Mark Meek's Ideas: Osaka

Osaka is one of the largest cities in Japan. It was the capital of Japan for two brief periods in the past, and is today a major industrial and trade center. Osaka is a very old city. Shitteno-Ji is a Buddhist temple that was first constructed in the year 593. The first four images of the temple are from Google Street View.

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https://www.google.com/maps/@34.6534129,135.5163924,3a,75y,186.28h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sZ_enZrtvJ6vjmMPxhIdkVg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DZ_enZrtvJ6vjmMPxhIdkVg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D185.17325%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Sumiyoshi Taisha is another shrine in Osaka that is over a thousand years old. The first three images of the temple are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.6128906,135.4926138,3a,75y,198.81h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sEuMpElSCpRsLEGWUIQX2DQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DEuMpElSCpRsLEGWUIQX2DQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D195.65802%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

One of the best-known landmarks of Osaka is it's castle. On the site of a former temple, Toyotomi Hideyoshi built the castle. The capital of the country was Kyoto, but the Tokugawas resided in Tokyo, then called Edo, at their Edo Castle which later became the emperor's Imperial Palace, and that is what led to it becoming the capital of the country.

The castle resisted the forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate for some time, but eventually was captured. In turn, the Tokugawas would have to surrender the castle to the forces of the emperor when their time came to an end, more than two hundred years later.

The end of the Tokugawa Shogunate is known as the Meiji Restoration, when the emperor of the country was restored to having full power, and no longer under the control of a Shogun dynasty like the Tokugawas. The emperor proceeded to rule from Tokyo, where the Tokugawas had been based instead of the traditional capital of Kyoto.

The first four scenes of Osaka Castle are from Google Earth and Street View.