Osaka

Osaka Castle [Osakajo]

Ōsaka, sometimes spelled Ousaka (大阪市; -shi) is the third-largest city in Japan, with a population of 2.7 million. It is located on the island of Honshu, at the mouth of the Yodo river on Osaka Bay. The city is one of Japan's major industrial centers and ports, as well as the capital of Osaka prefecture.

History

Osaka city was named originally Naniwa. In this name this area appears in early Japanese historical documents. It is a connection by land and sea, from Yamato area (today Nara prefecture) beyond the Western Japan to Korea and China. An ancient emperor Shomu settled his capital, named Naniwa-no-miya (The Capital of Naniwa) and made his palace and a big port. Also a guesthouse for foreign agents was built there.

In the middle age a buddist sect Jodoshinsyu settled their headquarter in Ishiyama, today a part of Osaka. Their headquarter was one of biggest castle in those days. Oda Nobunaga attacked it but it was a hard task. After these buddists surrended, Toyotomi Hideyoshi took the place for his own castle, Ozaka-jo: Osaka was called Ozaka from the middle age until the premodern period.

In the beginning of Meiji Era the government renamed the city from Ozaka to Osaka, its today name with the change of a kanji representation. In those day Osaka was the second largest city of Japan and economically the most important, because most of the important markets, rice, exchange and so on were there.

The recent city was designated on September 1, 1956 by government ordinance.

Attractions

Central Osaka is divided into two sections: Kita (north) and Minami (south). The retail district of Umeda is located in Kita, while the entertainment area around Dotonburi Bridge (with its famous enormous motorised crab), Triangle Park and Amerikamura ("America Village") is in Minami. Minami is also home to the Shinsaibashi and Tenjinbashi shopping districts. The central business district, including the courts and major banks, is primarily located in Yodoyabashi and Hommachi, between Kita and Minami.

Osaka has had many names in the past: Naniwa and Settsu are among the better-known ones. Settsu is precisely not the city name itself, but an ancient name for the district to which the north part of modern Osaka prefecture and the seaside part of Hyogo prefecutre belong) Before the modern era, it was written in kanji as 大坂, and mainly pronunciated as Ozaka (See the History Part).

Osaka is known for bunraku (a type of puppetry) and kabuki theatre. Tourist attractions include:

• Osakajo (Osaka Castle),
• Kaiyukan - an enormous walk-through aquarium located in Osaka Bay, containing 35,000 aquatic animals in 14 tanks, the largest of which holds 5,400 tonnes of water and houses whale-sharks,
• the Shinsekai district and Osaka Tower,
• numerous amusement parks including Universal Studios Japan, Expoland, and Festival Gate, and,
• for the sanitary-minded, the "Toilets of the World" exhibit in the International Finance Center in Osakajo-koen.
• Osaka City Museum
• The Museum of Oriental Ceramics
• Sumiyoshi Park

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Osaka regional cuisine includes okonomiyaki (a type of pancake), takoyaki (octopus dumplings), udon (a noodle dish), as well as regional sushi and other traditional Japanese foods.

Transportation

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

Osaka International Airport in Itami still houses most of the domestic service from the metropolitan region: its proximity to the Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto city centers outweighs its noise restrictions.

The mass transportation system of Osaka is first-rate: Besides the subway system there is a network of both government (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.

The city was founded on April 1, 1889.

Osaka Tower [Tsutenkaku]

Geography

Demography

The people of Osaka speak a variation of standard Japanese called Osaka-ben, characterised by, most prominently amongst other particularities, the use of the suffix hen instead of nai in the negative of verbs.

Osaka people are considered by other Japanese to be rowdy and boisterous with a robust and coarse sense of humour, befitting people engaged in the commercial life of the region.

Economy

Historically, Osaka was the center of Japanese commerce, specially in the middle and premodern ages. Nowadays, most major companies have moved their main offices to Tokyo, specially from the end of 1990s, but several major companies are still based in Osaka, including Daimaru, Hankyu, Hanshin, Sharp Electronics, and the West Japan Railway Company.

In additon, Matsushita (Panasonic) is based in nearby Kadoma.

External links

• Official city of Osaka homepage
• Osaka Tourist Guide

Referenced By