Osaka Castle Park

Osaka Castle (大坂城 or 大阪城, Ōsaka-jō) is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.

The fall of Osaka Castle occurred between Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan, where soon after the Battle of Toba–Fushimi, the Tokugawa-held Osaka Castle was captured by pro-Imperial "Kangun" forces on February 2, 1868.

Osaka City Museum (大阪市立博物館, Ōsaka Shiritsu Hakubutsukan) is a former museum dedicated to the history of Ōsaka, Japan. Located in the former headquarters of the 4th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army in Osaka Castle Park, the ground floor opened to the public in December 1960, with the special exhibition Momoyama Culture. After completion of the second stage of works, the entire museum opened in November 1962, with the special exhibition Famous Treasures of Osaka. In March 1989, the museum welcomed its 3,200,000th paying visitor. At the end of March 2001, Osaka City Museum permanently closed. Later the same year, the new Osaka Museum of History opened a short distance away.The former headquarters building itself dates to 1931, the year reconstruction of the Osaka Castle tenshu in ferroconcrete was completed and Osaka Castle Park opened to the public. After World War II, the building was used as the headquarters in turn of the Osaka City Police and Osaka Prefectural Police. After remodelling, it served as Osaka City Museum. Transformed again, the former army headquarters building now functions as a dining and shopping space, under the moniker MIRAIZA Osaka-jo.

The Osaka State Guest House (大阪迎賓館 Ōsaka geihinkan) is located in the Nishinomaru area of Osaka Castle. It was constructed for the 1995 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and also hosted the 2019 G20 Osaka summit dinner on 28 June. The building's architecture is in the traditional style.The building is used for MICE tourism.Next to it is the Hōshō-an (豊松庵) chashitsu.

The Ishiyama Hongan-ji (石山本願寺) was the primary fortress of the Ikkō-ikki, leagues of warrior priests and commoners who opposed samurai rule during the Sengoku period. It was established in 1496, at the mouth of the Yodo River, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. At the time, this was just outside the remains of the ancient capital of Naniwa, in Settsu Province. In fact, recent archaeological research has determined that the temple was established atop the ruins of the old imperial palace. The city (now called Osaka) has since grown around the site, incorporating the Ishiyama (stone mountain). Rennyo, the great revivalist abbott of Jōdo Shinshū (Ikkō-shū), retired to the area in 1496, initiating the series of events that would end in the formation of Japan's second-largest city. Contemporary documents describing his retirement site as being on a "long slope" (大坂, Ōzaka) are the first to call the area by that name, which has changed only slightly over time to Osaka (大阪), and become Japan's second largest city. Although Rennyo sought isolation in retiring to this quiet place, he very quickly attracted a great number of devotees and followers. The tiny temple Rennyo built for his own personal devotions was expanded, and many homes and other buildings were erected to accommodate the new residents. By the time of Rennyo's death, three years later, the general shape and size of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji was already in place. After the 1532 destruction of Yamashina Mido in Kyoto, the Ishiyama Hongan-ji acted as the primary temple for the Ikkō sect, from which the Ikkō-ikki had sprouted. Contributions from devotees were collected through a system of brokers, primarily those based in Sakai in nearby Izumi Province. The cathedral-fortress was considered impenetrable, due largely to its location and orientation. In addition, roughly a hundred priests were on patrol at any given time, and upwards of ten thousand could be summoned to battle simply by ringing a bell. The priests of the fortress came not only from Osaka and the surrounding areas, but also from the Ikko sect's home provinces of Kaga and Echizen. The priests also had many allies, including the Mōri clan, who supplied the fortress when it was under siege. Both Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen, both of whom were rivals of Oda Nobunaga, simply by keeping Nobunaga and each other occupied, did the Ikki a great service.The Hongan-ji came under siege from the forces of Oda Nobunaga in 1570, but, due in part to its position on the coast, managed to hold out for 11 years, making this the longest siege in Japanese history. In August 1580, the Abbot Kōsa (Kennyo) was persuaded to surrender, ending the 11-year-long siege.At the time of the surrender, the entire temple complex was set aflame. According to some sources, this was done from within, to deny Nobunaga any true material gains from having defeated the Ikki. Though some members of the group fled to Kaga Province to make a final stand, the destruction of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji was truly the killing blow which marked the destruction of the sect as a militant force. Three years later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi began the construction of Osaka Castle on the same site.

Hōkoku Shrine (豊國神社, Hōkoku-jinja) is a Shinto shrine located in Osaka, Japan. It is one of several Toyokuni shrines built in honor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It is part of the Osaka Castle Park.

Osaka-jō Hall (大阪城ホール, Ōsaka-jō Hōru) is a multi-purpose arena located in the Kyōbashi area of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people. Built on a site area of 36,351 square meters, part of its form uses stone walls, modeled after those of the Castle and it won the Osaka Urban Scenery Architects Prize Special Award in 1984. The hall may be reached on a short walk from either Osaka Business Park Station on the Osaka Municipal Subway Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line or Osakajōkōen Station on the JR Osaka Loop Line. The hall is located in Osaka-jō Park, near Osaka Castle and is across a river from two other smaller concert halls. It is used for some sports, such as judo championships and wrestling matches such as those for the New Japan Pro-Wrestling promotion for their annual NJPW Dominion event and recently have also used the venue for The New Beginning in Osaka in 2020, New Japan Cup finals in 2020 and 2022, and Castle Attack in 2021. The venue is popular for concerts, with many native and international pop and rock music artists. Every December, 10,000 people come to the hall to participate in a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.

The Kyoikuto, or the Education Tower (Japanese: 教育塔; or きょういくとう, literally "Education Tower") is a memorial tower located in Osaka Castle Park in Chuo Ward, Osaka City. It serves as a memorial for the victims of Muroto typhoon in 1934.

Osaka Business Park (大阪ビジネスパーク, Ōsaka Bijinesu Pāku, OBP) refers to a planned city surrounding Chūō-ku, Osaka.

Television Osaka, Inc. (テレビ大阪株式会社, Terebi Ōsaka Kabushiki Gaisha, also referred to as TVO) is a television station affiliated with the TX Network in Osaka, Japan. Nikkei, Inc. is the biggest shareholder of TVO. The mascot character is "Takoru-kun" (たこるくん).

Osaka Prefecture (大阪府, Ōsaka-fu, pronounced [oːsaka ɸɯ]) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 (as of 1 April 2022) and has a geographic area of 1,905 square kilometres (736 sq mi). Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara Prefecture to the southeast, and Wakayama Prefecture to the south. Osaka is the capital and largest city of Osaka Prefecture, and the third-largest city in Japan, with other major cities including Sakai, Higashiōsaka, and Hirakata. Osaka Prefecture is the third-most-populous prefecture, but by geographic area the second-smallest; at 4,600 inhabitants per square kilometre (12,000/sq mi) it is the second-most densely populated, below only Tokyo. Osaka Prefecture is one of Japan's two "urban prefectures" using the designation fu (府) rather than the standard ken for prefectures, along with Kyoto Prefecture. Osaka Prefecture forms the center of the Keihanshin metropolitan area, the second-most-populated urban region in Japan after the Greater Tokyo area and one of the world's most productive regions by GDP.

Osaka Business Park Station (大阪ビジネスパーク駅, Ōsaka Bijinesu Pāku-eki) is a metro station on the Osaka Metro Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. With a depth of 32.3 m (106 ft), it is the deepest station in the Osaka subway system.