Trip to Osaka (1) - Osaka Museum of History

During the year-end and New Year’s holidays, I went on trips to Yokohama and Atami with Seishun 18, an economical ticket issued by JR. This spring, I wanted to go to the opposite direction, to the Kansai region with Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. Especially, I wanted to see Osaka Castle from a certain building located near the castle.

Last Sunday, I managed to go to Osaka. I left JR Hamamatsu Station at 6:01 by the first train going westward. I changed the train at Maibara and arrived at Osaka at 10:13. Then I took subway Tanimachi Line to Tanimachi 4-Chome Station and got out from Exit 9.

The first destination Osaka Museum of History was the brown building just in front of the exit.

The layout in this museum is very interesting. First, visitors should go up to the 10th floor by an elevator. There I could enjoy the view I had expected: Osaka Castle with cherry blossoms!

Though this was my second visit, it was interesting to explore in the museum. The 10th floor presents the ancient period focusing on Daigokuden on Naniwa Palace. It is a life-size spacious replica with mannequins dressed in ancient cloths. The long dresses of the court ladies reminded me of ancient Chinese dresses. They were elegant.

The 9th floor has an exhibition of the middle ages and early modern period. In Edo Period Zone, you can hear about the life of townspeople told in lively Osaka dialect. Since I’m interested in languages, I get always excited to hear the local dialect whenever I go on a trip to somewhere. Also this time, I enjoyed the narration very much (In addition, they have an audio guide system in four languages).

In Edo period (1603-1868), Osaka was called the kitchen of Japan as it was a center of commerce and logistics. This is the main port of Ajikawa River. Osaka has been also called Water City.

This is the rice market of Dojima.

And the vegetable market in Tenma.

In the Edo period, Osaka had a population of 400,000 already. This is the center of commerce Senba in the middle of the 19th century. Those who lived in these substantial houses must be rich merchants.

Osaka also has a famous cultural heritage Bunraku. It is a puppet theater art founded there in the 17th century. As I looked at the expression of this doll, I felt like visiting a bunraku theater someday.

This is a kabuki theater. People in Osaka seemed to enjoy a rich cultural life.

The 7th floor of the museum has the exhibition of the modern and contemporary period. There you can see a part of a life-size kabuki theater with mannequins.

While I was exploring on this floor, I was surprised by mannequins whose postures were so realistic.

This is a greengrocer having a year-end sale in 1940.

I like the way the museum presents the life of ordinary people. You can have a feeling of closeness to the history. On the 7th floor, you can try kimono free of charge. If you are interested in this museum, search with “Osaka Museum of History.” They provide information in 9 languages.