Osaka's Tricky Place Names: How to Read Hanaten, Kireuriwari & Itachibori
Look at a map of Osaka and you'll find place names whose readings you'd never guess from the characters. Old names tied to canals, markets, and temples were written straight into kanji, so the reading and the writing often drift apart. Let's trace some of the most notable tricky place names.
Osaka's place names often fit neither the on nor the kun reading of their kanji. Learn the words and the land origins behind them and they become much easier to remember.
Here we focus on tricky place names you'll meet every day as railway station names.
Osaka Names That Look Readable but Aren't
Hanaten (放出)Hanaten
You may be tempted to read it "Hoshutsu," but the correct reading is "Hanaten." It is home to Hanaten Station on JR's Osaka Higashi Line and Gakkentoshi Line, and the name became known nationwide through the TV commercials of a used-car dealer. Several theories exist about the origin of the name.
Source:大阪市公式ホームページ
Kireuriwari (喜連瓜破)Kireuriwari
This station name joins two old place names—"Kire" (喜連) and "Uriwari" (瓜破)—and is read "Kireuriwari." Uriwari (literally "split melon") is said to take its name from a legend involving a melon.
Source:大阪市公式ホームページ
Itachibori (立売堀)Itachibori
It is not "Tachiuribori" but "Itachibori." One theory holds that the name is a corruption of "Datebori" (伊達堀), a canal that once ran here. In the Edo period the area thrived with timber merchants and the like.
Source:大阪市公式ホームページ
Kisaichi (私市)Kisaichi
A place name in Katano City, read "Kisaichi." Its origin is traced to "kisaki no ichi"—a market connected to an empress. Near the terminus, Kisaichi Station, you'll find Hoshi no Buranko, a suspension bridge popular with hikers.
Source:交野市公式ホームページ
Kumata (杭全)Kumata
It is not "Kuizen" but "Kumata"—a neighborhood name in Higashisumiyoshi Ward. In neighboring Hirano Ward stands the like-named Kumata Shrine, famous for its rousing danjiri (festival floats).
Source:大阪市公式ホームページ
Kunijima (柴島)Kunijima
It is not "Shibajima" but "Kunijima." Here you'll find Kunijima Station on the Hankyu Senri Line, as well as the Kunijima Water Purification Plant, which treats water from the Yodo River and delivers it across central Osaka.
Source:大阪市公式ホームページ
FAQ
Why does Osaka have so many tricky place names?
Because old names tied to canals, markets, temples, and shrines were written straight into kanji, leaving the reading and the writing out of step. Learn each one together with its origin and it sticks.
Any tips for memorizing tricky place names?
Starting from station names is the quickest route. Seeing them on signs and hearing them in train announcements day after day fixes them in your ears and eyes naturally.
Why is "Hanaten" known across Japan?
A used-car buyer's TV commercials chanted it as the shop name over and over, spreading the reading "Hanaten" far beyond the Kansai region.
Are there other tricky Osaka place names?
Plenty—Nakamozu (中百舌鳥), Hajinosato (土師ノ里), Mitejima (御幣島), and Juso (十三), to name just a few.