"Water City Osaka Waterfront Walking Guidebook" Introduction: "Tours of the Waterfront in the Water City"

June 19, 2025

Water City Osaka Waterside Walking Guide
Produced by: Aquapolis Osaka Consortium
Edited by Big Apple Produce Inc.
Supervision: Koji Takashima
*Items with (Takashima) at the end were written by the supervisor.
Issue date: April 2025

Profile of Koji Takashima
Born in Osaka in 1949. Specializes in early modern Japanese history and the history of Tenjin worship.
Advisor to Ryukoku University Extension Center, Director of Osaka Tenmangu Cultural Research Institute, and Visiting Professor at Ashiya University.
He has served as visiting professor at Osaka University and visiting professor at Otemae University.
Received the Osaka City Citizen's Award (Cultural Merit) in 2012. His books include "Osaka Tenmangu Shrine and Tenjin Festival" (Sogensha) and "Because it is fantastic, it is historical fact - Deciphering Tenjin folklore" (Osaka University Press).

First, "A tour of the waterfront of the water city"

Osaka has developed as a "water city" since the beginning of the Edo period. In addition to the Okawa, Dojimagawa, Tosaborigawa, and Ajigawa rivers, which are tributaries of the Yodogawa River, over a dozen canals, including Higashiyokoborigawa, Nishiyokoborigawa, Dotonborigawa, and Nagahorigawa, were excavated within the city to facilitate water transport. The port, which opened onto Osaka Bay, was a base for shipping routes, and many Hishigaki-kaisen and Taru-kaisen ships arrived and departed, resulting in a prosperous city that was described as "a thousand ships leaving, a thousand ships entering."
In this way, shipping at Osaka Port and water transport along the Horikawa River that crisscrosses the city have been responsible for the movement of a huge number of people and the transportation of goods, and this water transport has supported Osaka's economy and enriched the lives of its people. Also, numerous bridges were built, which gave the city the nickname "808 Bridges," but in some areas, ferry docks were built instead of bridges so as not to impede the navigation of domestic ships. These ferries were not only a means of transportation, but also a tool for outings such as cherry blossom viewing. This is why the city was called the "City of Water."
In modern times, with the development of railways and automobiles and the postwar economic recovery, many of these canals were filled in. Nevertheless, modern Osaka is known as the "Water Corridor," with the Tosabori River, Higashi-Yokobori River, Dotonbori River, and Kizu River surrounding the city in a square shape, and eight ferry docks are still in operation. The atmosphere of the past still remains in abundance. Take a stroll along the waterfront to learn about the history of the "Water City" and experience a part of the "waterside lifestyle" that was deeply rooted in the lives of the people.

"Naniwa Sakuramiya no Zu" by Utagawa Sadayoshi, late Edo period (National Diet Library Digital Collection)

Column: The city emblem of Osaka, "Miotsukushi"

The city emblem of Osaka is a "mio jisho (waterway marking)." A "mio jisho (waterway marking)" is a sign erected in the shallows of a river's mouth to guide the waterway (mio = waterway), and the word is said to have its origin in the skewer that is stuck into the waterway. The "mio jisho (waterway marking)," which guided many ships into port, was adopted as the design for the city emblem in 27 (Meiji 1894) as a sign symbolizing the "City of Water."

"One Hundred Views of Naniwa: Tempozan" by Nansuitei Hosetsu, late Edo period (Osaka Municipal Library Digital Archive)

Osaka City Emblem

Column: Novels in the "Water City"

Takayasu Gekko's "City of Water" ("Sightseeing in the Kinai Region: Osaka Volume", 1912, Kaneo Bun'en-do)

Takayasu Gesso (1869-1944) was a playwright and poet active during the Meiji, Taisho and Showa periods, and he left behind a novel, Water City, that vividly depicts how Osaka's river, Horikawa, was integrated into people's lives at the end of the Meiji period.

Osaka is a city of water. The streets are narrow, but the rivers are the main roads. The Yodo River is a main street, while Yokobori is an alley. You can experience Osaka's unique characteristics better by going through the rivers than through the streets. In summer, especially when the setting sun disappears behind the noren curtains, you go down to the nearby moat and board a small boat. The wind is still not stirring the hanging onions on the eaves on both sides, and the lights filtering through the bamboo blinds and the shadows of the Gifu lanterns on the veranda float on the gentle current. As you slowly make your way to the large river, the wind suddenly stirs the lights of the boat.

At that time, the main form of transportation in Osaka was water transport, and it was probably people's experience that led them to compare rivers to main roads and canals to small roads.
(Takashima)