＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
I previously wrote an article with the same title, but I’d like to share a few more details, so I’ll write a sequel.
This time, I’d like to discuss the origins of four place names in central Osaka.
1. Umeda（梅田）
Umeda is the heart of the business and entertainment district known as “Kita,” home to Osaka’s three major terminal stations: JR Osaka Station, Hankyu Umeda Station, Hanshin Umeda Station, and Osaka Metro Umeda Station.
Until 2012, the area south of JR Osaka Station was busier, but since 2013, the redevelopment area known as “Umekita,” centered around Grand Front Osaka, has seen noticeable revitalization.
Grand Front Osaka was the most expensive land area in Osaka until this year, when it was overtaken by Chrysus Shinsaibashi, located next to Ebisubashi Bridge over the Dotonbori River in Minami.
By the way, before the Edo period, the area where Umeda is located was a low-lying marshland known as Shimohara. It was called “Umeda” (Umeta) because the mud was reclaimed to create farmland.
However, in later times, the characters became unsightly, so the name came to be written as “Umeda,” after the plum trees associated with Tsuyuten Shrine (Ohatsutenjin) in Sonezaki Village and Tsunashikiten Shrine in Kitano Village.
2. Dobuike （丼池）
“Dobuike” refers to the Minami-Senba area, known as “Dobuike-suji” (now “Semba Dobuike Street”), where textile wholesalers are concentrated. It is a street east of Shinsaibashi-suji.
The name comes from the name of a pond that once stood in Minami-Senba. It was filled in in 1874. “Dobuike-suji” was the area facing this pond. Apparently, before World War II, it was a district of high-end furniture wholesalers.
3. Unagidani (Eel Valley)（鰻谷）
“Unagidani” is the area just south of Nagahori-dori. As mentioned in a previous article, Nagahori-dori formerly ran through the Nagahori River.
According to the “Kadokawa Japanese Place Name Dictionary,” the origin of the place name comes from its topography.
“The northern valley of Karahorimachi is slightly elevated to the west, and it is said that this depression is somehow related to eels, hence the name.” (Unagidani Nakanomachi: Then and Now)
There are many other theories, but I’ll introduce just three.
(1) The north side of the Nagahori River was Senba, a town that prospered through textiles, and there was a dock there. One theory is that the area was called “Unagidani” because many long, narrow roads led from this dock and resembled eel beds.
(2) The theory is that the area was called “Unagidani” because eels were abundant in the area.
(3) During the Edo period, a canal called the Nagahori River was created. Looking down on this area from Osaka Castle, the river resembled swimming eels, hence the name.
By the way, Unagidani is said to have been the main residence of the Sumitomo family, the Sumitomo zaibatsu (common conglomerate). After the main residence was moved to Kobe or Kyoto, it was used as a reception hall and the Unagidani villa, but it was destroyed in an air raid in March 1945.
4. Sennichimae（千日前）
When I think of “Sennichimae,” the first thing that comes to mind is the “Sennichimae Department Store Building Fire” that occurred on May 13, 1972. With 118 deaths and 81 injuries, it was the worst disaster in the history of building fires in Japan. It’s particularly memorable because it was the year I started working.
By the way, “Sennichimae” is located southeast of Dotonbori, and is an entertainment district home to theaters and theaters, including Yoshimoto Shinkigeki’s Namba Grand Kagetsu (NGK). The “Sennichi-Nenbutsu” (a thousand-day prayer) was chanted at Hozenji Temple and Chikurinji Temple (now relocated to Tennoji Ward) in Namba, to the west, and both temples (especially Hozenji Temple) were called “Sennichi-ji Temples.” The name “Sennichimae” comes from the fact that the area is located in front of these temples.