Original Tsutenkaku and Shinsekai Luna Park

Osaka's Luna Park (''Runa pāku'', also known as Shinsekai Luna Park) was Japan's second

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

of the same name, replacing the destroyed Luna Park in Tokyo. In operation from 1912 to 1923, the 132,000 square meter park in the

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 ...

section of

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

featured a unique entrance: an

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...

from the original Tsutenkaku Tower.

History

The park was constructed and owned by

Ken'ichi Kawaura is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms Ken'ichi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢一, "wise, one" *健一, "healthy, one" *憲一, "constitution, one" *謙一, "humble, one" *建一, "build, one" *� ...

after he sold his interest in the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

company

Yoshizawa Shōten was a film studio and importer active in the early years of cinema in Japan. Originally involved in the magic lantern business, Yoshizawa bought a cinématographe camera off a visiting Italian and began exhibiting motion pictures in 1897. Run by ...

to Shōkichi Umeya in the wake of the destruction by fire of

Luna Park, Tokyo In operation in 1910 and 1911, Tokyo's Luna Park (''Runa pāku'', also known as Asakusa Luna Park) was the first park of that name to be open in Japan. Owned and constructed by the Japanese motion picture company Yoshizawa Shōten (headed by Ke ...

and two Osaka

theaters Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

in 1911. Prior to the suspicious fires, all three were owned by the film studio. Rather than rebuilding in Tokyo, Kawaura decided to build his second

Luna Park Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park (Coney Island, 1903), Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Islan ...

("New World"), an Osaka subdivision that was under construction at the time. At the same time, the original Tsutenkaku Tower was being built in nearby Tsutenkaku to the north. Plans were being made to connect the tower to the park by an

to provide visitors a unique "flying sensation" as they entered the park. The Osaka Luna Park featured an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

, mechanical rides (including one called the Circular Wave, which had seated riders rise and fall as the revolve in a circular motion), a

funhouse A funhouse or fun house is an attraction found in amusement parks and funfair midways, equipped with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, or amuse visitors. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, fun houses are participatory attractio ...

, a

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

, a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

, and a

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

. The Osaka Luna Park closed permanently after the 1925 season; in January 1943, the first Tsutenkaku Tower was destroyed by a fire and was subsequently closed and demolished by the

ese government. A new Tsutenkaku Tower was built and opened to the public in 1956.Kippo News, 5 November 1996

Gallery

References

{{Commons category, Luna Park, Osaka Defunct amusement parks in Japan Amusement parks in Osaka Amusement parks closed in 1923 Amusement parks opened in 1912 1912 establishments in Japan 1923 disestablishments in Japan