This series, “Industrial Zones and Regions Japanese Elementary School Students Learn About in Textbooks,” has covered the Keihin Industrial Zone and the Chukyo Industrial Zone, starting in the east.
The third installment will focus on the Hanshin Industrial Zone in western Japan.
The Hanshin Industrial Zone: Supporting People’s Lives
The “Hanshin” in the Hanshin Industrial Zone literally refers to the industrial region stretching roughly from Osaka Prefecture to Kobe City in Hyogo Prefecture. The following diagram shows that the word “Hanshin” is derived from the kanji characters for Osaka and Kobe.
Although Hanshin is a regional name, it is also used in the names of companies such as Hanshin Electric Railway and Hanshin Expressway. Furthermore, the Hanshin Electric Railway owns the NPB baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers, and when Japanese people use the word “Hanshin” in conversation, they often refer to the Tigers.
While the Hanshin Industrial Zone is home to so-called “heavy and large-scale” industries, led by the petrochemical complex in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, other industries also have a significant presence.
The following commentary on the Hanshin Industrial Zone from Kids Net, a website jointly operated by Japanese educational publishers Gakken and Asahi Shimbun, reads as follows:
“Industries like machinery and general goods are developed in the eastern part of the region, textiles like cotton textiles in the southern part, and electrical appliances and chemicals along the Yodo River. Traditional industries like sake in Nada, cutlery in Sakai, and brushes in Yao are also well-known.”
Furthermore, food and beverage manufacturers like Nippon Ham and Suntory (global headquarters in Tokyo) are headquartered in Osaka, and competitors Itoham Yonekyu Holdings and Asahi Group Holdings also have roots in the Hanshin region. Furthermore, pharmaceutical manufacturers like Rohto Pharmaceutical, Takeda Pharmaceutical (also global headquarters in Tokyo), Towa Pharmaceutical, Shionogi & Co., and Sawai Pharmaceutical are also headquartered in the Hanshin region.
In other words, the Hanshin Industrial Zone is home to many everyday products. While these products may not generate significant production value, they are essential to human life and further enrich our lives.
Historical Background of the Hanshin Industrial Area
The Hanshin Industrial Area’s industrial production of all sorts of products has a rich history. During the Edo period, Osaka was known as the “Kitchen of Japan.” Let’s take a look at the explanation of “Kitchen of Japan” on KidsNet mentioned earlier:
“The term refers to Osaka, the largest commercial and industrial city during the Edo period. Much of the rice and produce paid as annual tax by the various feudal domains was transported to Osaka’s storehouses, where merchants sold it. Large quantities of goods were then sent to Edo, the major consumer city, leading to Osaka’s nickname, ‘Kitchen of Japan.'”
This point also requires further clarification. The reason rice was transported to Osaka is because a rice exchange called the “Dojima Rice Exchange” opened there during the Edo period. The Dojima Rice Exchange is said to be the world’s first commodity futures exchange. Also, while this may be preaching to the choir, there’s a theory that the Japanese Candlestick, used today as a stock trading chart, was invented to analyze rice trading at the Dojima Rice Exchange.
In addition to the trade of rice, which a staple food symbolically associated with life a variety of other items were gathered and traded in Osaka from all over the country. It is likely that the materials used to create new things have been around since the Edo period.
This led to the evolution of the technologies used in Japan’s modernization, and laid the foundation for the current Hanshin Industrial Area. This history is behind the diversity of products produced.
The Potential of the Hanshin Region
In recent years, foreign companies have increasingly established research bases in Japan in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, in the Kanto region. Examples include Apple, Samsung, and LG. Yokohama’s proximity to Tokyo likely makes it convenient for collaborating companies and attracting talented personnel.
Meanwhile, the Hanshin Industrial Area is no less a favorable location for research base. Kyoto University, Japan’s No. 1 Nobel Prize winner, is also located nearby. Furthermore, Osaka University and Kobe University, both national universities known for their competitive entrance exams, are located in the Hanshin Industrial Area.
In other words, the Kansai region is rich in talented personnel. In terms of environment, Kyoto and Kobe not only offer urban amenities, but also offer mountainous areas with a natural environment within easy reach. Convenience is also enhanced by the presence of Kansai International Airport and Itami Airport, and overland transportation, such as the Shinkansen, allows for easy transfers to other major cities in the east and west.
This article only covers a small portion of the companies located in the Hanshin Industrial Area. There are many other well-known companies and companies with technologies that were born in Osaka and Kobe.
I believe that the Hanshin region should be just as important as the Kanto region for companies from outside Japan.
