Sanzu River
Umeda was historically called Umeda Haka (Umeda Grave), because it was 1 of 7 largest cemeteries of Osaka from the Edo period (1603-1868) till the initial 20 years of the Meiji period (1868-1912). In 2020, survey teams for the Umekita redevelopment project discovered ancient burial remains of over 1,500 people. Experts say these remains were of commoners, not the aristocracy. They used several burial styles, both cremated as well as buried with enclosed wooden caskets, barrel-shaped open containers and earthenware coffins called kameganbo (turtle caskets). They found burial items such as pipes, clay dolls, rokusenmon (a set of six coins to pay passage across the Sanzu River which separates the world of the living and the afterlife) and juzudama (rosary-style prayer beads). A stone wall separated a mass grave with skeletons that were only covered by soil. These are thought to be the deceased of a plague.