The New Student's Reference Work/Osaka

Osaka (ō′sȧ-kä) or Ozaka (ō′zȧ-kä), the second largest city in Japan, at the head of the Gulf of Osaka. It covers about ten square miles, and is crossed by canals with more than 1,000 bridges. The fine castle, built of enormous stones in 1583, and the palace, which was destroyed in 1858, were perhaps the handsomest buildings in Japan. The city is one of the open ports, the headquarters of the rice and tea trade and the commercial center of the empire. The harbor does not admit very large vessels. There is a foreign settlement, occupied mostly by missionaries. Population 1,226,590.