Th ...
, Fifth Regional Headquarters
*Japan Fair Trade Commission; Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku Office
* Kinki Regional Finance Bureau
* Kinki Regional Economy, Trade and Industry Bureau
* Kinki Regional Transportation Bureau
* Kinki Communications Bureau
* Kinki Regional Development Bureau
* Kinki Regional Police Bureau
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Osaka Office
* Osaka Customs
* Osaka District Court
* Osaka Family Court
* Osaka High Court
* Osaka Immigration
* Osaka Labour Bureau
* Osaka Meteorological Observatory
* Osaka Public Prosecutors Office
* Osaka Regional Aerospace Bureau
* Osaka Regional Law Bureau
* Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau
* Osaka Summary Court
Developments
In July 2012, a joint multi-party bill was submitted to the Diet that would allow for implementation of the Osaka Metropolis plan as pursued by the mayor of Osaka city, the governor of Osaka and their party. If implemented, Osaka City, neighboring
Sakai
is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...
City and possibly other surrounding municipalities would dissolve and be reorganized as four
special wards
are a special form of municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparable to other forms of municipalities.
Although the autono ...
of Osaka prefecture – similar to former
Tokyo City
was a municipality in Japan and part of Tokyo-fu which existed from 1 May 1889 until its merger with its prefecture on 1 July 1943. The historical boundaries of Tokyo City are now occupied by the Special Wards of Tokyo. The new merged gove ...
's successor wards within Tokyo prefecture. Special wards are municipal-level administrative units that leave some otherwise municipal administrative responsibilities and
revenues
In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business.
Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive revenu ...
to the prefectural administration.
The Japan Times
''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo.
History
''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
in the United States after the latter permitted a monument memorializing "comfort women" to remain on a city-owned property, circulating in the process a 10-page, 3,800-word letter in English addressed to San Francisco mayor London Breed.
On November 1, 2020, a second referendum to merge Osaka's 24 wards into 4 semi-autonomous wards was narrowly voted down. There were 692,996 (50.6%) votes against and 675,829 (49.4%) votes supported it. Osaka mayor and Osaka Ishin co-leader Ichiro Matsui said he would resign when his term ends in 2023.
Energy policies
Nuclear power
On February 27, 2012, three Kansai cities,
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
Kansai Electric Power Company
, also known as , is an electric utility with its operational area of Kansai region, Japan (including the Keihanshin megalopolis).
The Kansai region is Japan's second-largest industrial area, and in normal times, its most nuclear-reliant. B ...
to break its dependence on nuclear power. In a letter to KEPCO they also requested to disclose information on the demand and supply of electricity, and for lower and stable prices. The three cities were stockholders of the plant: Osaka owned 9% of the shares, while Kobe had 3% and Kyoto 0.45%. Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka, announced a proposal to minimize the dependence on nuclear power for the shareholders meeting in June 2012.The Mainichi Shimbun (February 27, 201 3 major Kansai cities aim to break dependence on nuclear power
On March 18, 2012, the city of Osaka decided as largest shareholder of Kansai Electric Power Co, that at the next shareholders-meeting in June 2012 it would demand a series of changes:
* that Kansai Electric would be split into two companies, separating power generation from power transmission.
* a reduction of the number of the utility's executives and employees.
* the implementation of absolutely secure measurements to ensuring the safety of the nuclear facilities.
* the disposing of spent fuel.
* the installation of new kind of thermal power generation to secure non-nuclear supply of energy.
* selling all unnecessary assets including the stock holdings of KEPCO.
In this action, Osaka had secured the support of two other cities and shareholders:
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
and Kobe, but with their combined voting-rights of 12.5 percent they were not certain of the ultimate outcome, because for this two-thirds of the shareholders would be needed to agree to revise the corporate charter.The Mainichi Shimbun (March 19, 2012 Osaka aims to end Kansai Electric's nuclear power ops as shareholder
At a meeting held on April 10, 2012, by the "energy strategy council", formed by the city of Osaka and the governments of the prefectures, it became clear that at the end of the fiscal year 2011 some 69 employees of Kansai Electric Power Company were former public servants. "
Amakudari
In politics, a revolving door is a situation in which personnel move between roles as legislators and regulators, on one hand, and members of the industries affected by the legislation and regulation, on the other, analogous to the movement of pe ...
" was the Japanese name for this practice of rewarding by hiring officials that formerly controlled and supervised the firm. Such people included the following:
* 13 ex-officials of the: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
* 3 ex-officials of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry,
* 2 ex-officials of the Ministry of the Environment,
* 16 former policemen,
* 10 former fire-fighters,
* 13 former civil engineers.
Besides this, it became known that Kansai Electric had done about 600 external financial donations, to a total sum of about 1.695 billion yen:
* 70 donations were paid to local governments: to a total of 699 million yen
* 100 donations to public-service organizations: 443 million yen,
* 430 donations to various organizations and foundations: a total of 553 million yen
During this meeting some 8 conditions were compiled, that needed to be fulfilled before a restart of the No.3 and No.4 reactors Oi Nuclear Power Plant:
* the consent of the local people and government within 100 kilometer from the plant
* the installation of a new independent regulatory agency
* a nuclear safety agreement
* the establishment of new nuclear safety standards
* stress tests and evaluations based on these new safety rulesThe Mainichi Shimbun (April 10, 2012 Kansai Electric, affiliates had 69 ex-bureaucrats employed as execs as of end of fiscal 2011
Economy
The gross city product of Osaka in fiscal year 2004 was ¥21.3 trillion, an increase of 1.2% over the previous year. The figure accounts for about 55% of the total output in the Osaka Prefecture and 26.5% in the Kinki region. In 2004, commerce, services, and manufacturing have been the three major industries, accounting for 30%, 26%, and 11% of the total, respectively. The per capita income in the city was about ¥3.3 million, 10% higher than that of the Osaka Prefecture.MasterCard Worldwide reported that Osaka ranks 19th among the world's leading cities and plays an important role in the global economy. Osaka's GDP per capita (Nominal) was $59,958.($1=\120.13) However, by 2020, Osaka ranked as the 5th most expensive city due to flatlining consumer prices and government subsidies of public transportation.
Historically, Osaka was the center of commerce in Japan, especially in the middle and pre-modern ages. Nomura Securities, the first brokerage firm in Japan, was founded in the city in 1925, and Osaka still houses a leading futures exchange. Many major companies have since moved their main offices to Tokyo. However, several major companies, such as
Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...
,
Sharp
Sharp or SHARP may refer to:
Acronyms
* SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme
* Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 19 ...
, and
Sanyo
, stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiaries and affiliates, and was founded by ...
, are still headquartered in Osaka. Recently, the city began a program, headed by mayor Junichi Seki, to attract domestic and foreign investment. In the 2017
Global Financial Centres Index
The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) is a ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 financial centre assessments from an online questionnaire together with over 100 indices from organisations such as the World ...
, Osaka was ranked as having the 15th most competitive financial center in the world and fifth most competitive in Asia (after
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, and
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
).
The
Osaka Securities Exchange
, renamed from , is the largest derivatives exchange in Japan, in terms of amount of business handled.
, the Osaka Securities Exchange had 477 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $212 billion. The Nikkei 225 Futures, intr ...
, specializing in derivatives such as
Nikkei 225
The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It has been calculated daily by the '' Nihon Keizai Shimbun'' (''The Nikkei'') newspaper since 1950 ...
futures, is based in Osaka. The merger with
JASDAQ , formerly the is one of the sections of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It was formerly an independent stock exchange.
JASDAQ is not related to NASDAQ in the United States, but has operated an electronic trading system similar to NASDAQ.
History
In 1 ...
will help the Osaka Securities Exchange become the largest exchange in Japan for start-up companies.
According to global consulting firm Mercer, Osaka was the second most expensive city for expatriate employees in the world in 2009. It jumped up nine places from 11th place in 2008 and was the eighth most expensive city in 2007. However, it was not ranked in the top ten places of the list in 2013. The
Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, ...
(EIU) ranked Osaka as the second most expensive city in the world in its 2013 Cost of Living study.
Keihanshin
Osaka is part of the
metropolitan region
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
Kansai region
The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...
. The Keihanshin region includes the prefectures of
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
,
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
Nara
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...
,
Shiga
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...
,
Wakayama Wakayama may refer to:
*Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan
*Wakayama (city)
Wakayama City Hall
is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 351,391 in 157066 househol ...
,
Sakai
is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...
. The Keihanshin region has a population () of 19,303,000 (15% of Japan's population) which covers . It is ranked the second most urban region in Japan after the
Greater Tokyo area
The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...
and 10th largest urban area in the world. Keihanshin has a GDP of approximately $953.9 billion in 2012 (16th largest in the world).NationMaster.com /ref> Osaka-Kobe has a
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
of $681 billion (2015), which is a bit more than
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
Greater Osaka has an extensive network of railway lines, comparable to that of Greater Tokyo. Major stations within the city include , , , , , and .
Osaka connects to its surrounding cities and suburbs via the
JR West
, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, an ...
Urban Network
, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...
as well as numerous private lines such as
Keihan Electric Railway
, known colloquially as the , , or simply , is a major Japanese private railway operator in Osaka, Kyoto, and Shiga Prefectures. The transit network includes seven lines; four main lines with heavy rolling stock, two interurban lines, and a funic ...
,
Hankyu Railway
, trading as , is a Japanese private railway company that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of the flagship properties of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., in turn part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Gro ...
,
Hanshin Electric Railway
is a Japanese private railway company of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.
The first character for Kobe (神戸) and the second character for Osaka (大阪) combine to form the ...
,
Kintetsu Railway
, referred to as , is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Ky ...
, and
Nankai Electric Railway
is a private railway in Japan, founded in 1884. The name ''Nankai'' (which means "South Sea") comes from the company's routes along the Nankaidō, the old highway that ran south from the old capital, Kyoto, along the sea coast. Nankai predates a ...
.
The Osaka Metro system alone ranks 8th in the world by annual passenger ridership, serving over 912 million people annually (a quarter of Greater Osaka Rail System's 4 billion annual riders), despite being only 8 of more than 70 lines in the metro area.
All
Shinkansen
The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...
trains including '' Nozomi'' stop at Shin-Osaka Station and provide access to other major cities in Japan, such as Kobe, Kyoto, Nagoya, Yokohama, and Tokyo.
Regular bus services are provided by Osaka City Bus, as well Hankyu, Hanshin and Kintetsu, providing a dense network covering most parts of the city.
Osaka is served by two airports situated just outside of the city,
Kansai International Airport
Kansai International Airport ( ja, 関西国際空港, Kansai Kokusai Kūkō) commonly known as is the primary international airport in the Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and ...
( IATA: KIX) which handles primarily international passenger flights and Osaka International Airport ( IATA:ITM) which handles mostly domestic services and some international cargo flights.
Due to its geographical position, Osaka's international ferry connections are far greater than that of Tokyo, with international service to Shanghai, Tianjin,
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
Kagoshima
, abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
.
Culture and lifestyle
Shopping and food
Osaka has a large number of wholesalers and retail shops: 25,228 and 34,707 respectively in 2004, according to the city statistics. Many of them are concentrated in the wards of Chuō (10,468 shops) and Kita (6,335 shops). Types of shops vary from malls to conventional
shōtengai
A shōtengai () is a style of Japanese commercial district, typically in the form of a local market street that is closed to car traffic. Local shōtengai cater to the needs of nearby residents with a diverse mix of small specialty shops and few ...
shopping arcades, built both above- and underground. Shōtengai are seen across Japan, and Osaka has the longest one in the country. The Tenjinbashi-suji arcade stretches from the road approaching the Ōsaka Tenman-gū, Tenmangū shrine and continues for going north to south. The stores along the arcade include commodities, clothing, and catering outlets.
Other shopping areas include
Den Den Town
is a shopping district of Naniwa Ward, Osaka, Japan. The area is centered along Sakaisuji Avenue, extending from the Ebisu-chō Interchange of the Hanshin Expressway in the south, to Nansan-dōri (just east of Nankai Namba Station) in the ...
, the electronic and manga/anime district, which is comparable to Akihabara; the
Umeda
is a major commercial, business, shopping and entertainment district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, and the city's main northern railway terminus (Ōsaka Station, Umeda Station). The district's name means "plum field".
History
Umeda was historica ...
district, which has the Hankyu Sanbangai shopping mall and
Yodobashi Camera
is a major Japanese retail chain specializing in electronics, PCs, cameras and photographic equipment.
Yodobashi Camera's sales rank fourth among consumer electronics mass retailers in Japan, after Yamada Denki, Bic Camera and the EDION Gro ...
, a huge electrical appliance store that offers a vast range of fashion stores, restaurants, and a Shonen Jump store.
Osaka is known for its food, in Japan and abroad. Author Michael Booth and food critic François Simon of ''
Le Figaro
''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...
'' have suggested that Osaka is the food capital of the world. Osakans' love for the culinary is made apparent in the old saying "Kyotoites are financially ruined by overspending on clothing, Osakans are ruined by spending on food." Regional cuisine includes , , , as well as the traditional , particularly .
Osaka is known for its fine sake, which is made with fresh water from the prefecture's mountains. Osaka's culinary prevalence is the result of a location that has provided access to high-quality ingredients, a high population of merchants, and proximity to the ocean and waterway trade. In recent years, Osaka has started to garner more attention from foreigners with the increased popularity of cooking and dining in popular culture.
Other shopping districts include:
* American Village (Amerika-mura or "Ame-mura") – fashion for young people
* Dōtonbori – part of Namba district and considered heart of the city
* Namba – main shopping, sightseeing, and restaurant area
*
Shinsaibashi
is a district in the Chūō-ku ward of Osaka, Japan and the city's main shopping area. At its center is , a covered shopping street, that is north of Dōtonbori and Sōemonchō, and parallel and east of Mido-suji street. Associated with Shin ...
– luxury goods and department stores
*
Umeda
is a major commercial, business, shopping and entertainment district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, and the city's main northern railway terminus (Ōsaka Station, Umeda Station). The district's name means "plum field".
History
Umeda was historica ...
– theaters, boutiques, and department stores near the train station
Entertainment and performing arts
* Osaka is home to the
National Bunraku Theatre
The is a complex consisting of two halls and an exhibition room, located in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The complex was opened in 1984 as the fourth national theatre of the country, to become the headquarters of bunraku.
History
The Japan Arts ...
, where traditional puppet plays,
bunraku
(also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers ...
, are performed.
* At Osaka Shochiku-za, close to Namba station,
kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is though ...
can be enjoyed as well as
manzai
is a traditional style of comedy in Japanese culture comparable to double act comedy or stand-up comedy.
usually involves two performers ()—a straight man () and a funny man ()—trading jokes at great speed. Most of the jokes revolve aro ...
.
* At Shin Kabuki-za, formerly near Namba and now near Uehommachi area,
enka
is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than '' ryūkōka'' music, ...
concerts and Japanese dramas are performed.
*
Yoshimoto Kogyo
is a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in 1912, Osaka, as a traditional theatre, and has since grown to be one of the most influential companies in Japan, employing most of Japan's popular owarai (comedy) talent, produci ...
, a Japanese entertainment conglomerate operates a hall in the city for manzai and other comedy shows: the Namba Grand Kagetsu hall.
* The Hanjō-tei opened in 2006, dedicated to rakugo. The theatre is in the Ōsaka Tenman-gū area.
*
Umeda Arts Theater
is a Japanese theater located at Chayamachi Applause in Chayamachi, Kita-ku, Osaka, operated by Umeda Arts Theater Co., Ltd. It opened in 1992.
Umeda Arts Theater Co., Ltd. is a member of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group and a subsidiary of Hankyu Cor ...
opened in 2005 after relocating from its former 46-year-old Umeda Koma Theater. The theater has a main hall with 1,905 seats and a smaller theater-drama hall with 898 seats. Umeda Arts Theatre stages various type of performances including musicals, music concerts, dramas, rakugo, and others.
* The Symphony Hall, built in 1982, is the first hall in Japan designed specially for classical music concerts. The Hall was opened with a concert by the
Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra
The is a Japanese symphony orchestra based in Osaka, Japan. Founded in 1947 as the Kansai Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra took the name of the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra in 1960, and in 2014, formally assumed the official name of the Osaka P ...
, which is based in the city. Orchestras such as the
Berlin Philharmonic
The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
History
The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...
and
Vienna Philharmonic
The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world.
The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...
have played here during their world tours as well.
*
Osaka-jō Hall
is a multi-purpose arena located in the Kyōbashi area of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people. Built on a site area of 36,351 square meters, part of its form uses stone walls, modeled after those of the Cast ...
is a multi-purpose arena in Osaka-jō park with a capacity for up to 16,000 people. The hall has hosted numerous events and concerts including both Japanese and international artists.
* Nearby City Hall in
Nakanoshima Park
The Nakanoshima Park (中之島公園 ''Nakanoshima kōen'') is the first public park opened by Osaka in 1891, after its foundation as a city. It is located in Kita ward, on the Nakanoshima (中之島) sandbank, lying between Dōjima and Tosabo ...
, is Osaka Central Public Hall, a
Neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...
-style building first opened in 1918. Re-opened in 2002 after major renovation, it serves as a multi-purpose rental facility for citizen events.
* The Osaka Shiki Theatre is one of the nine private halls operated nationwide by the Shiki Theatre Company, Shiki Theatre, staging straight plays and musicals.
* Festival Hall, Osaka, Festival Hall was a hall hosting various performances including noh, kyōgen, kabuki, ballets as well as classic concerts. The Bolshoi Ballet and the Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia are among the many that were welcomed on stage in the past. The hall has closed at the end of 2008, planned to re-open in 2013 in a new facility.
Annual festivals
One of the most famous festivals held in Osaka, the , is held on July 24 and 25 (Osaka Tenmangū). Other festivals in Osaka include the Aizen Matsuri (June 30–July 2, Shōman-in Temple), the Sumiyoshi Matsuri (July 30–August 1,
Sumiyoshi Taisha
, also known as Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan. However, the oldest shrine that enshrines the Sumiyoshi sanjin, the thr ...
), Shōryō-e (April 22,
Shitennō-ji
Shitennō-ji ( ja, 四天王寺, ''Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings'') is a Buddhist temple in Ōsaka, Japan. It is also known as Arahaka-ji, Nanba-ji, or Mitsu-ji. The temple is sometimes regarded as the first Buddhist and oldest officially-a ...
) and Tōka-Ebisu (January 9–10, Imamiya Ebisu Jinja). The annual Osaka Asian Film Festival takes place in Osaka every March.
Museums and galleries
The National Museum of Art, Osaka, National Museum of Art (NMAO) is a subterranean Japanese and international art museum, housing mainly collections from the post-war era and regularly welcoming temporary exhibitions. Osaka Science Museum is in a five storied building next to the National Museum of Art, with a planetarium and an OMNIMAX theatre. The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, Museum of Oriental Ceramics holds more than 2,000 pieces of ceramics, from China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam, featuring displays of some of their Korean celadon under natural light. Osaka Municipal Museum of Art is inside Tennōji Park, Tennōji park, housing over 8,000 pieces of Japanese and Chinese paintings and sculptures. The Osaka Museum of History, opened in 2001, is located in a 13-story modern building providing a view of
Osaka Castle
is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Layout
The main tower ...
. Its exhibits cover the history of Osaka from pre-history to the present day. Osaka Museum of Natural History houses a collection related to natural history and life.
Sports
Osaka hosts four professional sport teams: one of them is the Orix Buffaloes, a Nippon Professional Baseball team, playing its home games at Osaka Dome, Kyocera Dome Osaka. Another baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers, although based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, plays a part of its home games in Osaka Dome, Kyocera Dome Osaka as well, when their homeground Koshien Stadium is occupied with the annual Japanese High School Baseball Championship, National High School Baseball Championship games during summer season.
There are two J.League clubs, Gamba Osaka, plays its home games at Suita City Football Stadium. Another club Cerezo Osaka, plays its home games at Yanmar Stadium Nagai. The city is home to Osaka Evessa, a basketball team that plays in the B.League. Evessa has won the first three championships of the league since its establishment. Kintetsu Liners, a rugby union team, play in the Japan Rugby League One, Top League. After winning promotion in 2008–09, they will again remain in the competition for the 2009–10 season. Their base is the Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Hanazono Rugby Stadium.
The , one of the six regular tournaments of professional sumo, is held annually in Osaka at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium.
Another major annual sporting event that takes place in Osaka is Osaka International Ladies Marathon. Held usually at the end of January every year, the race starts from Nagai Stadium, runs through
Nakanoshima
is a 3 km long and 50 hectares narrow sandbank in Kita-ku, Osaka city, Japan, that divides the Kyū-Yodo into the Tosabori and Dōjima rivers. Many governmental and commercial offices (including the city hall of Osaka), museums and other ...
,
Midōsuji
Avenue is the primary main street in central Osaka, Japan. It runs north-south, passing Umeda, Nakanoshima, Shinsaibashi, Dōtonbori, Ame-mura, and Namba districts. Underneath the street is the Midōsuji Line subway. Especially in autumn whe ...
and Osaka Castle, Osaka castle park, and returns to the stadium. Another yearly event held at Nagai Stadium is the Osaka Gran Prix Athletics games operated by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in May. The Osaka GP is the only IAAF games annually held in Japan.
Osaka made the bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Paralympics but was eliminated in the first round of the vote on July 13, 2001, which awarded the game to Beijing.
Osaka was one of the host cities of the official Women's Volleyball World Championship for its 1998 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, 1998, 2006 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, 2006 and 2010 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, 2010 editions.
Osaka is the home of the 2011 created Japan Bandy Federation and the introduction of bandy, in the form of rink bandy, was made in the city. In July 2012 the first Japan Bandy Festival was organized.
Media
Osaka serves as one of the media hubs for Japan, housing headquarters of many media-related companies. Abundant television production takes place in the city and
every nationwide TV network (with the exception of TXN network) registers its secondary-key station in Osaka. All five nationwide newspaper majors also house their regional headquarters, and most local newspapers nationwide have branches in Osaka. However major film productions are uncommon in the city. Most major films are produced in nearby
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
or in Tokyo. The Ad Council Japan was founded in 1971 is based in Osaka, now it is the Osaka branch.
Newspapers
All five major national newspapers of Japan, ''The Asahi Shimbun'', ''Mainichi Shimbun'', ''Nihon Keizai Shimbun'', ''Sankei Shimbun'' and ''Yomiuri Shimbun'',The five largest newspapers by number of circulation in Japan in alphabetical order. have their regional headquarters in Osaka and issue their regional editions. Furthermore, Osaka houses Osaka Nichi-nichi Shimbun, its newspaper press. Other newspaper-related companies located in Osaka include the regional headquarters of FujiSankei Business i.;Houchi Shimbunsha; Nikkan Sports; Sports Nippon, and offices of Kyodo News Jiji Press; Reuters; Bloomberg L.P.
Television and radio
The five TV networks are represented by Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (All-Nippon News Network, ANN), Kansai Telecasting Corporation (Fuji News Network, FNN), Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc. (Japan News Network, JNN), Television Osaka, Inc. (TX Network, TXN) and Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (Nippon News Network, NNN), headquartered in Osaka. NHK has also its regional station based in the city. AM Radio services are provided by NHK as well as the ABC Radio (Asahi Broadcasting Corporation), MBS Radio (Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc.) and Radio Osaka (Osaka Broadcasting Corporation) and headquartered in the city. FM services are available from NHK, FM OSAKA, FM802 and FM Cocolo, the last providing programs in multiple languages including English.
Publishing companies
Osaka is home to many publishing companies, including Examina, Izumi Shoin, Kaihou Shuppansha, Keihanshin Elmagazine, Seibundo Shuppan, Sougensha, and Toho Shuppan.
Education
Public elementary and junior high schools in Osaka are operated by the city of Osaka. Its supervisory organization on educational matters is Osaka City Board of Education. Likewise, public high schools are operated by the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education.
Osaka once had a large number of universities and high schools, but because of growing campuses and the need for larger area, many chose to move to the suburbs, including Osaka University.
Historically foreign expatriates in the Kansai region preferred to live in Kobe rather than Osaka. As a result, until 1991 the Osaka area had no schools catering to expatriate children.Stewart, Alex. educating kansai
Archive . ''The Journal of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan'' (''Jānaru''), Volume 40, Issues 7–12. The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ), 2003. p. 43. Osaka International School of Kwansei Gakuin, founded in 1991, is located in nearby Minoh, Osaka, Minoh,School Profile 2014–2015 (). Osaka International School of Kwansei Gakuin. Retrieved on November 1, 2015. and it was the first international school in the Osaka area. The Great Hanshin earthquake, Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake of 1995 caused a decline in demand for international schools, as there were about 2,500 U.S. nationals resident in Osaka after the earthquake while the pre-earthquake number was about 5,000. American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) Kansai chapter president Norman Solberg stated that since 2002 the numbers of expatriates in Kansai were recovering "but the fact is there is still a persistent exodus to Tokyo."Stewart, Alex. education kansai
Archive . ''The Journal of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan'' (''Jānaru''), Volume 40, Issues 7–12. The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ), 2003. p. 41. In 2001 the city of Osaka and YMCA established the Osaka YMCA International School.
Colleges and universities include:
*
Kansai University
, abbreviated as or , is a private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as Kansai Law School in 1886, It has been recognized as one o ...
* Morinomiya University of Medical Sciences
*
Osaka Metropolitan University
, abbreviated to OMU, is a Japanese public university that was established through the integration of Osaka City University (OCU) and Osaka Prefecture University (OPU) on 1 April 2022.
OMU was inaugurated with 1 undergraduate college, 11 unde ...
* Osaka University of Economics
* Osaka Institute of Technology
* Osaka Jogakuin College
* Osaka Seikei University
* Osaka University of Arts, Minamikawachi District, Osaka
* Osaka University of Comprehensive Children education
* Osaka University of Education
* Soai University
* Tokiwakai Gakuen University
Libraries
* International Institute for Children's Literature, Osaka
* Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library
* Osaka Municipal Central Library
Learned society
* The Japanese Academy of Family Medicine
Facilities
"Important cultural property" (重要文化財) after the name of a facility indicates an important cultural property designated by the country.
Leisure facilities and high-rise buildings
* OAP Tower
*
*
Osaka Business Park
refers to a planned city surrounding Chūō-ku, Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following ...
* Intex Osaka
*
* Namba Parks
*
Universal Studios Japan
is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of NB ...
*
* Osaka Prefectural Government Sakishima Building
* Umeda Sky Building
* Abeno Harukas
*
Tsūtenkaku
, owned by , is a tower and well-known landmark of Osaka, Japan and advertises Hitachi. It is located in the Shinsekai district of Naniwa-ku, Osaka. Its total height is 103 m; the main observation deck is at a height of 91 m.
History
The c ...
(Registered Tangible Cultural Property)
* Festivalgate
Historical site
*
Osaka Castle
is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Layout
The main tower ...
*
* Tekijuku (important cultural property)
*
*
*
Parks and gardens
* Utsubo Park
*
*
Nakanoshima Park
The Nakanoshima Park (中之島公園 ''Nakanoshima kōen'') is the first public park opened by Osaka in 1891, after its foundation as a city. It is located in Kita ward, on the Nakanoshima (中之島) sandbank, lying between Dōjima and Tosabo ...
*
Osaka Castle Park
is a public urban park and historical site situated at Osaka-Jō in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. It lies on the south of the Ōkawa (Kyū-Yodo River) and occupies a large area in the center of the city of Osaka. This park is the second largest ...
*
*
*
*
* Tennoji Park
* Nagai Park
* Sumiyoshi Park
*
*
*
File:UtsuboPark-RoseGarden02.jpg, Utsubo Park
File:Osaka Castle Park 20071230.jpg,
Osaka Castle Park
is a public urban park and historical site situated at Osaka-Jō in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. It lies on the south of the Ōkawa (Kyū-Yodo River) and occupies a large area in the center of the city of Osaka. This park is the second largest ...
File:Sakuranomiya-Park_02.jpg,
File:Yodogawa Kasen Park Juso area IMG 5195-2 20190114.jpg, Yodogawa Riverside Park
Ancient architecture
*
Sumiyoshi Taisha
, also known as Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan. However, the oldest shrine that enshrines the Sumiyoshi sanjin, the thr ...
main shrine (national treasure)
Modern architecture
* Around Umeda
* – –
* Nakanoshima
* (Important Cultural Property) – Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library (Important Cultural Property) – Bank of Japan Osaka Branch Old Building
* Around Osaka Castle
* (Former Youth Art Gallery) (Important Cultural Property) – Senpukan (Important Cultural Property) –
Osaka Castle
is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Layout
The main tower ...
(registered tangible cultural property) – former Osaka City Museum –
* Kitasenba, Minamisenba
* (Registered Tangible Cultural Property) –
Osaka Securities Exchange
, renamed from , is the largest derivatives exchange in Japan, in terms of amount of business handled.
, the Osaka Securities Exchange had 477 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $212 billion. The Nikkei 225 Futures, intr ...
– Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Osaka (Sumitomo Building) – (Registration Tangible Cultural Property) – (Important Cultural Property) – Nippon Life Insurance Head Office Building – (registered tangible cultural property) – Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Bank Osaka Central Branch – – – (Registered Tangible Cultural property) – (registered tangible cultural property) – (important cultural property) – (registered tangible cultural property) – (registered tangible cultural property) – (Important Cultural Property) – Meidi-Ya building – (Registered Tangible Cultural Properties) –
* Shimojoba (Nishisenba)
* (registered tangible cultural property) – Yamauchi Building (registered tangible cultural property) – Edobori Kodama Building (registered tangible cultural property)
* Shinsaibashi/Namba
**Daimaru Shinsaibashi – Takashimaya Osaka (Nankai Namba) – Takashimaya East Annex – (registered tangible cultural property)
* Osaka Port/Kawaguchi
* – – MOL Mitsui Tsuki Port Building () – Japan Anglican Church Kawaguchi Christian Church (Registered Tangible Cultural Property) – – Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau (Osaka City Electricity Bureau)
Theaters and halls
*
*
Umeda Arts Theater
is a Japanese theater located at Chayamachi Applause in Chayamachi, Kita-ku, Osaka, operated by Umeda Arts Theater Co., Ltd. It opened in 1992.
Umeda Arts Theater Co., Ltd. is a member of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group and a subsidiary of Hankyu Cor ...
*
* NHK Osaka Hall
* Osaka International Convention Center
*
*
*
Osaka-jō Hall
is a multi-purpose arena located in the Kyōbashi area of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people. Built on a site area of 36,351 square meters, part of its form uses stone walls, modeled after those of the Cast ...
* Orix Theater
*
National Bunraku Theatre
The is a complex consisting of two halls and an exhibition room, located in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The complex was opened in 1984 as the fourth national theatre of the country, to become the headquarters of bunraku.
History
The Japan Arts ...
Osaka-jō Hall
is a multi-purpose arena located in the Kyōbashi area of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people. Built on a site area of 36,351 square meters, part of its form uses stone walls, modeled after those of the Cast ...
File:National_Bunraku_Theatre_in_201408.JPG,
National Bunraku Theatre
The is a complex consisting of two halls and an exhibition room, located in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The complex was opened in 1984 as the fourth national theatre of the country, to become the headquarters of bunraku.
History
The Japan Arts ...
File:Temma-Tenjin_Hanjo-tei_in_201407.JPG,
Sport venues
*
* Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium
* Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
* Maruzen Intec Osaka Pool
* Kyocera Dome Osaka
* Nagai Park
* Yanmar Stadium Nagai
* Yanmar Field Nagai
* Yodoko Sakura Stadium
* Maishima Sports Island
Religious facilities
; Shrines
*
Sumiyoshi Taisha
, also known as Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan. However, the oldest shrine that enshrines the Sumiyoshi sanjin, the thr ...
Shitennō-ji
Shitennō-ji ( ja, 四天王寺, ''Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings'') is a Buddhist temple in Ōsaka, Japan. It is also known as Arahaka-ji, Nanba-ji, or Mitsu-ji. The temple is sometimes regarded as the first Buddhist and oldest officially-a ...
*
*
*
*
* Isshin-ji
* Taiyū-ji
*
*
*
; Churches
*
*
* Japan Anglican Church
* Japan Christian Church Osaka Fukushima Church
* Japan Evangelical Lutheran Osaka Church
;Mosques
* Osaka Masjid
International relations
Twin towns – sister cities
Osaka is Sister city, twinned with:
*
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, California, CA, United States (former partnership, October 1957–October 2018)
* São Paulo, Brazil (since October 1969)
*
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, Illinois, IL, United States (since November 1973)
* Shanghai, China (since April 1974)
*
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia (since April 1978)
* Saint Petersburg, Russia (since August 1979)
* Milan, Lombardy, Italy (since June 1981)
* Hamburg, Germany (since May 1989)
*
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario, ON, Canada (since June 1994)
Friendship cooperation cities
Osaka also cooperates with:
* Budapest, Hungary (1998)
* Busan, South Korea (2008)
* Buenos Aires, Argentina (1998)
* Dnipro, Ukraine (2022)
Business partner cities
Osaka's business partner cities, mostly in the Asia-Pacific region, are:
* Auckland, New Zealand
* Bangkok, Thailand
* Hamburg, Germany
* Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
* Hong Kong, China
* Jakarta, Indonesia
* Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
* Manila, Philippines
*
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia
* Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
*
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
, South Korea
* Shanghai, China
* Singapore
* Tianjin, China
Sister ports
Osaka's sister ports are:
* Port of Busan, South Korea
* Port of Le Havre, France
* Port of Melbourne, Australia
* Port of San Francisco, United States
* Port of Valencia, Spain
* Port of Shanghai (friendship port treaty)
* Valparaiso, Port of Valparaiso, Chile
* Saigon Port, Vietnam
See also
*
Expo '70
The or Expo 70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan between March 15 and September 13, 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...
* Expo 2025
* List of metropolitan areas by population
References
Further reading
*
* Gerstle, C. Andrew. ''Kabuki Heroes on the Osaka Stage 1780–1830'' (2005).
* Hanes, Jeffrey. ''The City as Subject: Seki Hajime and the Reinvention of Modern Osaka'' (2002 online edition * Hauser, William B. "Osaka: a Commercial City in Tokugawa Japan." ''Urbanism past and Present'' 1977–1978 (5): 23–36.
* Hein, Carola, et al. ''Rebuilding Urban Japan after 1945.'' (2003). 274 pp.
* Hotta, Chisato. "The Construction of the Korean Community in Osaka between 1920 and 1945: A Cross-Cultural Perspective." PhD dissertation U. of Chicago 2005. 498 pp. DAI 2005 65(12): 4680-A. DA3158708 Fulltext: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
* Lockyer, Angus. "The Logic of Spectacle C. 1970," ''Art History,'' Sept 2007, Vol. 30 Issue 4, p571-589, on the international exposition held in 1970
* McClain, James L. and Wakita, Osamu, eds. ''Osaka: The Merchants' Capital of Early Modern Japan.'' (1999). 295 pp online edition * ''Michelin Red Guide Kyoto Osaka Kobe 2011'' (2011)
* Najita, Tetsuo. ''Visions of Virtue in Tokugawa Japan: The Kaitokudo Merchant Academy of Osaka.'' (1987). 334 pp online edition * Rimmer, Peter J. "Japan's World Cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya or Tokaido Megalopolis?" ''Development and Change'' 1986 17(1): 121–157.
* Ropke, Ian Martin. Historical Dictionary of Osaka and Kyoto. 273pp Scarecrow Press (July 22, 1999) .
* Ruble, Blair A. ''Second Metropolis: Pragmatic Pluralism in Gilded Age Chicago, Silver Age Moscow, and Meiji Osaka.'' (2001). 464 pp.
* Torrance, Richard. "Literacy and Literature in Osaka, 1890–1940," ''The Journal of Japanese Studies'' 31#1 (Winter 2005), pp. 27–60 in
Project MUSE
Project MUSE, a non-profit collaboration between libraries and publishers, is an online database of peer-reviewed academic journals and electronic books. Project MUSE contains digital humanities and social science content from over 250 univers ...
Official Osaka Tourist Guide *
*
{{Authority control
Osaka
Cities in Osaka Prefecture
Port settlements in Japan
Populated coastal places in Japan
Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan
Populated places with period of establishment missing