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| | Osaka : Introduction | Frommers.com (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-12) |
 | | Although its history stretches back almost 1,500 years, Osaka first gained prominence when Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the most powerful lord in the land, built Japan's most magnificent castle here in the 16th century. |
 | | During the Edo Period, the city became an important distribution center as feudal lords from the surrounding region sent their rice to merchants in Osaka, who in turn sent the rice onward to Tokyo and other cities. |
 | | Nowadays, Osaka, capital of Osaka Prefecture on the southern coast of western Honshu, is the mover and shaker of this region of Japan, known as Kansai. |
| www.frommers.com /destinations/osaka/2928010001.html (301 words) |
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