Kishiwada, Osaka

The oldest evidence of life in Kishiwada is the Mayuyama Kofun (barrow). The most popular origin story of Kishiwada dates from the 14th century. During the Nanbokucho period (1336–1392), General Takaie Wada of the Masahige-Kusunoki Clan was sent to the area then known as Kishi in Izumi Han to be magistrate. He was then renamed Kishi-no-Wadadono giving birth to the city's later name of Kishiwada.

The first mentioning of a castle located it 600m from the current site and was named Kishiwada-kojo-ato. A nearby river known as Koko-gawa also attests to the older structure. Kishiwada Castle (岸和田城, Kishiwada-jō?), or Chikiri Castle, was erected by Hidemasa Koide in 1597. Nobukatsu, ruler of Okabe Mino, took possession of the castle in 1640 from Takatsuki. The Okabe family maintained its position for 13 generations (up to the Meiji Restoration).

In 1703, the city began its Danjiri festival. The city of Kishiwada was officially founded on November 1, 1922 during the Taisho Period. It was the 87th city to be founded in Japan and the 3rd in Osaka. From the Meiji era onwards the city has developed several craft industries centering on spinning-and-weaving, Senshu Cotton and the lens industry.

• Kishiwada Castle
• Dai-itoku-ji
• Kishiwada Danjiri Museum
• Kishiki Jinja
• Senko-ji
• Kumeda-dera, Kumeda pond and Kumeda Kofun
• Mayuyama Kofun
• Ogami-jinya and Ogami Falls
• Tonboike Park

• January: Long Distance Relay Race, Kumeda-ji Senbon Duki (Rice cake making)
• February: Senshu Marathon
• April: Kishiwada-jo Spring Festival
• July: Kishiwada Port Festival and Fireworks
• September: Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri, Kishiwada and Haruki.
• October: Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri, Mountain districts.
• November: Chuo-koen Sports Carnival, Nigiwai Festival, Chuo-koen Agricultural Festival, Ushitaki-yama Red Maple Festival.

Kishiwada is home to three malls. The Bayside CanCan Mall is a 5-minute walk from Nankai Kishiwada station and sits by the sea. This is also the location of the city's sole remaining cinema. The city also has Le Park next to Haruki station and Saty next to Higashi-Kishiwada station. Shops and especially restaurants tend to congregate long Route 26 which links Osaka city to Wakayama city and Kansai Airport in the south. More traditional restaurants, izakaya and shops can be found around the main train stations and down Kishiwada Shotengai and the Haruki Shotengai.

• Kishiwada Velodrome (near Haruki Station)

Kishiwada is served by the JR Hanwa and Nankai Main Line. The city also has an extensive bus service as the trainlines run parallel to the coast rather than linking the seaside to the mountains. The city is not directly connected to the neighbouring prefecture of Wakayama as the mountain section of the city is impassable. Route 26 eventually connects to the city of Wakayama and runs parallel to the coast. The prefecture can also be reached via roads in Izumisano and the Highway which connects via Sennan city.

Train stations: (in order from north to south):

JR Hanwa Line: Kumeda – Shimomatsu – Higashi-Kishiwada*

• Higashi-Kishiwada is the main station where both local and express trains stop.

Nankai Main Line: Haruki* – Izumiomiya – Kishiwada** – Takojizo

• Express trains also stop at Haruki.
  • All trains including the Airport Express stop at Kishiwada station.

Kishiwada is home to 4 High Schools. It directly controls one, Kishiwada Sangyo Koko, through its Board of Education. The other three; Kishiwada Koko, Izumi Koko and Kumeda Koko; are run by the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education. The city also has 11 Junior High Schools and around 30 Elementary Schools.

• Keiji Inafune, video game producer and artist.
• Rome Kanda, tarento, comedian, and actor.
• Magnitude Kishiwada, a professional wrestler best known for his work in Osaka Pro and Dragon Gate.
• Kazuhiro Kiyohara, baseball player.
• Michiko Koshino, fashion designer.
• Ryuichi Moriya, World Championship Medalist in Olympic Archery and Japan Olympic Team member.
• Yutaka Ooe, enka singer.
• Nozomu Sahashi, founder of Nova Corporation.
• Tomohiro Nishikado, game designer programmer and creator of Space Invaders.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kishiwada, Osaka.

• Kishiwada City official website (in Japanese)
• Kishiwada City official website (in English)
• Geographic data related to Kishiwada, Osaka at OpenStreetMap