Abeno-ku, Osaka

Abeno-ku in Osaka

Abeno-ku (阿倍野区^?) is one of 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It is located in southern Osaka city and has a population of over 107,000. In the northern part of Abeno, Abenobashi, there is the Kintetsu Minami-Osaka Line which terminates at Abenobashi Station, the Midōsuji Line and Tanimachi Line of the Osaka Municipal Subway at Tennoji Station, and the Hankai Tramway's Uemachi Line which terminates at Tennoji-eki-mae Station. The Abenobashi area of Abeno is a commercial area where department stores and movie theatres are located. Abeno is a home for Sharp Corporation (Nagaike-cho).

History

Sharp headquarters building in Abeno ward

When Osaka city increased its number of wards from 15 to 22 on April 1, 1943, Sumiyoshi ward was divided into three "new" wards, one of which was Abeno, the others being Higashi-Sumiyoshi ward and Sumiyoshi ward. There are varying theories as to the origin of the name "Abeno". One is that it was the name of a powerful family-clan in ancient Japan, another suggests it might come from one of Yamabe no Akahito's songs in Man'yōshū, and another theory suggests it might come from the "amabe" in Higashi-narigun-amabe-gou, an ancient place name. The theory of the powerful family-clan name holds strongest.