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82-499: Sogo was founded in 1830 in Osaka by Ihei Sogō as a retailer of used kimono . In July 2000, the company faced financial troubles caused by the unstable real estate investment policy of the former chairman, Hiroo Mizushima, and the collapse of Japanese real estate prices since the mid-1980s. The group collapsed under a debt mountain of US$ 17 billion, owed principally to Industrial Bank of Japan . Sogo applied to Osaka District Court under

164-810: A Seibu store in Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) Lifestyle Quarter in Kuala Lumpur. SOGO also has been appointed to manage the operations of Mayang Mall in Kuala Terengganu , as well as becoming the mall's anchor tenant. Once located at one of the busiest shopping centres, Raffles City , the Singapore flagship store was closed in 2000 due to the bankruptcy of Sogo Japan. The space has since been occupied by Singapore's Robinsons . Sogo also once anchored Orchard Road's Paragon and DBS Building in Tampines. The DBS Building

246-879: A basement parking for visitors to park their car ( SOGO KL parking rate ) Sogo's second store in Malaysia, located at the Central i-City shopping mall in Padang Jawa , Shah Alam , opened on 11 April 2019, followed by the third store at The Mall - Midvalley Southkey in Johor Bahru , opened on 23 April 2019. The operator, Sogo (KL) Department Store Sdn Bhd, also announced plans to open new stores in Paragon @ KL Northgate in Selayang , and GEM Megamall in Seberang Perai , Penang. It also plans to open

328-512: A kaizuka (a mound containing remains), were found as well as shell mounds, oysters, and other interesting archeological discoveries from the Jomon period. In addition to the remains of consumed food, there were arrow heads, stone tools, fishing hooks and crockery with remains from rice processing. It is estimated that the ruins contain 2,000-year-old debris between the Jomon and Yayoi period . The findings of

410-452: A large subterranean network of shopping arcades. Kita and nearby Nakanoshima contain a prominent portion of the city's skyscrapers and are often featured in photographs of Osaka's skyline. Minami, though meaning "south", is essentially in Chūō Ward ( 中央区 , Chūō-ku ) and geographically central within the city. Well known districts here include Namba and Shinsaibashi shopping areas,

492-559: A letter to KEPCO they also requested to disclose information on the demand and supply of electricity, and for lower and stable prices. The three cities were stockholders of the plant: Osaka owned 9% of the shares, while Kobe had 3% and Kyoto 0.45%. Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka, announced a proposal to minimize the dependence on nuclear power for the shareholders meeting in June 2012. International Association of Department Stores The International Association of Department Stores (IADS)

574-547: A lively and important port. Daimyōs (feudal lords) received most of their income in the form of rice . Merchants in Osaka thus began to organize storehouses where they would store a daimyō ' s rice in exchange for a fee, trading it for either coin or a form of receipt; essentially a precursor to paper money . Many if not all of these rice brokers also made loans, and would actually become quite wealthy and powerful. Osaka merchants coalesced their shops around Dōjima , where

656-498: A mall without any MAP-operated department stores, or operated under Daily Foodhall brand. Unlike The Foodhall for upper-class consumers, Daily Foodhall is operated for middle-class consumers. Daily Foodhall opened as part of Sogo on Paris Van Java in 2014, despite located in its extension. Sogo stores that didn't include the supermarket are listed below: Some stores also feature Planet Sports, Kidz Station (both MAP's inhouse brands) and Chatterbox Cafe. A Books Kinokuniya store

738-502: A metropolis like Tokyo met with stiff opposition in some municipalities, particularly the highly populated Sakai . He then fell back on a project that included the suppression of the 24 wards of Osaka, thus dividing the city into 5 new special districts with a status similar to that of the 23 Special wards of Tokyo . It was introduced by former mayor Tōru Hashimoto , leader of the reform party Osaka Restoration Association which he founded. The referendum of May 17, 2015 called in Osaka for

820-525: A municipality. The construction boom accelerated population growth throughout the following decades, and by the 1900s, Osaka was the industrial hub in the Meiji and Taishō periods. Osaka made noted contributions to redevelopment, urban planning and zoning standards in the postwar period, and the city developed rapidly as one of the major financial centers in the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area. Osaka

902-453: A peasant insurrection in response to the city's unwillingness to support the many poor and suffering families in the area. Approximately one-quarter of the city was razed before shogunal officials put down the rebellion, after which Ōshio killed himself. Osaka was opened to foreign trade by the government of the Bakufu at the same time as Hyogo Town (modern Kobe ) on January 1, 1868, just before

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984-404: A predominantly industrial center. The modern municipality was established in 1889 by government ordinance , with an initial area of 15 square kilometres (6 sq mi), overlapping today's Chuo and Nishi wards. Later, the city went through three major expansions to reach its current size of 223 square kilometres (86 sq mi). Osaka was the industrial center most clearly defined in

1066-540: A prominent bay area which serves as its main port as well as a tourist destination with attractions such as Kyocera Dome , Universal Studios Japan and the Tempozan Harbor Village . Higashiosaka is zoned as a separate city, although the east side of Osaka city proper contains numerous residential neighborhoods including Tsuruhashi KoreaTown, as well as the Osaka Castle Park , Osaka Business Park and

1148-449: A second referendum to merge Osaka's 24 wards into 4 semi-autonomous wards was narrowly voted down. There were 692,996 (50.6%) votes against and 675,829 (49.4%) votes supported it. Osaka mayor and Osaka Ishin co-leader Ichiro Matsui said he would resign when his term ends in 2023. On February 27, 2012, three Kansai cities, Kyoto , Osaka, and Kobe , jointly asked Kansai Electric Power Company to break its dependence on nuclear power. In

1230-596: Is a major financial center of Japan, and it is recognized as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in Japan. The city is home to the Osaka Exchange as well as the headquarters of multinational electronics corporations such as Panasonic and Sharp . Osaka is an international center of research and development and is represented by several major universities, notably Osaka University , Osaka Metropolitan University , and Kansai University . Famous landmarks in

1312-463: Is a retail trade association founded in 1928 by a group of department stores with the goal of introducing modern management methods derived from the scientific management movement to their retail format. In the middle of the 1920s, American management theories, the north face as the scientific management of F.W. Taylor , started spreading in Europe . The International Management Institute (I.M.I.)

1394-520: Is a subsidiary of Millennium Retailing (now renamed as Sogo & Seibu ). Since its founding in 1830 Sogo has used as their logo, the family crest ( mon (emblem) ) of a silk shop. The logo consists of a circle with a shape inside that depicts winding the warp on a loom (called ' chikiri ' in Japanese), a nod to the company's origin as a second-hand kimono shop. The word 'Chikiri' in Japanese, also relates to

1476-455: Is abundant, with winter being the driest season, while monthly rainfall peaks in June with the "tsuyu" rainy season, which typically ends in mid to late July. From late July through the end of August, summer's heat and humidity peaks, and rainfall decreases somewhat. Osaka experiences a second rainy period in September and early October, when tropical weather systems, including typhoons, coming from

1558-531: Is located in the humid subtropical climate zone ( Köppen Cfa ), with four distinct seasons. Its winters are generally mild, with January being the coldest month having an average high of 9.7 °C (49 °F). The city rarely sees snowfall during the winter. Spring in Osaka starts off mild, but ends up being hot and humid. It also tends to be Osaka's wettest season, with the tsuyu ( 梅雨 , tsuyu , "plum rain") —the rainy season—occurring between early June and late July. The average starting and ending dates of

1640-575: Is not related to Pacific Sogo. Osaka Osaka ( Japanese : 大阪市 , Hepburn : Ōsaka-shi , pronounced [oːsakaɕi] ; commonly just 大阪 , Ōsaka [oːsaka] ) is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan , and one of the three major cities of Japan ( Tokyo -Osaka- Nagoya ). It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture , and

1722-485: Is now Tampines One , while Metro replaces Sogo in Paragon. In Taiwan , Far East Sogo, as a part of Far East Group operates 8 stores. The oldest of these is located at Zhongxiao Fuxing Station in Taipei. In 2006 Pacific Sogo found itself in the midst of a corruption scandal over gift certificates involving the family of Taiwan 's former President Chen Shui-Bian . In October 2006, Wu Shu-chen (the former President's wife)

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1804-516: Is now Osaka, making it the capital of Japan. The city now known as Osaka was at this time referred to as Naniwa, and this name and derivations of it are still in use for districts in central Osaka such as Naniwa ( 浪速 ) and Namba ( 難波 ). Although the capital was moved to Asuka (in Nara Prefecture today) in 655, Naniwa remained a vital connection, by land and sea, between Yamato (modern day Nara Prefecture ), Korea , and China. Naniwa

1886-469: Is the current and 104th president since May 2008. The mayor of the city is directly elected by the citizens every four years as well, in accordance with the Local Autonomy Law. Tōru Hashimoto , former governor of Osaka Prefecture is the 19th mayor of Osaka since 2011. The mayor is supported by two vice mayors, currently Akira Morishita and Takashi Kashiwagi, who are appointed by him in accordance with

1968-409: Is the headquarters of Daihatsu , one of Japan's oldest automobile manufacturers. Like its European and American counterparts, Osaka displayed slums, unemployment, and poverty. In Japan it was here that municipal government first introduced a comprehensive system of poverty relief, copied in part from British models. Osaka policymakers stressed the importance of family formation and mutual assistance as

2050-468: The Dōtonbori canal entertainment area, Nipponbashi Den Den Town, as well as arts and fashion culture-oriented areas such as Amerikamura and Horie. The 300-meter tall Abeno Harukas was the tallest skyscraper in the country from 2014 until 2023. The business districts between Kita and Minami such as Honmachi  [ ja ] and Yodoyabashi  [ ja ] , called Semba ( 船場 ) , house

2132-480: The Edo period , 大坂 ( Ōsaka ) and 大阪 ( Ōsaka ) were mixed use, and the writer Hamamatsu Utakuni  [ ja ] , in his book Setsuyo Ochiboshu published in 1808, states that the kanji 坂 was abhorred because it "returns to the earth," and then 阪 was used. The kanji 土 (earth) is also similar to the word 士 (knight), and 反 means against, so 坂 can be understood as "samurai rebellion," then 阪

2214-525: The Kofun period (300–538) it had developed into an important regional port, and in the 7th and 8th centuries, it served briefly as the imperial capital. Osaka continued to flourish during the Edo period (1603–1867) and became known as a center of Japanese culture. Following the Meiji Restoration , Osaka greatly expanded in size and underwent rapid industrialization. In 1889, Osaka was officially established as

2296-473: The Rice Exchange was established in 1697 and where the world's first futures market would come to exist to sell rice that was not yet harvested. The popular culture of Osaka was closely related to ukiyo-e depictions of life in Edo . By 1780, Osaka had cultivated a vibrant arts culture, as typified by its famous Kabuki and Bunraku theaters. In 1837, Ōshio Heihachirō , a low-ranking samurai , led

2378-563: The Seto Inland Sea . It is considered one of the first places where inhabitants of Japan settled, both for the favorable geological conditions, rich in fresh water and lush vegetation, and because its position was defensible against military attack. The earliest evidence of settlements in the Osaka area are the Morinomiya ruins ( 森ノ宮遺跡 , Morinomiya iseki ) which is located in the central Chuo-ku district. Buried human skeletons and

2460-706: The Sogo Club , Sogo Book club , and a new annex building named Beauté by Sogo . The Tsim Sha Tsui branch focuses on designer fashions. Lifestyle International Holdings Limited, the holding company of SOGO, was listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 15 April 2004. It is a member of the International Association of department stores . In Indonesia , Sogo is operated by PT Mitra Adiperkasa Tbk (which also operates Sogo's sister department store chain Seibu ) through its subsidiary PT Panen Lestari Indonesia (which

2542-497: The third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama . With a population of 2.7 million in the 2020 census, it is also the largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area , which is the second-largest metropolitan area in Japan and the 10th- largest urban area in the world with more than 19 million inhabitants. Ōsaka was traditionally considered Japan's economic hub. By

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2624-472: The 1960s when large-scale prefectural suburbanization began and doubled to six million by the 1990s. The factories were rebuilt and trade revived, the city were developed rapidly it became a major multicultural and financial center in the postwar period between the 1950s and the 1980s , it is known as the " Chicago and Toronto of the Orient". Osaka Prefecture was chosen as the venue for the prestigious Expo '70 ,

2706-622: The 300-meter tall Abeno Harukas opened, which is the tallest skyscraper in Japan surpassing the Yokohama Landmark Tower in Yokohama , until it was surpassed by the 330-meter tall Azabudai Hills Main Tower in Tokyo since 2022. The city's west side is open to Osaka Bay , and is otherwise completely surrounded by more than ten satellite cities, all of them in Osaka Prefecture , with one exception:

2788-865: The Australian Retail Association (founded 1903), the National Retail Federation in the United States (founded 1911), the Austrian Retail Association (founded 1921) and the German Retail Federation. IADS shares retail management experience and best practices, through meetings for CEOs, main functions at senior level in the member companies, dissemination of information and reports about department stores, and statistical and other surveys and consultancy on specific issues as requested by member companies, such as

2870-506: The Civil Rehabilitation Law on July 12, 2000. It has had to divest itself of unprofitable business lines, as well as valuable assets such as several stores in Japan (e.g., Kokura and Kurosaki) and some overseas stores, including ones in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Taipei. Other overseas Sogo stores survived under independent franchises, through which the Japanese company has also managed to raise capital. In Japan, Sogo

2952-400: The Osaka region in terms of calculation, shrewdness, lack of civic spirit, and the vulgarity of Osaka dialect. Edo writers aspired to samurai culture, and saw themselves as poor but generous, chaste, and public spirited. Edo writers by contrast saw "zeeroku" as obsequious apprentices, stingy, greedy, gluttonous, and lewd. To some degree, Osaka residents are still stigmatized by Tokyo observers in

3034-662: The Sogo in Hong Kong including the high-end supermarket Freshmart and Beaute @ Jiuguang (instead of Beaute @ Sogo). The store also brought in some very exclusive designers, a lot of which had their first counter in Mainland China such as Thomas Pink , Jean Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood . Currently, besides Shanghai, Jiuguang also opened in Suzhou and Dailan. The Causeway Bay store on Hong Kong Island opened in 1985. The store itself

3116-1042: The act of taking a vow or promise. As of 2018, Sogo Department Store has locations in Yokohama, Chiba, Hiroshima, Omiya, Kawaguchi, Seishin and Tokushima. In August 2020, Sogo closed its stores in Seishin and Tokushima, followed by the closing of the Kawaguchi store in February 2021 due to declining sales. Sogo Department stores in China are operated by Taiwan-based Pacific Sogo . Stores are located in Beijing, three in Shanghai, two in Chengdu , two in Chongqing and one in Dalian , as of August 2007. It appears that all of

3198-535: The advent of the Boshin War and the Meiji Restoration . The Kawaguchi foreign settlement , now the Kawaguchi subdistrict, is a legacy of the foreign presence in Osaka. Osaka residents were stereotyped in Edo literature from at least the 18th century. Jippensha Ikku in 1802 depicted Osakans as stingy almost beyond belief. In 1809, the derogatory term "Kamigata zeeroku" was used by Edo residents to characterize inhabitants of

3280-433: The air raid took almost the entire night and destroyed 25 square miles (65 km ) of the city. The U.S. bombed the city again twice in June 1945 and again on August 14, a day before Japan's surrender . In the decades after World War II, the reconstruction plan and the industriousness of its inhabitants ensured Osaka even greater prosperity than it had before the war. Osaka's population regrew to more than three million in

3362-510: The approval of this project saw the narrow victory of no, and consequently Hashimoto announced his withdrawal from politics. A second referendum for a merger into 4 semi-autonomous wards was narrowly voted down by 692,996 (50.6%). According to the Forbes list of The World's Most Expensive Places To Live 2009 , Osaka was the second most expensive in the world after Tokyo . By 2020 it slipped to 5th rank of most expensive cities. On March 7, 2014,

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3444-601: The archeological sites are exhibited in an adjacent building. In the years between the end of the Jōmon period and the beginning of the Yayoi period, the sediments that were deposited north of the Uemachi peninsula / plateau transformed Kawachi Bay into a lagoon. During the Yayoi period (300 BCE-250 CE), permanent habitation on the plains grew as rice farming became popular. At the beginning of

3526-470: The best way to combat poverty. This minimized the cost of welfare programs. During World War II , Osaka came under air raids in 1945 by the United States Army Air Forces as part of the air raids on Japan . On March 13, 1945, a total of 329 Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers took part in the raid against Osaka. According to an American prisoner of war who was held in the city,

3608-451: The branches have shut down. In 2004, Jiuguang Department Store in Shanghai was opened as a joint venture between Lifestyle International Holdings of Hong Kong, the owner of Sogo Hong Kong and the state-owned Joinbuy Group of Shanghai. The department store is located in the fashionable Jing'an District adjacent to the Jing'an Temple , on West Nanjing Road. The store operation is a clone of

3690-899: The city bylaw. Osaka also houses several agencies of the Japanese government. Below is a list of governmental offices housed in Osaka. In July 2012, a joint multi-party bill was submitted to the Diet that would allow for implementation of the Osaka Metropolis plan as pursued by the mayor of Osaka city, the governor of Osaka and their party . If implemented, Osaka City, neighboring Sakai City and possibly other surrounding municipalities would dissolve and be reorganized as four special wards of Osaka prefecture – similar to former Tokyo City 's successor wards within Tokyo prefecture. Special wards are municipal-level administrative units that leave some otherwise municipal administrative responsibilities and revenues to

3772-461: The city include Osaka Castle , Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan , Dōtonbori , Tsūtenkaku in Shinsekai , Tennōji Park , Abeno Harukas , Sumiyoshi Taisha Grand Shrine , and Shitennō-ji , one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan. Ōsaka means "large hill" or "large slope". It is unclear when this name gained prominence over Naniwa, but the oldest written evidence for the name dates back to 1496. By

3854-553: The city of Amagasaki , belonging to Hyōgo Prefecture , in the northwest. The city occupies a larger area (about 13%) than any other city or village within Osaka Prefecture. When the city was established in 1889, it occupied roughly the area known today as the Chuo and Nishi wards, only 15.27 square kilometres (6 sq mi) that would eventually grow into today's 222.30 square kilometres (86 sq mi) via incremental expansions,

3936-483: The copula ya instead of da , and the suffix -hen instead of -nai in negative verb forms. The Osaka City Council is the city's local government formed under the Local Autonomy Law . The council has eighty-nine seats, allocated to the twenty-four wards proportional to their population and re-elected by the citizens every four years. The council elects its president and Vice President. Toshifumi Tagaya ( LDP )

4018-585: The country and the Asian continent intensified. The large numbers of increasingly larger keyhole-shaped Kofun mounds found in the plains of Osaka are evidence of political-power concentration, leading to the formation of a state. The findings in the neighboring plains, including the mausoleum of Emperor Nintoku was discovered nearby in Sakai testify to the status of imperial city that Osaka had reached. Four of these mounds can be seen in Osaka, in which important members of

4100-649: The department store retail format. They created the Association of Department Stores in Paris in 1928 under the supervision of the first General Secretary Werner Kaufmann, and were joined the same year by Harrods of London and Magasin du Nord of Copenhagen . According to James B. Jefferys, the interest of the IADS was first its limited scope, with memberships restricted to one per country to promote cooperation, and second its scientific approach, through methods laid out by one of

4182-451: The development of capitalism in Japan. It became known as the " Manchester and Melbourne of the Orient". In 1925, it was the largest and most populous city in Japan and sixth in the world. The rapid industrialization attracted many Asian immigrants (Indians, Chinese, and Koreans), who set up a life apart for themselves. The political system was pluralistic, with a strong emphasis on promoting industrialization and modernization. Literacy

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4264-709: The early General Secretaries of the IADS, Dr Hrant Pasdermadjian (1936-1954) (although his approach was severely judged in America). During his tenure, Pasdermadjian published scientific manuals on the different department store functions. as well as his book on department stores. His successor for 30 years, Dr James B. Jefferys, continued the task of bringing management research to department stores and continued publishing works on retailing. After Kaufmann, Hermann Maria Spitzer, Pasdermadjian and Jefferys, Erik Kalderen, of Sweden's Nordiska Kompaniet department store, became its first secretary, serving in that role for five years. He

4346-526: The end of the Yayoi period the Uemachi plateau-peninsula expanded further, transforming the Kawachi Lagoon into a lake (河内湖) connected to the mouth of the Yodo River , which had widened to the south. By the Kofun period , Osaka developed into a hub port connecting the region to the western part of Japan. The port of Naniwa-tsu was established and became the most important in Japan. Trade with other areas of

4428-514: The first world's fair ever held in an Asian country. Since then, numerous international events have been held in Osaka, including the 1995 APEC Summit . The modern municipality, which when it was established in 1889 occupied an area of just 15 km including the districts of Chūō and Nishi, following three successive expansions has reached an area of 222 km . It was one of the first cities in Japan to obtain designated city status in 1956. The plan to reorganize Osaka and its province into

4510-471: The help of Lifestyle International in 2004. Sogo Hong Kong Co. Ltd, the Sogo franchisee, now operates one additional store in Tsim Sha Tsui , which opened on September 30, 2005, marking the 25th anniversary of Sogo in Hong Kong. The Causeway Bay store added a large extension, which opened on November 22, 1993. The enlarged store carries items in all product categories across the 15-story building. It includes

4592-410: The hub Kyōbashi Station . Osaka contains numerous urban canals and bridges, many of which serve as the namesake for their surrounding neighborhoods. The phrase "808 bridges of Naniwa" was an expression in old Japan used to indicate impressiveness and the "uncountable". Osaka numbered roughly 200 bridges by the Edo period and 1,629 bridges by 1925. As many of the city's canals were gradually filled in,

4674-487: The increasing competition coming from online retail channels. The membership has varied from 4 to 25 companies, with an increasingly greater internationalisation: since the 1990s it has included members from Asia and the Americas such as Beijing Hualian Group , The Mall Group , and Falabella . As of 2023, it comprises 12 department store companies within its purview, with operations in 19 countries. The membership reflects

4756-775: The introduction of the Sogo Foodhall as a modern supermarket concept, before renaming it into The Foodhall Gourmet as Sogo Plaza Indonesia closed down. The first new concept store opened in 2005 in conjunction with the opening of its Pondok Indah Mall branch, and eventually evolved into The Foodhall today. The supermarket that operated as part of Sogo are located below. The Foodhall is also located in Senayan City (as part of now closed Debenhams department store), Grand Indonesia (as part of Seibu department store), and Central Park's extension, Neo Soho Mall. Other branches of The Foodhall are either standalone, operating independently inside

4838-567: The largest of which being a single 126.01-square-kilometre (49 sq mi) expansion in 1925. Osaka's highest point is 37.5 metres (123.0 ft) Tokyo Peil in Tsurumi-ku , and the lowest point is in Nishiyodogawa-ku at −2.2 metres (−7.2 ft) Tokyo Peil. Osaka has a latitude of 34.67 (near the 35th parallel north ), which makes it more southern than Rome (41.90), Madrid (40.41), San Francisco (37.77) and Seoul (37.53). Osaka

4920-459: The nobility are buried. They are located in the southern districts of the city and date back to the 5th century. A group of megalithic tombs called Mozu Tombs are located in Sakai , Osaka Prefecture. Important works of the Kofun period is the excavation that diverted the course of the Yamato River , whose floods caused extensive damage, and the construction of important roads in the direction of Sakai and Nara . Maritime traffic connected to

5002-449: The number dropped to 872, of which 760 are currently managed by Osaka City. There are currently 24 wards in Osaka: per km Population numbers have been recorded in Osaka since as early as 1873, in the early Meiji era . According to the census in 2005, there were 2,628,811 residents in Osaka, an increase of 30,037 or 1.2% from 2000. There were 1,280,325 households with approximately 2.1 persons per household. The population density

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5084-414: The port of Naniwa-tsu increased in such a way that huge warehouses were built to stow material arriving and departing. The Kojiki records that during 390–430 CE, there was an imperial palace located at Osumi, in what is present day Higashiyodogawa ward , but it may have been a secondary imperial residence rather than a capital. In 645, Emperor Kōtoku built his Naniwa Nagara-Toyosaki Palace in what

5166-402: The prefectural administration. In October 2018, the city of Osaka officially ended its sister city relationship with San Francisco in the United States after the latter permitted a monument memorializing "comfort women" to remain on a city-owned property, circulating in the process a 10-page, 3,800-word letter in English addressed to San Francisco mayor London Breed . On November 1, 2020,

5248-427: The rainy season are June 7 and July 21 respectively. Summers are very hot and humid. In August, the hottest month, the average daily high temperature reaches 33.7 °C (93 °F), while average nighttime low temperatures typically hover around 25.8 °C (78 °F). Fall in Osaka sees a cooling trend, with the early part of the season resembling summer while the latter part of fall resembles winter. Precipitation

5330-399: The regional headquarters of many large-scale banks and corporations. The Midōsuji boulevard runs through Semba and connects Kita and Minami. Further south of Minami are neighborhoods such as Shinsekai (with its Tsūtenkaku tower), Tennoji and Abeno (with Tennoji Zoo , Shitennō-ji and Abeno Harukas ), and the Kamagasaki slums, the largest slum in Japan. The city's west side is

5412-431: The same way today, especially in terms of gluttony, evidenced in the phrase, "Residents of Osaka devour their food until they collapse" ( 大阪は食倒れ , "Ōsaka wa kuidaore" ) . With the enormous changes that characterized the country after the Meiji Restoration (1868), and the relocation of the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo , Osaka entered a period of decline. From being the capital of the economy and finance, it became

5494-462: The south or southwest are possible. Osaka's sprawling cityscape has been described as "only surpassed by Tokyo as a showcase of the Japanese urban phenomenon". Central Osaka is roughly divided into downtown and uptown areas known as Kita ( キタ , "north") and Minami ( ミナミ , "south") . Kita is home to the Umeda district and its immediate surrounding neighborhoods, a major business and retail hub that plays host to Osaka Station City and

5576-506: The surrender of the monks and subsequent razing of the temple. Toyotomi Hideyoshi constructed Osaka Castle in its place in 1583. Osaka Castle played a pivotal role in the Siege of Osaka (1614–1615). Osaka was long considered Japan's primary economic center, with a large percentage of the population belonging to the merchant class (see Four divisions of society ). Over the course of the Edo period (1603–1867), Osaka grew into one of Japan's major cities and returned to its ancient role as

5658-472: The third century CE the grand shrine of Sumiyoshi-taisha was inaugurated near the harbor, commissioned by consort Empress Jingū . This Shinto shrine structure survived historical events, which inaugurated a new style in the construction of Shinto shrines, called Sumiyoshi-zukuri . The maritime panorama enjoyed from the shrine gardens inspired several artists, and nowadays the representations of that type of landscape are called Sumiyoshi drawings . Towards

5740-422: The two largest groups being Korean (60,110) and Chinese (39,551) 2021 years. Ikuno , with its Tsuruhashi district, is the home to one of the largest population of Korean residents in Japan, with 20,397 registered Zainichi Koreans . The commonly spoken dialect of this area is Osaka-ben , a typical sub-dialect of Kansai-ben . Of the many other particularities that characterize Osaka-ben, examples include using

5822-499: The variety of the department store format, and includes in alphabetical order: Beijing Hualian Group ( China ), Breuninger ( Germany ), Centrobeco ( Venezuela ), El Corte Inglés ( Spain ), El Palacio de Hierro ( Mexico ), Falabella ( Chile ), Galeries Lafayette ( France ), Lifestyle International ( Hong Kong ), Magasin du Nord ( Denmark ), Manor ( Switzerland ), The Mall Group ( Thailand ), SM Store ( Philippines ). Boyner ( Turkey ) and Chalhoub Group ( UAE ) joined

5904-448: Was 11,836 persons per km . The Great Kantō earthquake caused a mass migration to Osaka between 1920 and 1930, and the city became Japan's largest city in 1930 with 2,453,573 people, outnumbering even Tokyo, which had a population of 2,070,913. The population peaked at 3,252,340 in 1940, and had a post-war peak of 3,156,222 in 1965, but has declined since, as the residents moved out to the suburbs. There were 144,123 registered foreigners,

5986-766: Was acquired by Mitra Adiperkasa in 2003). The first Indonesia Sogo store was opened in 1990 at Plaza Indonesia . The store was later closed in February 2006 due to the renovation of the shopping mall. The Sogo flagship store and management office were moved to Plaza Senayan , currently the largest store with six levels. All stores are located in high-end shopping malls in Indonesia, listed below. PT. Mitra Adiperkasa Tbk., commonly known as MAP, also operated supermarket The Foodhall, previously known as Sogo Supermarket. The Sogo Supermarket brand, introduced in Plaza Indonesia since its opening in 1990, has been phased out progressively with

6068-569: Was cleared by court of accepting vouchers from Pacific Sogo in return for her influence. Due to its ownership, Pacific Sogo brand was renamed into Far East Sogo in 2016, while the corporate name is still named Pacific SOGO Department Stores Co., Ltd. The company targeted Far East Sogo for middle-up to high-end customers, alongside its flagship brand, Far Eastern Department Stores, targeted for low-middle and middle customers, and The Mall, targeted for high-end customers. Kuang San Sogo, located in Taichung,

6150-492: Was colloquially referred as "Jumbo Sogo" after its subsequent expansion. Following Sogo Group's collapse and bankruptcy in Japan after the Asian financial crisis , Sogo Hong Kong, including the 40,500-square-meter retail property located in Causeway Bay, was sold for US$ 453.6 million to two local billionaires, Thomas Lau of Chinese Estates and Henry Cheng of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises . The new owners took Sogo public with

6232-532: Was declared the capital again in 744 by order of Emperor Shōmu , and remained so until 745, when the Imperial Court moved back to Heijō-kyō (now Nara ). By the end of the Nara period, Naniwa's seaport roles had been gradually taken over by neighboring areas, but it remained a lively center of river, channel, and land transportation between Heian-kyō (Kyoto today) and other destinations. Sumiyoshi Taisha Grand Shrine

6314-749: Was established in Geneva in 1927 to facilitate the diffusion of such ideas. Edward Filene , a member of the I.M.I. Board of Directors and Chairman of Filene's department store in Boston , decided—with Emile Bernheim of Innovation in Brussels (later known as Galeria Inno ), Pierre Laguionie of the Printemps in Paris and Ragnar Sachs of Nordiska Kompaniet in Stockholm —to apply I.M.I.'s teachings about scientific management to

6396-408: Was followed by Maarten de Groot van Embden for 25 years, Armelle Mesguich for five years, and most recently Selvane Mohandas du Menil, who took office part way through the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic , during which most stores were under lockdown . There have been eight general managers in the 85 years between 1936 and 2021. As of 2021, IADS is the fifth oldest retail association in the world, after

6478-408: Was founded by Tamomi no Sukune in 211 CE. Shitennō-ji was first built in 593 CE and the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan. In 1496, Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists established their headquarters in the heavily fortified Ishiyama Hongan-ji , located directly on the site of the old Naniwa Imperial Palace. Oda Nobunaga began a decade-long siege campaign on the temple in 1570 which ultimately resulted in

6560-419: Was high and the educational system expanded rapidly, producing a middle class with a taste for literature and a willingness to support the arts. In 1927, General Motors operated a factory called Osaka Assembly until 1941, manufacturing Chevrolet , Cadillac , Pontiac , Oldsmobile , and Buick vehicles, operated and staffed by Japanese workers and managers. In the nearby city of Ikeda in Osaka Prefecture

6642-570: Was official name in 1868 after the Meiji Restoration . The older kanji (坂) is still in very limited use, usually only in historical contexts. As an abbreviation, the modern kanji 阪 han refers to Osaka City or Osaka Prefecture . During the Jōmon period (7,000 BCE), present-day Osaka was mostly submerged, and the Uemachi Plateau ( 上町台地 , Uemachi Daichi ) formed a 12 km long and 2.5 km wide peninsula separating Kawachi Bay from

6724-518: Was used to be located in the upper level of Sogo Plaza Senayan as its Indonesian flagship store, but closed on April 1, 2021. SOGO presently has three stores in Malaysia. The first store, known as KL SOGO, is located along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in downtown Kuala Lumpur . Connected to the Bandaraya LRT station by a link bridge, it sits on the site formerly occupied by Suleiman Courts . The SOGO store commenced business on 18 January 1994. It has

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