OSAKA, Oct 20 (News On Japan) –
A particular documentary revisits the streets of Osaka between 1959 and 1971, a interval when the ‘Osaka City Tram’ ran by way of the guts of town earlier than being discontinued in 1969. The movie opens with a scene from Yodoyabashi in 1959, capturing a second of nationwide anticipation as boxer Sato Hatta ready to problem Pascal Perez for the world flyweight title….
Narrated by rakugo storyteller Chicho Katsura, this system makes use of archival news footage and documentaries to discover the landscapes, folks, and tales of Osaka in the course of the Showa 30s and 40s.
The combat between Sato Hatta and Pascal Perez was held in a makeshift ring in-built Okigimachi Park utilizing water drained from the Osaka Pool, ending in Hatta’s defeat within the thirteenth spherical. Twelve years later, the pool itself could be relocated to Asashio Bridge, marking the beginning of a wave of city redevelopment.
The narration, delivered from the angle of a tram conductor, takes viewers on a journey by way of a quickly altering Osaka. During the Nineteen Sixties, town underwent vital transformations forward of the 1970 Expo, together with the development of Shin-Osaka Station and the growth of highways and rail strains. Once-pristine waterways like Nakajima Daisuido—constructed with out shogunate approval within the Edo interval—have been now overshadowed by elevated bypasses and Shinkansen tracks. Meanwhile, new underground purchasing facilities, comparable to Umeda Chikagai, emerged beneath streets more and more congested with cars.
Archival footage reveals how neighborhoods advanced round main transit factors. The once-rural Awaji space north of the Yodogawa River was reshaped by the Shinkansen, whereas Osaka Station turned the guts of a rising commuter society. At road stage, pedestrians, cyclists, and law enforcement officials directing site visitors by hand have been widespread sights. Yet regardless of the rise of vehicles, early eco-friendly trolleybuses—launched in 1953—light from use as they have been blamed for site visitors jams.
The movie additionally captures glimpses of Osaka’s social and cultural life: vibrant stock exchanges the place merchants took orders by telephone, bustling markets inundated by heavy rains, and leisure districts stuffed with neon lights and all-you-can-eat sukiyaki for 250 yen. Scenes from Sennichimae depict the ill-fated Sennichi Department Store earlier than a lethal fireplace, whereas Namba and Dotonbori bustle with theaters and comedy reveals, reflecting town’s deep ties to performing arts.
Elsewhere, footage from Tennoji Zoo in 1964, Tennoji Park earlier than it launched admission charges, and the now-vanished “air capsule” sights at Abe Pool illustrate Osaka’s postwar city character and leisure tradition. The documentary additionally remembers moments of social rigidity, comparable to protests over land acquisition for Shin-Osaka Station and the elimination of underground ticket scalpers forward of Expo ’70, highlighting how city modernization displaced many elements of conventional metropolis life.
By 1969, streetcars—as soon as an integral a part of Osaka’s identification—have been faraway from service, changed by subways, buses, and highways that reshaped town’s panorama and tempo of life. Yet, because the documentary reminds viewers, remnants of that period endure: festivals such because the Sumiyoshi Grand Festival proceed to comply with historic routes, historic districts nonetheless protect traces of Showa-era attraction, and previous neighborhoods stay infused with the spirit of a time when Osaka’s future was nonetheless being constructed on metal rails.
Source: KTV NEWS