Osaka

Osaka, or OZAKA, an important city of central Japan, situated at the head of the gulf of the same name, and at the mouth of the Yodo River, which issues from Lake Biwa. The city covers an area of about 8 sq. m., and is intersected with canals. Its fine castle, the stones of whose walls are of astonishing size, was constructed by Hideyoshi's orders in 1583, and the palace, built afterwards in its precincts and destroyed in 1868, was perhaps the most magnificent structure in Japan. Osaka is the great commercial centre of the empire, and the headquarters of the rice and tea trade. Its port does not admit large vessels. In the earthquake of 28th October 1891, of which Osaka was the centre, nearly 10,000 lives were lost. Pop. (1891) 473,541.