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Osaka · Designated city

Sakai

堺市さかいしSakai-shi

Ancient tombs and a medieval free city

Sakai is a designated city just south of Osaka, home to the Mozu tomb group with the Daisen Kofun – one of the largest burial mounds in the world – and, in the 15th and 16th centuries, a self-governing merchant port that produced the tea master Sen no Rikyū.

Overview

Sakai takes its name from its position on the "boundary" (sakai) between the provinces of Settsu, Kawachi and Izumi. Long before the city existed, the Mozu plateau east of the coast became a royal necropolis: of the tombs that once stood here, 44 survive, and the Daisen Kofun, attributed to Emperor Nintoku, measures some 486 metres in length. Together with the Furuichi group in Habikino and Fujiidera, they were inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2019.

In the 15th and 16th centuries Sakai became one of the richest cities in Japan, a moated port governed by a council of merchants (egōshū) that traded with Ming China, the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Portuguese. Jesuit missionaries compared it with Venice. Its merchants were patrons of the tea ceremony, and Sen no Rikyū, Takeno Jōō and Imai Sōkyū came from its ranks. Sakai also made guns: after firearms reached Japan in 1543, its smiths became leading producers, a metalworking tradition that continues in its famous kitchen knives and its bicycle industry.

Landmarks

  • Daisen Kofun (Nintoku-tennō-ryō)

    大仙古墳（仁徳天皇陵古墳）Daisen Kofun (Nintoku-tennō-ryō Kofun)

    Keyhole-shaped tomb about 486 metres long with triple moats; entry is not permitted, but a path circles it and the observatory at Sakai City Hall offers a view.

  • Mozu Kofun Group

    百舌鳥古墳群Mozu Kofungun

    Tomb cluster including the Kamiishizu Misanzai and Nisanzai kofun, among Japan's largest.

  • Sakai City Museum

    堺市博物館Sakai-shi Hakubutsukan

    Museum in Daisen Park on the kofun and on the medieval city.

  • Sakai Rishō no Mori

    さかい利晶の杜Sakai Rishō no Mori

    Cultural centre devoted to Sen no Rikyū and the poet Yosano Akiko, with tea rooms.

  • Sakai Traditional Crafts Museum

    堺伝統産業会館Sakai Dentō Sangyō Kaikan

    Showroom of Sakai knives, incense and other local crafts.

  • Nanshū-ji

    南宗寺Nanshū-ji

    Zen temple linked to the Sakai tea masters, with a dry garden and the graves of the Sen family.

  • Shukuin Tongū

    宿院頓宮Shukuin Tongū

    Destination of the Sumiyoshi Taisha procession each summer.

  • Sakai Bicycle Museum

    自転車博物館サイクルセンターJitensha Hakubutsukan Saikuru Sentā

    Museum of cycling history in a city whose parts makers supply the world.

Districts

  • Sakai-ku old town

    環濠都市kangō toshi

    The former moated city, with narrow streets, knife workshops and the Yamaguchi family house.

  • Mozu

    百舌鳥Mozu

    Plateau with Daisen Park and the kofun cluster.

  • Senboku New Town

    泉北ニュータウンSenboku Nyūtaun

    Large planned suburb of the 1960s–70s in the southern hills.

  • Sakai Seashore Industrial Zone

    堺泉北臨海工業地帯Sakai-Senboku Rinkai Kōgyō Chitai

    Reclaimed coastal zone of steel, petrochemical and energy plants.

History

The Mozu tombs were built from the late 4th to the late 5th century. Sakai developed as a port from the 14th century and reached its height as a free city in the 16th, until Oda Nobunaga and then Toyotomi Hideyoshi brought it under their control and Hideyoshi moved many merchants to Osaka. The city burnt in the Siege of Osaka in 1615 and was rebuilt on a grid. In the modern era Sakai became an industrial city; it was designated a city under government ordinance in 2006.

  1. 5th century

    Construction of the Daisen Kofun.

  2. 1469

    Sakai becomes a base for trade missions to Ming China.

  3. 1522

    Birth of Sen no Rikyū in Sakai.

  4. 1568

    Oda Nobunaga demands a war levy from Sakai, ending its independence.

  5. 1615

    The city is burnt during the Summer Siege of Osaka and rebuilt.

  6. 1889

    Sakai becomes a city.

  7. 2006

    Sakai becomes a designated city.

  8. 2019

    The Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group is inscribed as a World Heritage site.

Culture

Sakai is the birthplace of Sen no Rikyū and of the poet Yosano Akiko, whose family ran a confectionery shop in the old town. The city keeps tea culture alive through public tea gatherings, and its knife smiths and sharpeners, organised in a strict division of labour, still work in small workshops of the old moated town.

Festivals

  • Sakai Festival

    堺まつりSakai Matsuri

    October festival with a grand parade recalling the city's merchant golden age and its trade with Southeast Asia and Europe.

  • Sumiyoshi Festival procession

    住吉祭渡御Sumiyoshi-sai togyo

    On 1 August Sumiyoshi Taisha's portable shrine crosses the Yamato River to Shukuin in Sakai.

  • Danjiri and futon-daiko festivals

    ふとん太鼓futon-daiko

    Autumn shrine festivals with drum floats topped by stacked red cushions.

Food

  • Kurumi-mochi

    くるみ餅kurumi-mochi

    Rice cakes wrapped in a green paste of sweetened beans, a Sakai confection since the Muromachi period.

  • Keshi-mochi

    芥子餅keshi-mochi

    Bean-paste rice cake coated with poppy seeds, a tea sweet of Sakai.

  • Sakai kombu

    堺の昆布Sakai no konbu

    Kombu processing, with hand-shaved oboro kombu, is a Sakai tradition from the Edo-period seaweed trade.

  • Local fish

    堺の魚Sakai no sakana

    Fish from the Izumi coast, sold at the Sakai fish market.

Getting around

  • Nankai Main Line and Kōya Line run from Namba to Sakai, Sakai-higashi and Mozu areas in 10–20 minutes.
  • JR Hanwa Line serves Mozu station (for Daisen Park and the kofun) from Tennōji.
  • The Hankai tram line, the last tramway in Osaka, links Sakai's old town with Tennōji and Sumiyoshi.
  • Rental bicycles are well suited to touring the kofun and the old town.

Day trips

  • Osaka

    The prefectural capital, 15–20 minutes north.

  • Furuichi Kofun Group

    The second half of the World Heritage site in Habikino and Fujiidera, about 30 minutes east.

  • Kōya-san

    Shingon temple mountain, reached via the Nankai Kōya Line through Sakai.

  • Wakayama

    Castle city on the Kii Channel, under an hour by Nankai or JR.

Other cities in the prefecture

CapitalOsakaŌsaka-shiMerchants, canals and the art of eating well

Frequently asked questions

Can you enter the Daisen Kofun?

No. It is managed by the Imperial Household Agency as the tomb of Emperor Nintoku, so the mound itself is off-limits. A path of nearly three kilometres circles the moats, and the observation lobby of Sakai City Hall gives a view over it.

Why is Sakai famous for knives?

Its smiths made tobacco-cutting knives and guns in the 16th and 17th centuries; that expertise moved into kitchen knives. Most knives used by professional Japanese chefs are made in Sakai, where forging, sharpening and handle-fitting are done by separate specialists.

Who was Sen no Rikyū?

A Sakai merchant (1522–1591) who became tea master to Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi and shaped the wabi style of the tea ceremony. The three Sen schools in Kyoto descend from him.

How big is the Daisen Kofun?

About 486 metres long, making it the largest keyhole-shaped tomb in Japan and, by footprint, one of the largest burial monuments in the world.

Related

Sources

  1. 1.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — Statistics Bureau of Japan
  2. 2.Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan (opens in a new tab) — UNESCO World Heritage Centre
  3. 3.堺市ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 堺市

Editorial team · Published: