Honshu 2-8: Raising a toast in Osaka

My lodging in Osaka was at the home of a friend who had been transferred there from Tokyo. It was a room in an apartment building in Moriguchi City. He had been working here since summer as a staff member for the association organizing the “International Flower and Green Expo,” a commemorative event for Osaka City’s 100th anniversary scheduled for the following year. Construction on the various pavilions had already begun.

Commonly known as the “Flower Expo,” it was held for six months from April 1 to September 31, 1990, at Tsurumi Ryokuchi Park (partly in Moriguchi City) in northwest Osaka. Under the theme of “Coexistence of Nature and Humankind,” it was a major event featuring over 200 participating domestic companies and organizations, plus more than 130 countries and institutions from overseas.

It was the height of the bubble economy, a time when “profitability was disregarded” and such attitudes were common. Various events were held not only in major cities but nationwide. Even so, the exceptional “Flower Expo” can be considered a successful event, attracting over 23 million visitors.

Coincidentally, his wife had just arrived from Tokyo with our young daughter to visit friends. The reason was that the next day was their fourth wedding anniversary, and they had come to celebrate as a family. It also happened to be my birthday. I remember jokingly telling the bride and groom, who came to greet me at the wedding, “Why did you choose my birthday for your wedding?!” So, that day inevitably brought us all together.

大阪での宿泊先は東京から単身赴任中の友人宅です。場所は守口市内のマンションの一室。彼は翌年開催される大阪市政100年の記念イベント「国際花と緑の博覧会」の協会スタッフとして、夏からこちらで仕事をしていました。すでに各パビリオンの建設は始まっています。

通称「花博」は大阪市北西部の鶴見緑地(一部守口市)で1990年の４月１日から９月31日までの半年間開催されました。「自然と人間との共生」のテーマのもと、国内の参加企業・団体200社以上、海外からの国と機関合わせて130以上という一大イベントです。
当時はバブル期真っ盛り「採算は度外視」ややもすればそんな風潮の中、大都市のみならず全国各地で様々なイベントが開催されていました。それでも別格の「花博」は来場者数2,300万人以上からしても成功したイベントといえると思います。

ちょうど東京から奥さんが小さな娘さんを連れて友人のもとにやって来ていました。とういうのも翌日はご夫妻の４回目の結婚記念日、家族でお祝いするために来ていたのです。と同時に私の誕生日でもありました。結婚式で挨拶にきた新郎新婦に向かって「何で俺の誕生日に結婚式を挙げるんだ?!」と、冗談混じりにいったのを覚えています。ということで当日は否が応でもお互いを思い出すことになります。

A bike ride around Osaka City. The first photo is around Osaka Station. Next is Osaka Castle, standing prominently almost in the center of Osaka. The original Osaka Castle fell with the Toyotomi clan’s downfall. The second Osaka Castle, rebuilt by the Tokugawa, suffered fires and other events, leaving only the turrets and gates. The current Osaka Castle, built in the early Showa period(1926-1989) and considered the third iteration, is reinforced concrete.

Next is the Water-Pouring Fudo at Hozenji Temple in Namba. People come and go, pouring water over it. It seems beloved by the common folk. Finally, south of Namba, the famous observation tower of Shinsekai: Tsutenkaku. The Hitachi neon ad remains unchanged, past and present. As expected, or perhaps inevitably, the words “Flower Expo” are visible to its right.

That night, we raised a toast at a friend’s house to celebrate both the couple’s wedding anniversary and my birthday. Though I’d been having a drink every night in my tent, a celebratory toast was something else entirely. Since his wife and daughter had come all the way from Tokyo, I said, “I’ll stop by again on the way back,” and departed the next day.

Next time, I’ll head to Amanohashidate on Wakasa Bay via Kyoto.

自転車で大阪市内を一巡り。
最初の写真は大阪駅周辺です。続いて大阪のほぼ中央にデンと構える大阪城。初代の大阪城は豊臣滅亡とともに落城、徳川に再建された二代目の大阪城は火災など色々あって残ったのは櫓や門だけ。昭和初期に建てられた三代目ともいえる現在の大阪城は鉄筋コンクリート造りです。
続いて難波の法善寺の水掛不動、入れ替わり立ち替わり訪れる人が水をかけていきます。庶民の皆さんに愛されているようです。最後は難波の南、新世界の名物展望塔、通天閣です。今も昔も日立のネオン広告は変わりません。やはりというか右隣に「花の万博」の文字が見えます。

この夜は友人宅でご夫妻の結婚記念日と私の誕生日の祝杯をあげました。毎晩、テントの中で一杯やっていた私ですが、やはり祝杯ともなればひとしおです。せっかく東京から奥さんと娘さんがやって来たことですし「帰りにまた寄らしてもらうよ」とことわり翌日には出発。

次回、京都を経由して若狭湾の天橋立へ向かいます。