Learn Japanese and Osaka Culture with Aqua Metropolis Osaka Themed Karuta!

Maido! Osaka Bob here!
I just have to tell you that I got a message from Aqua Metropolis Osaka, telling me that they made a Suito Osaka Karuta card game. 
Karuta is a fun Japanese game where cards are laid out in front of players, and someone reads the words on one of the cards out loud. The first person to grab the corresponding card gets to keep it and players compete for the most cards. It’s easy, fun, and can improve your listening skills.

Ways to describe Osaka: Aqua Metropolis Osaka (Suito Osaka), a city for food (kuidaore no machi), a city of merchants (shobai no machi), a comedy city(owarai no machi)

Have you ever heard the term “Aqua Metropolis Osaka?”
Osaka is often praised for its other traits, the city’s amazing food scene, its history a town of merchants, its well-known comedians. But the city’s waterways are also remarkable, giving way to the term Aqua Metropolis, highlighting a unique part of the city’s culture and history. Long ago, Osaka developed utilizing waterways to transport goods.
During the Edo period (1603–1868), the city had so many manmade canals and bridges that the term “The 808 Bridges of Naniwa” was well-known. Even today, the city retains this history in many geographical names using the words bashi (bridge), ie Yodoyabashi, Nipponbashi… and hori (manmade canal), ie Dotonbori, Karahori, etc.

When you look at a map of the city, you can tell that the waterways make a circuit around the center of town. Apparently, this is fairly unique among cities throughout the world.
To enhance the appeal of Osaka and our proximity to different waterfronts, the Aqua Metropolis Osaka Consortium (called Suito Osaka Consortium in Japanese) was created. As one of their many activities spread the word about Aqua Metropolis Osaka’s many charms, they have created this Aqua Metropolis Osaka version of Karuta.


Aqua Metropolis Osaka’s history, celebrations, and modern age—illustrated on karuta

Let me tell you about the Suito Osaka Karuta.
Since the game is karuta, there are 2 sets of cards; ones for reading (yomi-fuda) and ones with illustrations (e-fuda). The cards for reading have information about Tenjin Matsuri (Osaka’s biggest summer festival), the city’s rivers and bridges, and a whole lot of local history. The cards have cute illustrations of Osaka Castle, Tempozan, and countless waterside scenes from Osaka. Of course the illustrations match the stories that are written on the yomi-fuda.
よ。

The Aqua Metropolis Consortium published a sort of textbook about Osaka in 2023, which focussed on how Osaka came to be and the role of water in its past and present. The karuta game is more of an introduction to the topics that are addressed in the book. And the card game is incredibly fun so it makes learning about Osaka very enjoyable.

Suito Osaka Karuta cards are not for sale. But here is where you can find them!

Let’s take a look at the illustrations.
The color selection is vibrant and the illustrations are simple designs with clean lines. They are easy to understand, so kids can enjoy the game too. And I think non-Japanese people would have no trouble understanding them either. I’m, personally, a huge fan of the illustrations.

This one starts with お (o), and is an illustration of the О̄ River during the Tanabata holiday. For this one special night on July 7th, the river is filled with glowing wishing orbs that represent the stars and the wishes of those who release them into the river. The entire river around Tenmabashi and Tenjinbashi bridges glows as if the stars of the Milky Way have come down to earth.

It’s incredibly beautiful, so if you are in Osaka during Tanabata, make time to see it!
Here is the official website:
https://osaka-amanogawa.com/index.html

There’s one more karuta card that I want to share with you.

The card for よ (yo) is so cute! It mentions Yodoyabashi Bridge and Shinsaibashi Bridge, two of the Osaka’s most well-known bridges and place names. Like many of the bridges and canals that were built during the Edo period in Osaka, these two were funded by private citizens and companies of Osaka, not the central government or feudal lords (daimyo).

This card embodies the independent spirit of Osaka, an—if they’re not going to do it for us, we’ll just do it ourselves—attitude. And it’s one of my favorites. 

Unfortunately, the karuta cards are not for sale. I hope they go on sale in the future! For now, they will be distributed to elementary schools and facilities that are near rivers in the city. You will also see them at events that are held near the water. 
The Aqua Metropolis Osaka Consortium website has information on events that are held on and around Osaka’s rivers and canals. Check here for more information:



https://www.suito-osaka.jp/pdf/spot/aroundmap_2023_en.pdf (English map and basic information)
https://www.suito-osaka.jp/tourism/index.php
(Up-to-date information, Japanese only)