Osaka is the third largest city in Japan after Tokyo and its satellite, Yokohama, and is also the capital of Osaka Prefecture. Osaka is located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu in Japan.
The commercial hub of Japan is located in Osaka, which is also widely regarded as the food capital of Japan. With a population of 19 million inhabitants, the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area is the second largest in Japan and the ninth largest in the world.
History of Osaka - Kofun Period
People first inhabited the area around Osaka in the 5 - 6th centuries BC. The Uehonmachi area was once a peninsula, with an inland sea in the east. During the Yayoi Period, rice farming resulting in permanent settlement of the plains in Osaka. By the Kofun Period, Osaka has developed into an important port connecting the regions of western Japan. There are large tomb mounds in the plains of Osaka, which explains that it was a place of much political influence.
History of Osaka - Asuka and Nara Period
When Emperor Kotoku built his palace in Osaka in 645 AD, he effectively placed made it a capital for the first time. At that time, the Osaka area was called Naniwa. The name Naniwa as well as Namba continue to be used to denote the districts in central Osaka. Although the capital was moved to Asuka, in presently Nara Prefecture, in 655 AD, the Naniwa area continued to be a significant hub, due to its proximity to the sea, and its location between Yamato (modern day Nara Prefecture), Korea, and China.
The capital of Japan once again returned to Naniwa in 744 AD, under the reign of Emperor Sho-mu. It lasted only one year, however, as the Imperial Court shifted to Heijo-kyo (today's Nara) in 745 AD. From then on, Naniwa began to lose its prominence, although it remain an important transit point for transportation and cargo between Heian-kyo (today's Kyoto) and other destinations.
History of Osaka - Heian - Edo Period
In 1496, the militant Jo-do Shinshu Buddhist sect set up their headquarters at the fortress-like temple of Ishiyama Honganji which was built over the ruins of the old Naniwa imperial palace. In 1570, the major daimyo Oda Nobunaga laid a 10-year siege of the temple which ended with the surrender of the monks in 1580, not before much bloodshed. Ishiyama Honganji was razed, and on its site, the Sengoku period daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi built Osaka Castle.
This was the beginning of Osaka as the commercial hub of Japana. A large percentage of its population was from the merchant class. By the Edo period (1603–1867), Osaka was once again a major Japanese city, and regained its ancient role as a major port. Its culture blossomed alongside that of Kyoto and Edo, and Osaka also developed its own bunraku and grand kabuki productions, pleasure quarters, and a lively artistic community.
Modern Osaka
In 1889, government ordinance designated a 15 square kilometer area as the modern city of Osaka. Today, the city limits have expanded to cover 222 square kilometers. The name for the city, Osaka, means "large hill" or "large slope". It is not clear when the name Osaka came to be used instead of Naniwa. The oldest reference to the name Osaka dates back to 1496 in a document detailing the founding of the Ishiyama Honganji temple. The kanji writing of the name Osaka was also changed, as the original could be read as "return to soil", a term regarded as not very auspicious. While the modern writing of Osaka is in used in official documents, the older writing continues to crop up especially in the historical context.
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