China 1904
War, Power and Steel

A Japanese siege gun, known as an “Osaka Baby,” fires during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. War accelerated Osaka’s industrialization, driving a dramatic shift from light to heavy industry.

In Japan’s Cotton Revolution, we looked into the crucial role cotton mills played in jumpstarting industrialization in Japan, specifically Osaka. The wars with China (1894–1895) and Russia (1904-1905) accelerated this process, spurring Japan to shift from light to heavy industry, and chemical manufacturing.

The pace of this shift went into high gear when World War I (1914-1918) brought in a giant wave of foreign demand. Large steel orders for military use by the Allied powers were particularly significant. The war drove a massive economic boom that turned Japan from a debtor into a creditor nation.

By the 1920s, Osaka’s industrial base extended far beyond textiles, encompassing the manufacture of weapons, steel, and ships, but also the production of low-value goods such as shell buttons and safety matches, and everything in between.

Some of these companies employed thousands of workers. But many were small, family-run operations with at most a few dozen employees. Most were located on the outskirts of the city.

The table below shows the number of factories in major industry categories in 1929 (Showa 4). It counts only those with five or more employees.³³

Let’s take a look at the two industries that, alongside the textile sector, helped make Osaka’s transformation possible: power and steel.

Fueling Osaka’s Rise

Osaka’s industrial transformation fueled an insatiable demand for energy. Initially this was in the form of coal. In 1929, some 3.3 million tons of coal entered Osaka Port from Kyushu, Hokkaido, Manchuria, and other sources. Most of it was consumed by local industry, but some was exported to neighboring regions.³⁴

I have been using the 1924 Osaka Panorama Map to match the photos of the city. Unfortunately, the coal storage is in a section of the map that the illustrator removed and replaced with hazy clouds. Here is a regular map.

After the turn of the century, electricity rapidly became the dominant energy source for factories. By 1929, nearly half (48%) of Osaka’s total electricity output was used to power industry, including railway transport and electric lighting.

Osaka’s power supply came from a mix of thermal and hydroelectric generation. A surprisingly large number of power companies operated at the time: the Osaka Municipal Electric Bureau (大阪市電氣局), Daido Electric Power (大同電力), Ujigawa Electric Power (宇治川電気), and Japan Electric Power (日本電力).³⁵

◆ Osaka Electric Light Company

The Osaka Electric Light Company (大阪電燈株式會社) in 1913. When the company was founded in 1887, it had a small workforce. However, by the time this photo was taken, it had already grown into a substantial power plant.

In October 1923 (Taisho 12), the company’s business and assets within the city were acquired by Osaka City and incorporated into the Osaka Municipal Electric Bureau.

◆ Osaka Gas Company

The Osaka Gas Company (大阪瓦斯株式會社) along the Shirinashigawa River (尻無川) in what is now Chiyozaki, Nishi-ku, began operations in 1897 (Meiji 30).

Initially, gas was only used for lighting, so facilities were small. However, as gas found applications in kitchens and other areas, demand surged, leading to the large factory in the photos. In 1945 (Showa 20), the company merged with 14 other gas companies in the Kansai region, expanding to Kobe and Kyoto.

To this very day, gas tanks still stand at this spot. But now they are overshadowed by the giant Kyocera Dome Osaka.

Heavy Metal

Together with the textile industry, the metal industry was a leading pillar of Osaka’s manufacturing sector. By 1929, it employed nearly 22,000 workers who produced ships, bridges, machinery, tools, and other products.³⁶ Here are three companies that still exist in some form today.

◆ Sumitomo Foundry

In 1929, Osaka’s metal tube industry counted twelve factories employing a total of 2,060 workers. The Sumitomo Foundry (住友鑄工所), in Shimaya along the Ajigawa River, was considered the largest. It was renowned for its modern facilities.³⁷

The company was later renamed Sumitomo Metal Industries (住友金属工業). In 2012 (Heisei 24) it merged with Nippon Steel.

◆ Kubota Iron Works

Founded in 1890 (Meiji 23), Kubota grew large because of recurring cholera outbreaks. This prompted the development of modern municipal water systems, which required cast iron pipes that could withstand high water pressure. Kubota succeeded in mass-producing such pipes by 1904 (Meiji 37), enabling it to successfully compete with foreign imports.

As the company grew, it diversified into spinning machinery, machine tools, agricultural equipment, and engines. Today, Kubota Corporation is a global leader in industrial machinery. It is still headquartered in Osaka.³⁸

◆ Osaka Iron Works

Ship construction at Osaka Iron Works (株式會社大阪鐵工所, Ōsaka Tekkosho) in 1929. The company was established in 1881 (Meiji 14) by British entrepreneur Edward H. Hunter (1843–1917) at what is today Nishikujo, Konohana-ku. In 1900 (Meiji 33), an additional plant was opened downstream at Sakurajima at what is now Universal Studios Japan.

The company also produced engines, boilers, bridges, and irrigation equipment. It changed its name to Hitachi Zosen Corporation in 1943 (Showa 18). The company is now known as Kanadevia and no longer builds ships.

Here is map with all the companies in this article.

Next week we look at a few companies, launched in Osaka during this period, that helped shape Japan into the modern nation we know today. Some of these will likely surprise you.

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Notes

³³ 『大阪市産業大觀』Osaka City (1929), 22.

「工場地・大阪市内ニ於テ五人以上ヲ有スル工場ヲ大 別スルニ、染織工場七百五十三機械器具工場一 千六百九十七化學工場六百八十五、飲食品工場 三百八十三雜種工場一千三百六十七、特種工場 十六ヲ算シ、是等工場ノ多クハ市,外廓二密集 シ四時活動ラ斷クス。寫眞、市,東北部ニシテ、紡績、精煉、電氣分銅 等,大工場此處二櫛比ス。」

³⁴ 『大阪市産業大觀』Osaka City (1929), 21.

「大阪工業の原動力 其二石炭・九州、北海道、滿洲等より大阪港に入る石炭は年額三百三十萬噸價額五千萬圓と算せらる。其大部分は市內諸工業に消費せられ、一部は隣接地方へ移出せらる。昭和二年大阪市内動力の總馬力は五十五萬四千にして一工場平均馬力百十九に當り、電力二十萬九千馬力、蒸汽力三萬一千馬力、同タービン三十一萬四千馬力なり寫真は安治川驛附近に於ける貯炭所を示す。」

³⁵ 『大阪市産業大觀』Osaka City (1929), 20.

「大阪工業の原動力 其一電力・大阪工業の電氣原動力として充當する電氣量は、最近一ヶ年二億二千五百萬キロワットに達し、電燈用及電車用のものを加算したる總電氣量の四割八分强に當る。之カ電原として大同電力、宇治川電氣、日本電力株式會社の水力及右各社並大阪市電氣局の火力發電設備あり。寫眞は古川橋附近に於ける送電線の輻湊狀況を示す。」

³⁶ 『大阪市産業大觀』Osaka City (1929), 28.

³⁷ 『大阪市産業大觀』Osaka City (1929), 27.

「伸銅鋼管・大阪市に於ける伸銅鋼管業は職工數五十人以上の工場十二ヶ所、職工總數二千六十人、最近の年產額五千二百六十餘萬圓に達す。
寫眞は規模最も大にして其近代的の施設亦模範と稱せらる、住友伸銅鋼管株式會社工場内の一部を示す。」

³⁸ In 1890 (Meiji 23), 19-year-old Gonshirō Ōde (大出權四郎, 1870-1959) founded the small casting company Ōde Casting (大出鋳物, Ōde Imono). One of his clients was Kubota Match Machine Manufacturers, run by Toshiro Kubota (久保田藤四郎). Impressed by Ōde’s talent and ambition, the childless Kubota adopted him as his son. In 1897 (Meiji 30), Ōde took on the name Kubota, while Ōde Casting was renamed Kubota Iron Works (久保田鉄工所, Kubota Tekkōjo).

山口幸正 (2021). 『西洋鍛冶屋を目指し，世界に展開する水環境関連事業と機械関連事業の基礎を築いたクボタの創業者・久保田権四郎』新・改善改革探訪記 No. 127. Retrieved on 2025-06-20.

『クボタ130年の歩み』Kubota Digital Archives. Retrieved on 2025-06-20.

Published July 23, 2025
Updated July 23, 2025 7:45 AM

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