Nature in Osaka that you can learn in the Museum

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The Nature of Osaka Exhibition Room, Naumann Hall, the 1st Exhibition Room and half of the 2nd Exhibition Room are all good resources to understanding nature in Osaka.

When thinking about how Osaka’s nature was formed, Osaka’s positioning on the earth is greatly significant. The Japanese islands are situated on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, and are hugely impacted by seasonal winds. This means that Osaka is a place that receives large impacts from the change of weather and costal lines as a result of repeated ice ages and warmer ages in between the ice ages (interglacial stages) during the past 2 million years.

During cold ages, the sea level lowers due to large developments of inland glaciers, and results in Osaka Bay becoming broad land and Osaka becoming an inland area. In warmer ages, the ocean conversely expands into areas that are currently plains. In addition to these conditions, changes in seasonal winds greatly change the temperature and amount of rainfall.

Nature over the ages that have undergone great changes from climate and shifts in the coastline, such as nature during the era in which Naumann’s elephants were thriving, forests which nurtured acorns for people in Jomon era, whale bones that were buried under the ground of the plains introduced near the entrance of the 2nd Exhibition Room (the age of Kawachi Bay), and swamp vegetation during cold times, are all pieces of a puzzle that fit together to form our current nature. Organisms living during warmer ages and colder ages survived in various places in Osaka, all of which formed this diverse nature.

Another item of importance when looking at Osaka’s nature is how significant human activities are. From the ancient to modern ages, the area where Nara, Osaka and Kyoto are situated was a location where capitals were established; and even after that, this area continued to be home to important cities in Japan. Meanwhile, the surrounding farm villages were engaged in production to support these cities in addition to producing food, firewood, and charcoal for their villagers. For this reason, humans intervened in the condition of fields, mountains, and rivers, and nature in Satoyama, which is grassland with an abundance of sunlight and shallow water instead of deep forests, was formed over the course of 1500 and more years. Various changes happened during this period, but the length of time in which people interacted with nature led to Osaka’s special characteristics with respect to its landscapes and biota.

It is not true that current city areas with skyscrapers are devoid of living things. There are many immigrant species from overseas in cities, as well as native species such as the Cryptotympana facialis (a type of cicada) whose population has increased. Though there are immigrant species that inhabit cities all around the world, these species also have individual characteristics specific to each city. The blaring Cryptotympana facialis during Osaka summers may be one of the more unique traits in the world.

Nature in cities is the most familiar type nature to its inhabitants, and especially to children. Taking an interest and looking at them closely may lead to new discoveries or to learning something new.