Long, long ago, there was a bay, open to the west. In the bay, there was a long peninsula that extended from south to north. On the tip of the peninsula, people built a canal, opened a port, and established a community. The community, named Naniwa, became an international port town surrounded by water.
Naniwazu-ni Sakuya Konohana Fuyugomori Ima-wa Harube-to Sakuya Konohana
This old waka poem, written in the fifth century by Wani, applauds the beauty of the cherry blossom*1of Naniwazu as it brightened up the port town of ancient Osaka after a long winter. Believed to have been dedicated to Emperor Nintoku upon his ascension to the throne, this famous poem also conjures up a feeling for nostalgia for his hometown that Wani, who was a scholar from Baekje (ancient Korea), might have felt as he was impressed by the beautiful spring scene in a foreign country.
Later, as the bay gradually became filled up with sediment, the coastline moved to the west and the town of old Osaka expanded. Today, the port is far away from the center of the city, which is now located in the area called Umeda (a homophone of “reclaimed field”). Although the view of the city has changed dramatically, the beauty of the splendid cherry blossom on the waterfront has not and still attracts people today. They are indeed a true witness of the history of the water capital.
(*1) It has been commonly believed that konohana in the poem indicates plum blossom. However, plums did not originally grow in Japan until they were brought in from abroad in the eighth century, which makes the story somewhat contentious and suggests the strong possibility that the poem actually was referencing the blossom of native cherries.
