[Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture] Three Stories You Should Know Before Walking Around the City

Sakai City, Osaka, was once a port town boasting great power and prosperity, earning it the nickname "Golden Days." Approximately 500 years ago, Sakai became a major trade port, and its merchants gained immense wealth. To protect against outside control, they built an autonomous city, surrounding it with moats on all sides except the western side facing the sea.

This time, we will introduce three stories that will give you hints for walking around the town while tracing the footsteps of Sakai's golden age. The port that flourished through trade, the legendary Sakai Shogunate that ended after only five years, and the mansion of Sen no Rikyu, who perfected wabi-cha tea. If you walk around the town while imagining the footsteps of history, you will see more than just scenery; it will become a stage where the sensibilities and aesthetic sense of our ancestors are present.

Let's embark on an adventure that will pique your intellectual curiosity!

①The Tale of the Golden Harbor

Looking up at the ticket gate at the east exit of Nankai Sakai Station, you will see a picture depicting trade with the Western countries. At the time, China, Portugal, and Spain were the main trading partners, and it seems that not only food, tableware, and textiles, but also guns were brought from overseas. There was also exchange with Southeast Asia, and in a glass case in front of the tourist information center on the first floor, there is a "Luzon Vase" on display, which came from the Philippines in the 1590s. It's fun to look at it and imagine how it was used at the time.

②The story of Xavier and the gun

To learn more about the Nanban trade, we recommend you visit Ebisu Park, also known as Xavier Park. This is a place that has a connection to Francis Xavier, who appears in textbooks. Xavier was a missionary who stopped in Sakai during his missionary work and is said to have stayed in a merchant's house in the area.

It was around this time that firearms were introduced to Japan. There is a monument related to firearms in the park. In fact, there is an anecdote that says that mass production of firearms began when a merchant from Sakai purchased one of two firearms that a Portuguese man had brought ashore on Tanegashima. How was it that Sakai craftsmen were able to mass-produce guns with unknown mechanisms? It seems that it was due to the high level of skill that only Sakai craftsmen could have.

What's even more interesting is that this place was once the border between the sea and the land. There is a stone monument in the park that indicates the estimated coastline at that time. This means that the path we have walked up to here was once the sea. It's quite mysterious, isn't it? The old Sakai Port, which spreads out to the west of Sakai Station, is a walking spot where you can feel the vestiges of the time when trade with the Portuguese flourished. Take a walk and imagine the days when trading ships passed through.

3. The story of the legendary Sakai Shogunate and Sen no Rikyu

If you head south from Xavier Park along the Kishu Kaido, you will come to the Shukuin intersection. Stop here for a moment and look around. It is said that the Sakai Shogunate was located in this area.
Did you know that the shogunate was located in Sakai?

Shortly before the Golden Days began, the Onin War broke out in Kyoto. This large-scale war, which lasted for approximately 11 years, caused the shogunate to lose its authority and a struggle for succession to break out. A certain warlord from Awa Province played a key role in this battle. It is said that this warlord supported a successor and founded the Sakai Shogunate. However, the warlord was driven to death, and the Sakai Shogunate came to an end after only about five years.

The Sakai Rikyu Forest, a popular tourist spot, is located on the site of the Sakai Shogunate. In addition to exhibits related to the tea master Sen no Rikyu and the poet Yosano Akiko, who are both associated with Sakai, the facility also widely disseminates Sakai's distinctive historical culture. At the tea ceremony experience facility, you can not only experience authentic tea ceremony preparation (reservations required), but also casually enjoy matcha tea at a chair, making it a spot where you can experience the tea ceremony culture unique to Sakai.

Opposite Sakai Rikyu Forest is the site of Sen no Rikyu's residence. After the end of the Sakai shogunate, Oda Nobunaga unified the country. Sen no Rikyu once served as Nobunaga's tea master. Although Rikyu is famous as a tea master, he was originally a merchant in Sakai, and began learning the tea ceremony as part of his education. From here, you can get a glimpse into the glamorous world of Sakai's merchants.

After Nobunaga's death, Rikyu also began to teach the tea ceremony to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who became the next ruler of Japan. Hideyoshi highly valued Rikyu, and they were said to have been close enough to consult not only about tea but also about politics. However, Rikyu incurred Hideyoshi's wrath and was ordered to commit seppuku. What on earth happened? One theory is that Hideyoshi regretted having driven Rikyu to his death. Relationships between people have always been complicated, both now and in the past.

Unfortunately, Sakai's golden days came to an end with the end of the Toyotomi era, but the culture and aesthetic sense created by the great men of this era still lives on today.

What we've touched on in this article is only a fragment of Sakai's story. In addition to the spots introduced here, there are many more places worth visiting in Sakai, such as Kenhon-ji Temple, where the grave of Takamitsu Ryutatsu, Japan's first singer-songwriter who played the shamisen and composed his own unique tunes, is located, and a Japanese confectionery shop that sells poppy mochi, a favorite tea snack of Sen no Rikyu.

As you explore the vestiges of those golden days, you will discover the stories of unique individuals who, despite being at the mercy of the times, built a culture by believing in their own sensibilities and aesthetic sense. At first glance, the area may appear empty, but as you walk around listening to the audio guide, the port that once stood there, the activities of the merchants, and the vanished history will gradually come back to life.

Audio guide "ON THE TRIP"

With the theme of "turning every travel destination into a museum," this travel guide app allows you to delve deeper into things that interest you at various destinations, from cultural assets such as shrines and temples, to breathtaking views, hot springs, art festivals, and even cultures like Zen and sushi.

Using the audio guide is easy. Just download the ON THE TRIP app, open it, and select the spot guide. Choose a spot that interests you, and play it. It will tell you the history and background of the scenery in front of you with audio, text, and photos.

*There are two types of guide playback: a GPS-enabled automatic playback type and a manual playback type.

Download the iOS app here

Download the Android app here

Once you launch the app, search for "Sakai Town Walk." After downloading, you can start enjoying the guide right away, but we recommend downloading it in advance to help you plan your trip. Don't forget to bring your earphones.

Enjoy the story of Sakai as you visit the spots in order of 01 → 02 → 03.

In Osaka Prefecture, we are also running the "Ikeda Town Walk" in Ikeda City and the "Higashi Osaka Three Shrine Tour" in Higashi Osaka City. Please feel free to take advantage of these opportunities.

Ikeda Town Walk: https://matcha-jp.com/jp/26777
Higashi-Osaka Three Shrines Tour: https://matcha-jp.com/jp/26775

Before starting your walk around town, perhaps what's important is not "where to look" but "why you're walking around this town."

The "ON THE TRIP" audio guide will stimulate your imagination, asking yourself, "What would the people of that time have said if they were here?" Walking around the town while listening to the stories that live in this place will surely give you a different perspective on the scenery before your eyes.

[Sakai Town Walk - The Light and Darkness of Sakai, the Golden Port]
https://on-the-trip.net/spots/626/purchase

[Walking through the Golden Days with an audio guide - A journey through the hidden stories of the port town of Sakai]
https://osaka-info.jp/special/audio-guide/sakaishi-history/