Many guidebooks to the three largest cities of Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka were published in the 17th century. Many types of meisyo, a Japanese term meaning landmark or place of interest, are found in these books.
So far, only an understanding of meisyo in Edo has been shown to have a strong connection with travel culture. Some discussions showed that people living in Edo acquired a new concept of meisyo in the early 17th century. However, this result is not perceived as a general one. Edo was then a newly built city, and thus there could have been a different sense of meisyo between Edo and old cities such as Kyoto and Osaka. This paper considers the concept of meisyo in Osaka without a detailed link to travel and then compares it with the concepts in the other two largest cities.
First, to understand the fundamental elements in the concept of meisyo, an analyses is made of how the term meisyo was used in books at various times. Notably, the concept of meisyo has two dimensions: poetic and popular. Meisyo derived from past events and from present situations were recognized as being different.
In addition, an attempt was made to research the concept of meisyo in Osaka. When the publishing culture was established in Osaka in the late 17th century, many books of different genres were published. Meisyo was one of the main themes. At that time, most of the city plan of Osaka had already been fixed as an early modern city, and its economic function was developing. Therefore books showing places of political and economic interest were published. It is notable that these practical books on Edo and Kyotq included articles about meisyo, whereas there was an absence of such articles in similar books on Osaka.
Furthermore, an analyses of Ashiwakebune was made, which was the first publication on Osaka's meisyo. Most chapters describe meisyo derived from the past, while only two concern meisyo derived from the present. A second book written by the same author entitled Naniwa-Kagami was analyzed. It included chapters on present meisyo, although they focused not on daily life but on special events such as festivals and ceremonies.
Previous studies showed that the concept of meisyo in Edo had a strong connection with the present, while the past things influenced the concept of meisyo in Kyoto. On the other hand, places concerned not only with the past things, such as poets and events, and but also with the present things, especially special events, could become meisyo in Osaka.
The concept of meisyo was based on the relationship with historical, geographic, special, political, economic, and cultural conditions in each city and thus is not fixed. However, it is also clear that the concept of meisyo was strongly influenced by geographic knowledge in books. It is significant that various ways to read books and how to obtain information from them were promoted in the Edo era. An understanding of the multiplicity of the concept of meisyo can be achieved through various sources.