page_title: Osaka
section_title: Entertainment and performing arts
hierarchical_section_title: Osaka / Culture and lifestyle / Entertainment and performing arts
caption_attribution_description: English: Taken at the National Museum of Art, Osaka
context_page_description: Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and the largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Japan and among the largest in the world with more than 20 million inhabitants.
  Osaka was traditionally considered Japan's economic hub. By the Kofun period 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 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 a municipality.
  Today, Osaka is a major financial center of Japan. It is home to the Osaka Securities Exchange as well as the multinational electronics corporations Panasonic and Sharp. Famous landmarks in Osaka include Osaka Castle - which played a pivotal role in the Siege of Osaka - and Shitennō-ji - the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan.
context_section_description: Osaka is home to the National Bunraku Theatre, where traditional puppet plays, bunraku, are performed.
  At Osaka Shochiku-za, close to Namba station, kabuki can be enjoyed as well as manzai.
  At Shin-kabuki-za, formerly near Namba and now near Uehommachi area, enka concerts and Japanese dramas are performed.
  Yoshimoto Kogyo, a Japanese entertainment conglomerate operates a hall in the city for manzai and other comedy shows: the Namba Grand Kagetsu hall.
  The Hanjō-tei opened in 2006, dedicated to rakugo. The theatre is in the Ōsaka Tenman-gū area.
  Umeda Arts Theater opened in 2005 after relocating from its former 46-year-old Umeda Koma Theater. The theater has a main hall with 1,905 seats and a smaller theater-drama hall with 898 seats. Umeda Arts Theatre stages various type of performances including musicals, music concerts, dramas, rakugo, and others.
  The Symphony Hall, built in 1982, is the first hall in Japan designed specially for classical music concerts. The Hall was opened with a concert by the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, which is based in the city. Orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic have played here during their world tours as well.
  Osaka-jō Hall is a multi-purpose arena in Osaka-jō park with a capacity for up to 16,000 people. The hall has hosted numerous events and concerts including both Japanese and international artists.
  Near City Hall in Nakanoshima Park, is Osaka Central Public Hall, a Neo-Renaissance-style building first opened in 1918. Re-opened in 2002 after major restoration, it serves as a multi-purpose rental facility for citizen events.
  The Osaka Shiki Theatre is one of the nine private halls operated nationwide by the Shiki Theatre, staging straight plays and musicals.
  Festival Hall was a hall hosting various performances including noh, kyōgen, kabuki, ballets as well as classic concerts. The Bolshoi Ballet and the Philharmonia are among the many that were welcomed on stage in the past. The hall has closed at the end of 2008, planned to re-open in 2013 in a new facility.
caption: The National Museum of Art, a subterranean museum for Japanese and international arts
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