Naniwa-ku, Osaka

Naniwa-ku (浪速区) is one of 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It has an area of 4.37 km², and a population of 51,567.

General information

Largely a residential area itself, Naniwa-ku is adjacent to and has in recent years blurred into the Namba district, which is south Osaka's transport hub and centre of commerce, entertainment, shopping, and culture.

Naniwa retains significant Burakumin and Korean communities. The plight and struggle of both communities in Japan is represented in Liberty Osaka (Osaka Human Rights Museum).

Almost the entire ward was decimated in air attacks during bombing in March, 1945. Few buildings pre-dating World War II remain.

Attractions

Naniwa is the site of a number of well-known commercial areas. Nipponbashi, locally known as Den Den Town (Electric City) was traditionally a concentration for Osaka's electrical appliance outlets, though the emergence of several large electrical department stores over in recent years has seen its shop space make a gradual shift away from the electrical appliance sector. Directly to its south is Shin Sekai (New World), an entertainment district famous for the Tsutenkaku Tower and Janjan Alley.

Amongst Naniwa's sites is the Imamiya Ebisu Shrine, which sponsors the lively Toka Ebisu Festival. Naniwa is the site of the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Osaka-furitsu taiiku-kaikan), where the Grand Sumo Tournament is held in March (Ozumo Sangatsu Basho) and Liberty Osaka - the Osaka Human Rights Museum. Naniwa also contains the massive modern shopping, dining, and entertainment complex, Namba Parks.