Osaka Museum of Housing and Living 8th floor
Modern Osaka Floor "See and feel Osaka"
7. Tsutenkaku and Luna Park: Osaka’s New Amusement Spot(1912)
Osaka’s Eiffel Tower and new amusement park upon completion
The 5th National Industrial Exhibition was successfully held in 1903.
Osaka City reclaimed the east half of the vacant exhibition lot as Tennoji Park. It was decided that the west half would be entrusted to the private sector for the creation of an unconventional “wholesome entertainment area.”
Such developments led to the establishment of Osaka Tochi Co., Ltd. with Michio Doi as its president. Doi was also Chairman of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the time.
Osaka Tochi proceeded to construct the heavily Western influenced Shinsekai, an amusement area that opened in 1912 with the landmark Tsutenkaku and amusement park Luna Park at its center.
This panorama model is a historically accurate recreation of the urban landscape looking north from Luna Park’s White Tower soon after its opening.
The north zone was a specialty shopping district featuring a Paris-style radial street layout.
The central zone had a diverse range of playhouses, moving picture theaters, and other entertainment establishments. Japanese restaurant Denki Ryokan and German-style bathhouse Funsen Yokujo, locally known as Radium Hot Spring, were constructed in the south zone.
Tsutenkaku and Eiffel Tower
The original 75m tall Tsutenkaku is said to have been named by Confucian Nangaku Fujisawa.
The steel tower’s design is a combination of elements from Paris’ iconic Memorial Arch and Eiffel Tower. Visitors originally had to climb stairs to the rooftop garden where they boarded an elevator up to the observation deck.
The 324m tall Eiffel Tower which Tsutenkaku was patterned after was designed and built by engineer Gustave Eiffel as the entrance arch to the 1889 World’s Fair.
The present Tsutenkaku was rebuilt in 1956 after the first one was disassembled due to fire damage.
White Tower Panorama
The symbol of Luna Park, White Tower was connected to Tsutenkaku by Osaka’s first ropeway. Inside, there was a rest area, theater, and a popular two-stage waterfall beautifully lit up in multiple colors.
Billiken, God of Fortune
A fashionable American-born god enshrined inside White Tower. This popular mascot of Shinsekai is the basis of many products such as Billiken Manju (sweet buns filled with sweet bean paste).
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