A STUDY ON THE ESTATE DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF OSAKA HOKKO CO. LTD. AND ITS BACKGROUNDS

Abstract

Osaka Hokko Co. Ltd. whose estate was located on the northern side of Osaka Port was established in 1919. This study aims to clarify the estate development plan of Osaka Hokko Co. Ltd. before 1934 and its backgrounds by analyzing the relationships between the drawings made by Yoshikazu Uchida, Osaka’s city plan, and some actual projects such as canal construction, bathing beach, and rent house. The results achieved in this study will be followed by two phases. Firstly, it is assumed that Sumitomo Family established the company along with Shima and Fujita families and others to develop the estate by a unified policy. In particular, rent house was targeted at the higher class than ordinary factory workers. By excavating the canal, it can be observed that they were trying to develop the estate into a factory district. Secondly, Yoshikazu Uchida embodied the Sumitomo Family’s development policy in his drawings. Moreover, specific similarities between Yoshikazu Uchida’s drawings and Osaka’s city plan have revealed that the latter plan reflected the former. In addition to this, the following personal relationships between the Osaka Hokko Corporation and the government were identified as the factors leading to this relationship. The representative of Sumitomo Family served in the extraordinary Investigative Committee at the Port and Harbor of Osaka City. As a result, the policy to develop the northern side of Osaka Port through public-private collaboration was already adopted by the Committee in 1913. Some influential figures in public administration were also involved in the estate development plan from the beginning. The above-mentioned facts suggest that the estate development plan contained the idea of public administration.