Osaka (大阪市, Ōsaka-shi) - 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 second city of Japan, Osaka was historically the
commercial capital of Japan, and to date the heart of
Japan's second largest, and the world's ninth largest
metropolitan area of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto, whose population is
19,220,000.
A unique title that the city of Osaka holds is the first
place in Japan for day to night population ratio of 141%, a
depiction of Osaka's economic- and commerce-centric
character. While at night time the population ranks third
place in the country at 2.6 million, in daytime it surges to
3.7 million, second only after Tokyo.
Osaka is traditionally considered the "nation's kitchen"
(天下の台所, tenka no daidokoro) or the gourmet food capital of
Japan.
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 in Osaka Prefecture, with one exception: the
city of Amagasaki, belonging to Hyōgo Prefecture, in the
northwest. The city occupies a larger area (about 12%) than
any other city or district within Osaka Prefecture.
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 Namba, Shinsaibashi
and Dōtonbori shopping districts. The 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”.
Shopping Districts
American Village (Amerika-mura or "Ame-mura") - fashion for
young people
Den Den Town - electronic goods and other aspects of otaku
culture
Dōtonbori - part of Namba district and considered heart of
the city
Namba - main shopping, sightseeing, and restaurant area
Shinsaibashi - luxury goods and department stores
Umeda - theaters, boutiques, and department stores near the
train station
Economy
The gross city product of Osaka for fiscal year 2004 was
¥21.3 trillion, an increase of 1.2% over the previous year.
This amount is about 55% of the Osaka Prefecture and 26.5%
of the Kinki region. As of 2004, commerce, services and
manufacturing have been the three major industries with a
respective share of 30%, 26% and 11% of total industry. The
per capita income was about ¥3.3 million, 10% higher than
that of the Osaka Prefecture.
The GDP in the greater Osaka area (Osaka and Kobe) is $341
billion. Osaka has one of the most productive hinterlands in
the world, making it a match even for Paris and London. This
GDP has kept fairly constant for the past 15 years, when the
GDP compared to other cities worldwide was that much larger.
Historically, Osaka was the center of Japanese commerce,
especially in the middle and pre-modern ages. Today, many
major companies have since moved their main offices to
Tokyo, principally in the 1970's, but several major
companies are still based in Osaka. Recently, the city began
a program, headed by Mayor Junichi Seki, to try to attract
domestic and foreign investment in the city.
History
The beginnings - Kofun Period
Some of the earliest signs of habitation in the area of
Osaka were found at the Morinomiya ruins (森の宮遺跡, Morinomiya
iseki?), with its shell mounds, including sea oysters and
buried human skeletons from the 5 - 6th centuries BC. It is
believed that what is today the Uehonmachi area consisted of
a peninsular land, with an inland sea in the east. During
the Yayoi Period, permanent habitation on the plains grew as
rice farming became popular.
By the Kofun Period, Osaka developed into a hub port
connecting the region to the western part of Japan. The
large numbers, and the growing of the size of tomb mounds
found in the plains of Osaka, are seen as evidence of
political power concentrating, leading to the formation of a
state.
[edit] Asuka and Nara Period
In 645, Emperor Kōtoku built his palace (難波長柄豊碕宮 Naniwa-no-nagara-no-toyosaki-no-Miya)
in Osaka, 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.
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.
Heian - Edo Period
In 1496, the Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist sect set up their
headquarters in 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 constructed Osaka Castle
on its site.
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.
In 1837 Ōshio Heihachirō, a low ranking samurai, 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.
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.
"Osaka" (大阪), Etymology
Osaka literally means "Large Hill" or "Large Slope".
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.
Information source: “Osaka.” wikipedia.org. Article
date: 4 Mar. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 4 Mar. 2008 <Osaka>. |
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