The
Ansei Treaties of 1858 decided that
Osaka would be opened (allowed foreigners to do business) along with
Hakodate,
Tokyo,
Yokohama,
Niigata,
Kobe, and
Nagasaki. The
Tokugawa Shogunate wanted to delay the opening of the concessions, but following the
shogunate's collapse, and the new
Meiji government opened Osaka in January 1868 along with Tokyo, Niigata, and Kobe. The location of the to-be Osaka-Kawaguchi foreign settlement, located at the junction of the Aji and
Kizu rivers, had several
kumiyashiki (residence for samurai enrolled in police forces) and a
funebansho (ship guard station) handled by the local Osaka dock workers. At the suggestion of
gunkan-bugyō (naval commissioner)
Katsu Kaishū, these were to torn down in 1864. The dock workers were thus relocated to the
Kobe Naval Training Center, also headed by Katsu Kaishu. On July 15, 1868, Osaka officially opened the now empty lots to Westerners, 26 plots total. However, the initial excitement died down as the buyers realized there was poor port development. The land itself was far from the
Osaka Bay and much more inland, meaning large
cargo ships cannot maneuver to the settlement. In addition, Osaka's struggling economy at the time paled in comparison to the other cities who opened up lots for settlement. Although many of the buyers eventually moved on to Kobe, many (especially missionaries) settled down in the lots and began constructing a Western-style settlement. According to literature at the time,
eucalyptus and
rubber trees were planted on the sides of the wide paved streets, English-style
cottage homes and Spanish-style stone and brick buildings were built. In the night, the settlement was bright as gas lamps were turned on. In the multi-tenant areas, there was a butcherhouse, milk, bread, and
ramune stores to meet the foreigners' demands. Clothes stores, dry cleaners and barbershops were also constructed. == Legacy ==