Osaka

 

Osaka commonly known as Ōsaka [oːsaka] (About this list)) is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of Osaka Prefecture and the largest part of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, the second largest city in Japan and among the world's largest population with over 20 million people.

Osaka was considered the economic center of Japan. By the time of Kofun (300-538) it had grown into an important regional port, and in the 7th and 8th centuries, it served for a time as the state capital. Osaka continued to prosper during the Edo period (1603-1867) and was known as the cultural center of Japan. Following the Meiji Recovery, Osaka expanded in size and became a fast-growing industry. In 1889, Osaka was officially established as a municipality.

Today, Osaka is Japan's largest financial center. It is home to the Osaka Securities Exchange and international power companies Panasonic and Sharp. World-famous landmarks in Osaka include Osaka Castle - which played a key role in the Siege of Osaka - and Shitennō-ji - Japan's oldest Buddhist temple.

Some of the earliest signs of human settlement in the Osaka area in the ruins of Morinomia include shell piles, sea oysters and human bones buried from the 6th-5th centuries BC. Today, it is believed that Uehonmachi was once located on the inland coast of the east. During the Yayoi period, permanent settlement on the plains grew as rice farming gained popularity.

During the Kofun season, Osaka developed into a harbor harbor that connects the region and the western part of Japan. Large numbers of growing cemeteries found on the plains of Osaka are seen as evidence of political scrutiny, leading to the formation of the empire.

Kojiki writes that between 390-430 AD, there was a royal palace at Osumi, located in the present-day area of   Higashiyodogawa ward, but it may have been the second state house rather than the capital.

In 645, Emperor Kōtoku built his palace at Naniwa Nagara-Toyosaki in the present-day state of Osaka, which became the capital of Japan. The town now known as Osaka was now called Naniwa, and its name and location are still used in the central Osaka region such as Naniwa and Namba. (present-day Nara Prefecture), Korea and China.

Naniwa was again proclaimed capital in 744 at the behest of Emperor Shōmu, and she remained so until 745, when the State Court returned to Heijō-kyō (now Nara). By the end of the Nara period, the roles of the Naniwa port were gradually taken over by the surrounding lands, but it remained the center of the river, the station, and the movement between Heian-kyō (Kyoto today) and other places.

Osaka is the birthplace of the theater Kabuki and Bunraku. Japan's National Bunraku Theater offers English translations over headphones.

The Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium is the second largest aquarium in the world, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Osaka.