• A0S07 – Traces of Traditional Performing Arts and Culture from the Past
伝統芸能・文化を育み、歴史を受け継ぐ船場の地
中央区 マスコットキャラクター ゆめまるくん
  • Semba, embracing traditional performing arts and culture and inheriting history

Right as Osaka Castle was built, many temples and shrines were also relocated. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, also known as “Taiko-san” (retired regent), had various shrines and temples relocated in order to further strengthen the area around Osaka Castle.
Ikasuri Shrine, relocated from Watanabe-no-Tsu in Hachikenya (now around Kokumachi in Chuo Ward) on the south bank of the Okawa River to its current location in Chuo Ward’s Kyutaromachi in 1582, is said to be the birthplace of Kamigata Rakugo theater. Even today there are theater and Rakugo performances, and every year in autumn during the Semba Festival, a dedication of opera and music known as the Semba Chinju no Mori Art & Music Festival.
Countless forms of performing arts and literature have been created and nourished here in Semba since the Edo period (1603-1867). Even today, many famous sites and places that are important to the histories of Bunraku, Kabuki, haiku, and theater, can be found in Semba, and you can enjoy tracing their footsteps.

地図をみる
コラムをよむ
稲荷社文楽座跡
  • Site of Inari Shrine Bunrakuza

In addition to Namba Shrine, there is also a monument to Bunrakuza at its former site Goryo Shrine. It is said that the competition between the two theaters contributed to the revived popularity of Ningyo Joruri (puppet plays).

芭蕉終焉の地
  • Site of Basho’s Last Days

Matsuo Basho was one of the greatest literati from the Genroku era (1688-1704). While on his travels in 1694, he became unwell and passed away in the parlor of a flower shop in front of Minamimido Temple at the age of 51.

井原西鶴文学碑
  • Literary Monument of Ihara Saikaku

Located amongst some greenery near the Hommachi Exit of the Hanshin Expressway. Ihara Saikaku was a famous haikai poet and novelist. A passage from his work Nippon Eitaigura (The Eternal Storehouse of Japan) is engraved on it.

帝国座跡
  • Site of Teikokuza Theater

The Teikokuza Theater was built in 1910 by Otojiro Kawakami, known for his popular “Oppekepe Song”, as a new theater base for Osaka. This was the first purely Western-style theater in Osaka.

上方落語寄席発祥の地
  • Birthplace of Kamigata Rakugo

In the late Edo period, Bunji Katsura (the first) gave a speech performance at Ikasuri Shrine. It has been noted that this is the beginning of Kamigata Rakugo theater performances.

芭蕉以外の句碑
  • Monuments to Other Literary Figures

Next to Basho’s monument you can find monuments dedicated to Seishi Yamaguchi and Seiho Awano, who are known for overseeing haiku poet gatherings.
Minamimido Temple (Otani sect of Shinshu Namba Betsuin)

伝統芸能・文化の足跡
  • Ikasuri Shrine Minamimido Temple (Otani sect of Shinshu Namba Betsuin) Namba Shrine
  • Column

It is said that Namba Shrine moved to its current location during the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573-1600) from Oenosaka Hiranogo (now Tennoji Ward) upon Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s construction of Osaka Castle.
At the time, Namba Shrine received the patronage of Hideyoshi and had a sprawling area of roughly 200,000 square meters.
However, after the Toyotomi clan fell at the Summer War of Osaka in 1615, the Shrine was also affected in the aftermath and the size of its land was greatly reduced. This smaller area is the land upon which Namba Shrine stands today.

中央区 マスコットキャラクター ゆめまるくん
中央区 マスコットキャラクター ゆめまるくん
A0S07 – Traces of Traditional Performing Arts and Culture from the Past