Osaka

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Osaka City
大阪市

Osaka City's location in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Prefecture	Osaka Prefecture
Physical characteristics
Area	222.11 km²
Population (as of January 1, 2007)
Total	2,636,256
Density	11,869/km²
Location	34°41′37″N, 135°30′7″E
Symbols
Tree	Sakura
Flower	Pansy
Osaka City City Hall
Mayor	Junichi Seki
Address	〒530-8201 Osaka-shi, Kita-ku Nakanoshima 1-3-20
Phone number	06-6208-8181
Official website: Osaka City

Coordinates: 34°41′37″N, 135°30′7″E

Osaka (大阪市, Ōsaka-shi^?) listen (help·info) is a city in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshū. The city is the capital of Osaka Prefecture.

Often dubbed the "nation's kitchen" (天下の台所　tenka no daidokoro), Osaka was historically the commercial capital of Japan, and to date the heart of Japan's second largest metropolitan area of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto, whose population is 18.6 million.^[1][2][3][4]

A unique title that the city of Osaka holds is the first place in Japan for day to night population ratio of 141%^[5], a depiction of Osaka's economical and commercial centric character. While at nighttime the population ranks third place in the country at 2.6 million, in daytime it surges to 3.7 million, second only after Tokyo.^[6]

Contents 1 History 1.1 The beginnings - Kofun Period (upto end 6th of century) 1.2 Asuka and Nara Period 1.3 Heian - Edo Period 1.4 Modern Osaka 1.5 "Osaka" (大阪), Etymology 2 Geography 2.1 Shopping Districts 2.2 Wards 2.2.1 Climate 3 Demographics 4 Economy 4.1 Major companies based in Osaka 4.2 Major factories and research institutes in Osaka 5 Transport 6 Culture 6.1 Museums and Galleries 6.1.1 National and Prefectural Museums located in the city of Osaka 6.1.2 Municipal Museums 6.1.3 Other Museums 6.2 Theatres and Multi-purpose Halls 6.3 Culinary 7 Places of interest 7.1 Amusement Parks 7.2 Parks 7.3 Temples, Shrines and other Historical sites 7.4 Sports Stadiums 7.5 Entertainments 8 Education 8.1 Libraries 9 Sister cities, Friendship and Cooperation cities, and Sister Ports 10 References 11 External links

[edit] History

[edit] The beginnings - Kofun Period (upto end 6th of century)

One of the earliest signs of habitation in the area of Osaka were found at Morinomiya ruins (森の宮遺跡 Morinomiya iseki), with its shell mounds, including sea oysters and buried human skeletons from 5 - 6th century BC. It is believed that what is today Uehonmachi area comprised of a peninsular land, with an inland sea in the east. During Yayoi Period, permanent habitation on the plains grows as rice farming becomes popular.^[1]

By Kofun Period, Osaka develops into a hub port connecting the region to western part of Japan, as well as Korea. The large numbers, and the growing of the size of tomb mounds found in the plains of Osaka, is seen as evidence of political power concentrating, leading to a formation of a state.^[1][7]

[edit] Asuka and Nara Period

In 645, Emperor Kōtoku built his palace (難波長柄豊碕宮 Naniwa Nagara Toyosaki-no-miya) in Osaka^[8], making this area the capital (Naniwa-kyō). The area which now consists of Osaka city was called by this time Naniwa, a name which still exists as the names of districts in central Osaka as Naniwa (浪速) and Namba (難波).^[9] While the capital was moved to Asuka (in Nara Prefecture today) in 655, Naniwa has always been a vital connection, by land and sea, between Yamato (modern day Nara Prefecture), Korea, and China.^[1][10]

In 744, Naniwa was once again named capital by Emperor Shōmu. Naniwa ceased to be the capital in 745, when the Imperial Court moved back to Heijō-kyō (now Nara). The sea port function was gradually lost over to neighbouring lands by the end of Nara Period, but it remained a lively transit of river, channel and land transportation between Heian-kyō (Kyoto today) and other destinations.

[edit] Heian - Edo Period

In 1496, the Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist sect set up their headquarters: the heavily fortified Ishiyama Hongan-ji on top of the ruins of the old Naniwa imperial palace. In 1570, Oda Nobunaga started a siege of the temple that lasted for 10 years. The monks finally surrendered in 1580, the temple was razed, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi took the place for his own castle: Osaka Castle.

Osaka was for a long time Japan's most important economic center with a large percentage of the population belonging to the merchant class (see Four divisions of society). Over the course of the Edo period (1603–1867), Osaka grew into one of Japan's major cities and returned to its ancient role as a lively and important port. Its popular culture was closely related to ukiyo-e depictions of life in Edo. Developing in parallel with the urban culture of Kyoto and Edo, Osaka likewise featured bunraku and grand kabuki productions, pleasure quarters, and a lively artistic community.

[edit] Modern Osaka

The modern city was initially designated in 1889 by government ordinance, starting up with an area of merely 15 km², overlapping today's Chūō and Nishi wards. Later the city went through three major expansions to reach current size of 222 km².

[edit] "Osaka" (大阪), Etymology

It is unclear when the name Ōsaka gained prominence over Naniwa, but the oldest usage of the name dates back to 1496 in a text written about the foundation of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji. At this time, the second kanji was "坂", instead of the "阪" used today. In the beginning of Meiji Era, the government changed the second kanji 坂 to 阪 because the previous one could, if the radicals were read separately, be interpreted as "(will) return to soil" (土に返る), which seemed a bit gloomy. This remains the official spelling today, though the old one is still in very limited use to emphasize history.

[edit] Geography

The city of Osaka has its west side open to Osaka Bay. It is otherwise completely surrounded by over ten smaller cities, all of them of Osaka Prefecture, with one exception: the city of Amagasaki, belonging to Hyogo Prefecture, in the north-west. The city occupies the largest area size than any other city or district within Osaka Prefecture, which is about 12%.

The two most crowded centers of the city of Osaka are often called by their synonyms: Kita (キタ, lit. north) and Minami (ミナミ, lit. south). Kita is roughly the area including or surrounding the business and retail district of Umeda. On the other hand, Minami is home to the Nanba, Shinsaibashi and Dōtonbori shopping districts. Entertainment area around Dōtonbori Bridge with its famous giant mechanical crab, Triangle Park and Amerikamura ("America Village") is in Minami. The traditional business district, including the courts and regional headquarters of major banks, is primarily located in Yodoyabashi and Honmachi, between Kita and Minami. The newer business district is the OBP, Osaka Business Park, located in the neighborhood of Osaka Castle. Business districts have also formed around the city's secondary rail termini, such as Tennoji Station and Kyobashi Station.

“The 808 bridges of Naniwa” was a famous expression for awe and wonder in old Japan, an almost proverbial adage which was known all across the land. “Naniwa” is the ancient name of Osaka and “808” is a large number that in Japan symbolizes the concept “uncountable”.^[11]

[edit] Shopping Districts

• American Village (Ame-mura)
• Asia Pacific Trade Center
• Den Den Town electrical goods shopping district
• Dōtonbori
• Osaka WTC Building
• Umeda (theaters , boutiques and department stores)

[edit] Wards

Osaka has 24 wards (ku), one more than Tokyo:

Abeno-ku Asahi-ku Chūō-ku Fukushima-ku Higashinari-ku Higashisumiyoshi-ku Higashiyodogawa-ku Hirano-ku Ikuno-ku Joto-ku Kita-ku Konohana-ku

Minato-ku Miyakojima-ku Naniwa-ku Nishi-ku Nishinari-ku Nishiyodogawa-ku Suminoe-ku Sumiyoshi-ku Taisho-ku Tennoji-ku Tsurumi-ku Yodogawa-ku

[edit] Climate

Osaka avg taken at Chuo-ku, 2004	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high °C	13.1	21.2	23.1	28.1	31.6	33.7	36.4	36.2	34.2	30.1	24.2	21.3	36.4
Average °C	5.8	7.9	10.2	16.4	21.1	24.8	29.5	28.4	26.2	19.0	15.2	10.2	16.5
Avg low °C	-2.2	0.2	0.5	5.9	12.6	16.2	22.2	21.6	19.4	8.5	7.8	0.7	-2.2
Avg Humidity %	59	56	57	54	65	66	63	66	67	69	66	64	63
Rainfall milimeters	19.0	47.5	75.5	125.0	281.5	133.5	42.0	106.5	202.5	356.0	117.5	88.0	1594.5

[edit] Demographics

City of Osaka Population (x1000)[12]
Year	Area km²	Pop
1904	15.27	472
1907	55.67	758
1920	58.45	1,253
1930	185.13	2,454
1940	187.44	3,252
1950	185.17	1,956
1960	202.18	3,012
1970	205.60	2,980
1980	210.95	2,648
1990	220.37	2,624
2000	221.30	2,599
2005	222.11	2,629

According to the 2005 Population Census of Japan, the city of Osaka has a population of 2,628,811, which is an increase of 30,037, or 1.2%, since the previous Census of year 2000. The population density was 11,836 persons per km². The number of households was 1,242,489, with an average of approximately 2.1 members per household. ately 2.31 members. There were 99,775 Registered Foreigners, with the two largest group being Korean (71,015 people) and Chinese (11,848 people). The largest portion of registered Korean is the 27,466 people residing in Ikuno-ward, where the so-called Korean town, Tsuruhashi, is located.

Commonly spoken dialect of this area is Osaka-ben. An example, among many other particularities that characterizes Osaka-ben is the use of the suffix hen instead of nai in the negative of verbs.

[edit] Economy

The gross city product of the city of Osaka for fiscal 2004 was ¥21.3 trillion, with an increase of 1.2% over previous year. This represents about 55% of Osaka Prefecture, or 26.5% of Kinki region. As of 2004, commerce, services and manufacturing are the three major industries, with respective share of 30%, 26% and 11% of total industry. The per capita income was about ¥3.3 million, 10% higher than that of Osaka Prefecture.^[13]

Historically, Osaka was the center of Japanese commerce, especially in the middle and premodern ages. Today, many major companies have moved their main offices to Tokyo, especially from the end of 1990s, but several major companies are still based in Osaka. Recently the city has begun a program, headed by Mayor Junichi Seki to try to attract domestic and foreign in investment in the city. [3]

[edit] Major companies based in Osaka

see Category:Companies headquartered in Osaka.

[edit] Major factories and research institutes in Osaka

see Hanshin Industrial Region.

[edit] Transport

Kansai International Airport is the main airport: it is a rectangular artificial island that sits off-shore in Osaka Bay and services Osaka and its surrounding cities of Nara, Kobe, and Kyoto. Kansai is the geographical term for the area of western Honshū surrounding Osaka. The airport is linked by a bus and train service into the centre of the city and major suburbs.

Osaka International Airport, laid over the border between the cities of Itami and Toyonaka, still houses most of the domestic service from the metropolitan region.

Besides the Osaka Municipal Subway system there is a network of both JR and private lines connecting the suburbs of the city, and Osaka to its neighbours. Keihan and Hankyu line connect to Kyoto, Hanshin and Hankyu line connect to Kobe, the Kintetsu line connects to Nara and Nagoya, and the Nankai line to Wakayama.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Museums and Galleries

[edit] National and Prefectural Museums located in the city of Osaka

• National Museum of Art, Osaka
• Osaka Prefectural Museum of Kamigata Comedy and Performing Arts

[edit] Municipal Museums

• Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka [4] Founded in 1982. It houses 2000 pieces of ceramics. It also features a natural-light gallery for its Korean celadon pottery.
• Osaka City Museum of Modern Art [5]
• Osaka Municipal Museum of Art [6]
• Osaka Museum of History [7]
• Osaka Museum of Natural History [8]
• Osaka Science Museum [9]

[edit] Other Museums

• Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum [10]
• Osaka International Peace Center (Peace Osaka)

[edit] Theatres and Multi-purpose Halls

• Festival Hall
• Namba Grand Kagetsu
• National Bunraku Theater [11]
• Osaka Central Public Hall
• Osaka-jō Hall
• Osaka Shin-Kabuki-za
• The Osaka Shiki Theater [12] - Shiki Theatre Company.
• The Symphony Hall
• Umeda Arts Theater, the former Umeda Koma Theater

[edit] Culinary

Osaka is also known for its food, as supported by the saying "Dress (in kimonos) 'til you drop in Kyoto, eat 'til you drop in Osaka" (京の着倒れ、大阪の食い倒れ).^[14]

Osaka regional cuisine includes okonomiyaki (pan-fried batter cake), takoyaki (octopus dumplings), udon (a noodle dish), as well as regional sushi and other traditional Japanese foods.

Much can be said on how the people of Osaka are perceived by people outside of Osaka, especially Tokyoites. The bulk of these attributed features are usually just exaggerated stereotypes, brought about by the portrayal of Osaka people by Tokyo television and the almost extreme dominance of Osaka comedians in the manzai sphere. While the people of Osaka might embrace some of the stereotypes, and most feel a big divide between them and the Kanto Japanese, many will also be irritated how Tokyoites make fun of Osaka based only on what the Kanto produced TV programmes tell them about the city. A clear example of this was when Tokyo-based (but Shikoku-born) comic artist Rieko Saibara, who is known for her cynical works, made a remark on a variety show warning somebody going to Osaka that the tap water there is dirty and that they shouldn't drink it. What was only a remark in passing became a big deal to the Osaka Waterworks. They invited Saibara to Osaka to perform a blind test and see if she could distinguish local tap water from Tokyo tap water and mineral water. The blind test was televised, but to the disappointment of Osaka Waterworks, Saibara did recognize the Osaka water. Nevertheless, an apology was stated and Saibara said the Osaka water wasn't bad at all^{[citation needed]}.

Some of the common features attributed to Osaka people are being good at business, bustling with energy, happy, and outgoing.^{[citation needed]}

It is said that to succeed in the Osaka food service business, the food must taste above-average, have larger servings than normal, be inexpensive and fast.

Being a big, business-based city, Osakans are thought of as always being in a rush. This image is exemplified by the typical Osakan not waiting for traffic signals to cross a street if there is no traffic, which is unusual in Japan.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Places of interest

Osaka is known for bunraku (traditional puppet theatre) and kabuki theatre, and for manzai, a more contemporary form of stand-up comedy. Tourist attractions include:

[edit] Amusement Parks

• Expoland
• Festival Gate
• Kaiyukan (海遊館) — an aquarium located in Osaka Bay, containing 35,000 aquatic animals in 14 tanks, the largest of which is the world's largest aquarium tank, holding 5,400 tons of water and housing a variety of sea animals including whale sharks.
• Tennōji Zoo
• Universal Studios Japan
• Umeda Joypolis Sega

[edit] Parks

• Nakanoshima Park: In the vicinity of the City Hall.
• Osaka Castle Park: About 106 ha. Holds: Osaka-jō Hall, a japanese apricot garden, etc.
• Sumiyoshi Park
• Tennōji Park  : About 28 ha. Holds: Tennōji Zoo, an art museum (established by contribution from Sumitomo family in 1936) and a japanese garden, Keitaku-en (慶沢園). Keitaku-en was constructed in 1908 by Jihei Ogawa (小川治兵衛), a famous gardener in Japan. This was originally one of Sumitomo family's gardens until 1921.
• Nishinari Park
• Utsubo Park
• Nagai Park The IAAF World Championships in Athletics are to be held in 2007 at Nagai Stadium, located in this park.

[edit] Temples, Shrines and other Historical sites

• Mitami Shrine
• Osaka Castle
• Sanko Shrine
• Shitennō-ji The oldest buddhist temple in Japan, established in 593 AD by Prince Shōtoku.
• Sumiyoshi Taisha One of the oldest Shinto shrines; many people go and worship at this shrine on the new year day. It is said this shrine was built in 211 AD.
• Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine

[edit] Sports Stadiums

• Osaka Dome
• Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

[edit] Entertainments

• Doyama-cho Gay District
• Shinsekai district and Tsutenkaku Tower
• Tobita red-light district

[edit] 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 [13]. Likewise, public high schools are operated by Osaka Prefecture.

Osaka city once had a large number of universities, but because of growing campuses and the need for larger area, many universities chose to move to the suburbs.

Osaka Prefecture's most prestigious university, Osaka University, is located in the nearby Suita.

• Kansai University (関西大学)
• Osaka City University (大阪市立大学)
• Osaka University of Economics (大阪経済大学)
• Osaka Institute of Technology (大阪工業大学)
• Osaka Jogakuin College (大阪女学院大学)
• Osaka Seikei University (大阪成蹊大学)
• SOAI University (相愛大学)
• Osaka University of Arts (大阪芸術大学) , Minamikawachi District, Osaka
• Osaka University of Education (大阪教育大学)

[edit] Libraries

• International Institute for Children's Llterature, Osaka [14]
• Osaka Public Nakanoshima Library

[edit] Sister cities, Friendship and Cooperation cities, and Sister Ports

Osaka has eight sister cities and relationships of various sorts with several others^[15]

Sister cities:

• Chicago, United States
• Hamburg, Germany
• San Francisco, United States
• São Paulo, Brazil
• Shanghai, People's Republic of China
• Melbourne, Australia
• Milan, Italy
• Saint Petersburg, Russia

Friendship and cooperation cities:

• Budapest, Hungary
• Buenos Aires, Argentina

Osaka also has a number of sister ports, and several business partner cities.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• WikiSatellite view of Osaka at WikiMapia
• Official City of Osaka homepage
• Osaka Tourist Guide* A collection of articles about the Kamagasaki area of Osaka on libcom.org
• Bicycling in Osaka

• Osaka travel guide from Wikitravel

Osaka Prefecture
Cities
Daito | Fujiidera | Habikino | Hannan | Higashiosaka | Hirakata | Ibaraki | Ikeda | Izumi | Izumiotsu | Izumisano | Kadoma | Kaizuka | Kashiwara | Katano | Kawachinagano | Kishiwada | Matsubara | Minoh | Moriguchi | Neyagawa | Osaka (capital) | Osakasayama | Sakai | Sennan | Settsu | Shijonawate | Suita | Takaishi | Takatsuki | Tondabayashi | Toyonaka | Yao
Districts
Minamikawachi | Mishima | Senboku | Sennan | Toyono
See also: Towns and villages by district edit