History
HISTORY

Modernizing Osaka

In the Meiji era, the capital was moved to Tokyo and Osaka's economy went into decline, but Osaka, which had always been the center of the distribution economy, began to industrialize, with spinning, machinery manufacturing, shipbuilding, and other industries, and it emerged as a center of new industries.

From the late Taisho period to the early Showa period, Osaka boasted the largest population in Japan after the second expansion of the city area, and was called "Great Osaka." It was the leading commercial and industrial city in the Orient, and at the same time, it was a time when culture and the arts flourished and the city was full of energy. Modern architecture, bridges, and other structures incorporated new structures and gorgeous designs, and the areas of Nakanoshima, Kitahama, and Semba, where many of these were built, formed the dignified urban landscape of modern Osaka. Many buildings were built with donations from citizens or private funds, such as the Osaka Court of Appeals (completed in 1916 (Taisho 5)), the current site of the Osaka High Court, the first Osaka City Hall (completed in 1921 (Taisho 10)), the Central Public Hall (completed in 1918 (Taisho 7)), and the Dojima Building (completed in 1923 (Taisho 12)).

Landscape of Nakanoshima Park, Osaka (artist unknown, mid-Meiji period)
Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library
Nakanoshima Park was opened in 1891 (Meiji 24) as Osaka's first municipal park. It overlooks Osaka Castle across the three great Naniwa bridges.

During the Edo period, Nakanoshima was a commercial and logistics center with many feudal domain storehouses lined up there due to its convenient water transport, and after the Meiji Restoration, it became the site of government offices, schools, and cultural facilities, becoming a hub of the economy and culture. The area around Nakanoshima has been a place that has welcomed new architecture, which was built with an awareness of the beautiful waterfront scenery while preserving tradition. Postcards and tourist boats from that time feature the words "Water City" and "Water City," and the waterfront scenery around Nakanoshima has been celebrated as a symbol of modernizing Osaka.

Osaka attractions
Naniwa Bridge seen from above (Early Showa Period)
Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library
Naniwa Bridge was completed in 1915 (Taisho 4). In consideration of the urban landscape, it features a balustrade incorporating the city emblem, gorgeous lighting, stone stairs, and stone lions at each of the four corners, which has earned it the nickname "Lion Bridge." Buildings completed during the Taisho period can be seen in the photo, including the Central Public Hall and Osaka Bank Assembly Hall on Nakanoshima, and the Osaka Court of Appeals and Dojima Building across the Dojima River.

(Osaka) Kitahama Street reflected in the water (date unknown)
Collection of Koichi Kana
The waterfront scenery of Kitahama before the war. As the economy and industry developed, the area changed from wooden buildings that still retained the appearance of the early modern period to a waterfront lined with modern architecture. The bank was lower than it is today, and buildings such as the Kitahama Retro Building (second from the right, built in 2 (Meiji 1912)), a registered tangible cultural property, faced the river.

Furthermore, at the 1903th Domestic Industrial Exposition held in the Tennoji area in 36 (Meiji 5), the venue was lit up with illuminations, a first in Japan, which caused a great stir. Filling the entire urban space with light and creating an attractive night view was an attempt that had never been done before in Japan, and entertainment districts such as Dotonbori and Shinsekai were decorated with colorful light bulbs, becoming famous night view spots. During the Greater Osaka era, electricity became widespread throughout the city, and the neon signs, street lamps, and electric advertisements that lit up the city created a nighttime landscape that exuded the modern image of Greater Osaka.

Osaka attractions
Dotonbori (1933 (Showa 8))
Osaka City Central Library
The tourist postcard uses Osaka dialect and shows a modern Dotonbori lit up with electric lights, with the lyrics "Look at the blue and red lights of Dotonbori."

On the other hand, the coastal areas of Osaka City are close to the sea and have easy river transport for transportation, and are close to urban areas with a large labor force, so areas with a mixture of large and small factories and housing have expanded.
One negative legacy of the urban development of Greater Osaka was that domestic and industrial wastewater flowed into the city's canals, polluting the rivers. The city was lined with factory chimneys and the black smoke billowing out meant that the "City of Water" came to be known as the "City of Smoke."

Panoramic Map of Osaka City (Minobe Seijiro, 1924 (Taisho 13))
Osaka City Central Library
A view of Osaka from the sea before the second expansion of the city. It depicts boats of all sizes passing through the rivers and canals in the city. The Central Public Hall, the first city hall, and streetcars are depicted, but Midosuji had not yet been expanded. Smoke rises from the chimneys of factories built in the new rice fields developed in the bay area, but there was still a lot of vacant land, and this is a scene from before Osaka became the "city of smoke."

Postcard of famous places in Osaka: Ajigawaguchi (Early Showa Period)
Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library
The Aji River was a direct route from Osaka Bay to the city center, and so ships from various countries came to the port, leading to prosperity. As a coastal trade point on the mainland, the number of small steamships, barges, and motorized sailing ships increased, and the area prospered in tandem with the development of heavy industry along the coast.