# Timeline of Osaka

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Osaka, Japan.

## Prior to 19th century

Part of a series on the :
History of Japan :
PrehistoricPaleolithic35,000–14,000 BCJōmon14,000–1000 BCYayoi
1000 BC–300 AD :
AncientKofun
300–538 AD :
ClassicalAsuka
538–710Nara
710–794HeianFormer Nine Years' WarLater Three-Year WarGenpei War 794–1185 :
FeudalKamakuraJōkyū WarMongol invasionsGenkō WarKenmu Restoration 1185–1333MuromachiNanboku-chō periodSengoku period 1336–1573Azuchi–Momoyama
Nanban tradeImjin WarBattle of Sekigahara 1573–1603 :
Early modernEdo (Tokugawa)
Tokugawa shogunateInvasion of RyukyuSiege of OsakaSakokuPerry ExpeditionConvention of KanagawaBakumatsuMeiji RestorationBoshin War 1603–1868 :
ModernMeiji
Ryūkyū DispositionInvasion of Taiwan (1874)Satsuma RebellionFirst Sino-Japanese WarTreaty of ShimonosekiTriple InterventionInvasion of Taiwan (1895)Colonization of TaiwanBoxer RebellionRusso-Japanese WarTreaty of PortsmouthJapan–Korea TreatyColonization of Korea 1868–1912Taishō
World War IIntervention in SiberiaGreat Kantō earthquake 1912–1926Shōwa
MilitarismFinancial crisisNanking incidentMukden IncidentInvasion of ManchuriaMay 15 incidentFebruary 26 incidentAnti-Comintern PactTripartite PactSecond Sino-Japanese WarWorld War IIAttack on Pearl HarborPacific WarAtomic bombingsSoviet–Japanese WarSurrender of JapanOccupation of JapanPostwar JapanAnpo protestsEconomic miracleAsset price bubble1926–1989Heisei
Lost DecadesGreat Hanshin earthquakeCool JapanTōhoku earthquakeImperial transition 1989–2019ReiwaCOVID-19 pandemicAbe assassinationNoto earthquake 2019–present :
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vte :
* 211 CE – Sumiyoshi taisha (shrine) founded.
* 593 CE – Shitennō-ji (temples) founded.
* 645 CE – Capital of Japan relocated to Naniwa-kyō; Kōtoku in power.
* 672 – Tenmu in power.
* 724 – Shōmu in power.
* 794 – Japanese capital relocated from Naniwa to Heian-kyō.
* 1496 – Ishiyama Hongan-ji construction begins (approximate date).
* 1583 – Osaka Castle construction begins.
* 1614 – November: Siege of Osaka begins.
* 1615
** June: Siege of Osaka ends.
** Dōtonbori (canal) built.
* 1684 – Takemoto-za puppet theatre opens.
* 1720 – Sasa-se theatre fan club founded.
* 1724 – Kaitokudō merchant academy established.
* Gallery
* Sumiyoshi Taisha Grand Shrine
* Shitennoji
* Remains of Naniwa-no-Miya Palace (2017)

## 19th century

* 1805 – Bunrakuza puppet theatre opens (approximate date).
* 1837 – Economic/social unrest led by Ōshio Heihachirō.
* 1838 – Tekijuku (school) opens.
* 1868
** European commerce begins.
** City becomes part of Osaka Municipal Prefecture.
* 1869 – Tokyo-Osaka steamship line begins operating.
* 1871
** Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka postal service begins.
** Imperial Mint built.
* 1874 – Kobe-Osaka railway begins operating; Ōsaka Station (with clocktower) opens.
* 1875 – Meiji political Osaka Conference of 1875 held.
* 1876 – Osaka Nippō (newspaper) begins publication.
* 1878 – Osaka Stock Exchange and Osaka Chamber of Commerce [ja] established.
* 1879 – Asahi Shimbun (newspaper) begins publication.
* 1880 – Osaka Commercial Training Institute [ja] established.
* 1881 – Osaka Iron Works established.
* 1882
** Osaka Boseki Kaisha (spinning mill) in business.
** Population: 332,425.
* 1884 – Osaka Shosen Kaisha (shipping firm) in business.
* 1887 – Population: 426,846.
* 1888 – Osaka Mainichi Shinbun [ja] (newspaper) begins publication.
* 1890 – Nakanoshima Park opens.
* 1892
** December 20: Fire.
** Population: 479,895.
* 1895
** Sumitomo Bank established.
** Kyōbashi Station built.
* 1897
** Parts of Higashinari-gun [ja] and Nishinari-gun [ja] annexed to Osaka city.
** Demonstration of Lumière "projected pictures" at the Nanchi Embujo theatre.
** Population: 758,285.
* 1900 – Population: 881,344 city; 1,678,422 prefecture.

## 20th century
### 1900s–1940s

* 1901 – Satirical Kokkei Shinbun [ja] begins publication.
* 1903 – National Industrial Exposition (Japan) [ja] held in Osaka.
* 1904 – Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library opens.
* 1905 – Maruki-go bakery in business.
* 1909 – Tennōji Park established.
* 1910 – Population: 1,239,373 city; 2,197,201 prefecture.
* 1915 – Tennōji Zoo founded.
* 1917 – City planning committee formed.
* 1918
** City Social Bureau established.
** Osaka Central Public Hall [ja] built.
* 1919 – Miki Hall (concert venue) opens.
* 1920
** Shirokiya department store built.
** Population: 1,768,295.
* 1922 – Daimaru department store built.
* 1923
** Sharp in business.
** Seki Hajime [fr] becomes mayor.
* 1924 – Osaka Photographic Science Society founded.
* 1925
** City wards established: Higashinari, Higashiyodogawa, Konohana, Minato, Naniwa, Nishinari, Nishiyodogawa, Sumiyoshi, and Tennōji.
** "Public radio broadcasting commences."
** Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. established.
** Population: 2,114,804.
* 1926 – Asahi Kaikan (concert hall) opens.
* 1927 – Dojima Ohashi [ja] (bridge) built over Dojima River.
* 1928 – Osaka University of Commerce active.
* 1929
** Kosobe Conservatory (garden) established.
** Hankyu Department Store opens in Umeda Station.
* 1930 – Population: 2,453,573 city; 3,540,017 prefecture.
* 1931 – National Defense Women's Association founded in Osaka.
* 1932 – City wards established: Asahi and Taishō.
* 1933
** Subway Midōsuji Line begins operating.
** Sanwa Bank established.
* 1936
** Osaka Tigers baseball team formed.
** Osaka Municipal Museum of Art [ja] opens.
* 1940
** January 28: Train crash at Ajikawaguchi Station.
** Population: 3,252,340 city; 4,843,032 prefecture.
* 1942
** Osaka Shimbun [ja] (newspaper) in publication.
** Subway Yotsubashi Line begins operating.
* 1943
** City wards established: Abeno, Fukushima, Higashisumiyoshi, Ikuno, Jōtō, and Miyakojima.
** Hitachi Zosen Corporation in business.
* 1945
** March 13: Bombing of Osaka during World War II begins.
** August 14: Bombing of Osaka ends.
** Population: 1,102,959.
** Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau established.
* 1947
** Kansai Symphony Orchestra founded.
** Population: 1,559,310.
* 1948 – Grand Sumo tournament begins.
* 1949 – Osaka City University and Osaka Securities Exchange active.

### 1950s–1990s

* 1950 – Population: 1,956,136.
* 1955
** Cinerama Gekijo opens.
** Sankei Sports newspaper begins publication.
** Population: 2,547,321.
* 1956
** Tsūtenkaku (tower) built.
** Osaka designated a government ordinance city.
* 1957 – Sister city relationship established with San Francisco, USA.
* 1958 – Radio Osaka begins broadcasting.
* 1961
** September: Typhoon Muroto II occurs.
** Subway Chūō Line begins operating.
* 1964
** Tokyo-Osaka Tōkaidō Shinkansen (hi-speed train) begins operating.
** Nagai Stadium opens.
* 1967 – Subway Tanimachi Line begins operating.
* 1968 – Osaka Sports [ja] newspaper in publication.
* 1969 – Subway Sakaisuji Line and Sennichimae Line begin operating.
* 1970
** April: Gas explosion in Kita-ku.
** Expo '70 (world's fair) held in Osaka.
* 1972
** May 13: Sennichi Department Store Building fire.
** Osaka Expo '70 Stadium opens.
* 1974 – City wards established: Hirano, Suminoe, Tsurumi, and Yodogawa.
* 1975 – Population: 2,780,000.
* 1977 – National Museum of Art, Osaka opens.
* 1979 – Capsule Inn Osaka in business.
* 1980 – Osaka Symphony Orchestra [ja] established.
* 1982
** Osaka International Ladies Marathon begins.
** Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka established.
* 1983 – Osaka-jō Hall (arena) opens.
* 1984 – National Bunraku Theatre opens.
* 1987 – Kincho Stadium opens.
* 1989
** City wards established: Chūō and Kita.
** Osaka Science Museum opens.
* 1990
** Subway Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line begins operating.
** Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan opens.
** Garden and Greenery Exposition held in city.
* 1993 – Umeda Sky Building constructed.
* 1995
** January 17: The 6.9 M$_w$  Great Hanshin earthquake shakes the southern Hyōgo Prefecture with a maximum Shindo of VII, leaving 5,502–6,434 people dead, and 251,301–310,000 displaced in the region.
** Takafumi Isomura becomes mayor.
* 1996 – Osaka Prefectural Central Library opens.
* 1997 – Tempozan Ferris Wheel and Kyocera Dome open.
* 1999 – Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum opens in nearby Ikeda.

## 21st century

* 2001 – June 8: Ikeda school massacre occurs in nearby Ikeda.
* 2006 – Subway Imazatosuji Line begins operating.
* 2007 – Kunio Hiramatsu becomes mayor.
* 2009 – Kansai Music Conference begins.
* 2010 – Population: 2,665,314.
* 2011 – Tōru Hashimoto becomes mayor.
* 2013 – Festival Hall opens.
* 2014 – Population: 2,685,218.
* 2021 – December 17: A fire occurs in Kita ward.