12/29/2023 0 Comments Kami japan expo![]() ![]() ![]() Prior to COVID-19, Osaka - the nation’s third-largest city - was experiencing faster tourism growth than Tokyo. Like in many places throughout the world, COVID-19 restrictions threatened the viability of local businesses, but the entertainment district is finally on the rebound. Upon my first visit to Dotonbori in 2022, I was shocked to find the area virtually deserted. The sign is still a popular photo-spot for locals and tourists alike, generating an incalculable amount of free advertising. ![]() The strategy proved a massive success, and the image of the Running Man has endured for six generations, with the latest iteration powered by light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The nutritious candy boasted “ Hitotsubu san-hyaku metoru” (一粒300メートル) or “300 meters in a single piece.” Packaging featured a marathon runner with his arms raised in victory, said to be inspired by Filipino athlete Fortunato Catalon, once called “Asia’s fastest man.”įounder Riichi Ezaki (リイチ・エザキ) chose to advertise the health-conscious treat along Dotonbori, where some 200,000 people passed each day. Today, Osaka-based Glico (グリコ) is best known for their chocolate-coated biscuit stick brand Pocky, but their first product was a heart-shaped caramel enhanced with glycogen derived from oysters (hence the company name). Built in 2005, and reopened in 2018 after a nine-year closure, the ride is the world’s only oblong-shaped ferris wheel!Īnother testament to Osaka’s culinary history is the enduring Glico Running Man sign, first installed in 1935 by the eponymous food company. The kami also lends his name to the nearby ferris wheel, Ebisu Tower, installed into the building facade of discount retailer Don Quijote (ドン・キホーテ). A popular greeting among locals is “Mokari makka?” (儲かりまっか) or “ making any money?” Early January, people celebrate Ebessan (えべっさん) or Toka Ebisu (十日えびす) to pray for prosperity in the new year. Ebisu is the only native kami of Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods, or Shichi-fuku-jin (七福神).Īs the patron of fishermen and merchants, portly Ebisu is especially beloved in mercantile Osaka. Since then, the team’s poor performance has been attributed to “the curse of Colonel Sanders.”įirst built immediately after the canal’s excavation, Ebisu-bashi is named after the Shinto kami (神) Ebisu (戎), as it sits on the pilgrimage route to Imamiya Ebisu Shrine (今宮戎神社) to the south. A mob even threw a statue of Colonel Sanders from a nearby KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) restaurant into the canal. ![]() When the local baseball team Hanshin Tigers won the Japan Series in 1985, fans jumped into the muddy river from Ebisu-bashi. The great playwright Monzaemon Chikamatsu (近松 門左衛門) - called Japan’s Shakespeare - settled in Osaka and his plays premiered at Takemotoza in Dotonbori.Ĭhikamatsu’s classic bunraku plays Sonezaki Shinju (曾根崎心中) and Kokusen’ya Kassen (国性爺合戦) are still performed today. Box yagura (櫓) were installed on the front of theaters to prove authorization by the ruling clan.īy the end of the 17th century, Dotonbori hosted six kabuki (歌舞伎) and five bunraku (文楽) theaters, more than any other city in the empire. By 1625 - over a century prior to the start of New York’s Broadway - the site developed as a Theater District, home to multiple venues for entertainment.Īs theater had become incredibly popular, plays were regulated by the shogunate to maintain moral standards. The Dotonbori area - also rendered as Doton-bori, Dohtonbori, or Dotombori - includes both the canal and the street running parallel to the south bank. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |