Sometimes Osaka is called by its historical namenaniwa (なにわ) . Because it is by the sea, it is good for transportation. That is why an ancient emperor made Osakathe capital city. In the early part of the8th century Naniwa was one of capitals of Japan. In the middle of the16th centuryToyotomi Hideyoshi founded Osaka castle and governed Japan in Osaka. The basis of development of Osaka was prepared in those times. Osaka castle was destroyed once byTokugawa Ieyasu but Ieyasu choose Osaka as one of the political centers in the Western Japan. He made Osaka a direct dominion of theshogun. During the Edo period Osaka was a center ofcommerce,finance,pharmacy and other products. It was a center for literature and theater.Kabuki in Osaka is as famous as Kabuki inEdo andKyoto. It is also known forbunraku (a traditional puppet theater) andmanzai (a kind of stand-up comedy).
In this region, many people speak adialect called Osaka-Ben (e.g. "ookini"="thank you").
After theMeiji restoration Osaka was modernized and industrialized. It was a center of Japanese industry. After theWorld War II its economical importance was relatively less because Tokyo grew as an international city and many companies moved their headquarters to Tokyo. But Osaka is still a large, important city.
