Osaka Brand Center

During the Edo period, Osaka served as a distribution center where a variety of specialty produce and products were collected nationwide before they were sent to Edo, the nation’s largest consumer market. Called tenka-no daidokoro (the nation’s kitchen) for its function as a goods depot, Osaka was also referred to as kamigata (upper region) from which such commodities were shipped down the rivers.
Osaka’s prosperity as a trade center was based on the developed water transport system, including both long-distance shipping routes between Osaka and Edo, such as higaki-kaisen and taru-kaisen, and numerous local small shipping routes along the Yodo River and canals. In addition to well-established water shipping techniques, Osaka had its own silver-standard monetary system, which was functioning independently from that of the central Edo government, which was based on gold. While productivity in Edo and the surrounding Kanto (eastern Japan) region was still significantly limited, Osaka grew to be Japan’s economic center at that time.
Quality products such as rice and kelp were continuously brought in to Osaka while it prospered as the nation’s kitchen. It is not difficult, therefore, to imagine how Osaka’s unique food culture was formed during this period, which is still preserved today and gives the city nicknames such as kuidaore (eat until you drop) and bishoku-no machi (gastronomic town). 
One theory suggests, on the other hand, that the word kuidaore may have a homophonic origin, kui (stake) –daore (to fall). As the water transport developed and the number of shipping routes increased, more stakes were driven to build bridges and to protect riverbanks. Their maintenance and repair became costly and eventually led to the failure of business. The theory sounds especially credible when we consider that most of the numerous bridges in Osaka, which are often referred to as happyaku-ya-bashi (808 bridges), were built privately.