Osaka
(2002 est. prefectural pop. 8.9 million). Osaka is Japan's second city of commerce, industry, and trade. Situated in central Honshu Island on Osaka Bay along the Inland Sea, the city is at the heart of the Hanshin Industrial Zone. The city proper (2002 estimated population 2.6 million) consists of twenty-six wards. It is the capital of Osaka Prefecture.
From the fourth to sixth centuries CE, Osaka, then known as Naniwa, lay close to the developing Yamato state, which eventually became Japan. Its port a conduit for culture from China, Naniwa itself was an imperial capital several times before the 710 founding of Nara as Japan's first permanent capital. In 1586, the city returned to prominence when national unifier Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) erected Osaka Castle. With the defeat of his son in 1615, power shifted to Edo (present-day Tokyo). In the following centuries, Osaka flourished as a trade center. Its wealthy merchant class patronized the arts, fostering the development of Kabuki and of Bunruku puppet theater.
World War II bombing destroyed most of Osaka's traditional wooden buildings and many transport canals. The rebuilt city became a base for modern heavy industry. Today visitors are drawn to the replica of Osaka Castle, the Sumiyoshi Matsuri (a festival), and the various historic museums, Buddhist temples, and Shinto shrines.
Osaka Prefecture occupies an area of 1,869 square kilometers. It is bordered by Osaka Bay, and by Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama, and Hyogo prefectures. Once divided into Settsu, Kawachi, and Izumi provinces, it assumed its present name and borders in 1887. Today over two-thirds of the prefecture's industry is devoted to heavy manufacturing and chemicals; the newer factory complexes occupy land reclaimed from Osaka Bay. Visitors are drawn to the area's national parks and to Expo Memorial Park, built for Osaka's Expo '70 international exposition.
Further Reading
McClain, James L., and Osamu Wakita, eds. (1999) Osaka: Merchants' Capital of Early Modern Japan. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Ropke, Ian M., and Jon Woronoff, eds. (1999) Historical Dictionary of Osaka and Kyoto. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.
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