Watch Out! It's Osaka's manhole cover!
Last week, I introduced the signal of Osaka——Tsutenkaku, while I also mentioned many Osaka people give their special position to Tsutenkaku, the Osaka Castle. Here is a picture of it, but wait, why is it on a manhole cover?
Thinking of manhole covers, dirty and stink odor come into our mind.
However, here, and only in Japan, the manhole cover is joint with painting and artistic design and becomes a beautiful scenery.
While street art usually has its essence of illegalness and resistance (Millner, 2017), Japanese manhole covers are supported by all parties——the government, artistes, local citizens, and tourists.
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The street art just shown above appears on most Osaka streets. After all, they function as manhole cover. It has multiple representations: Tenshukaku representing Osaka and its historic connotation of feudal power; Sakura as a symbol of Japanese national spirit; and sea waves referring to Osaka, which was once called Naniwa.
(https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/japanese-manhole-covers)
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The beautiful combination of blue, green, and pink always reminds people of Osaka.
(https://digjapan.travel/en/blog/id=10536 DiGJapan, 2021)
(Click here to see more manhole covers )
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Most of the time, street arts are transient,
they were first created then demolished.
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Tourists in Osaka not only visit Tenshukaku, but they also literally visit and photograph the Tenshukaku on these manhole covers, sometimes with their feet stepping beside it.
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To bring it away as a souvenir, someone even copied the painting,
made as cards for collection.
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Manhole covers are even recorded in books
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More than street arts, the manhole cover has undoubtedly become
the visiting card of Osaka.
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References List
Richarz, A. (2020, December 7). On the Hunt for Japan's Elaborate, Colorful Manhole Covers. Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/japanese-manhole-covers.
Art At Your Feet: Japan's Beautiful Manhole Covers. DiGJAPAN! (n.d.). https://digjapan.travel/en/blog/id=10536.
Millner, J. (2009). Visual Poetics: The Critical Impulse in Contemporary Street Art from Paris to Melbourne. The International Journal of the Arts in Society: Annual Review, 4(3), 303–320. https://doi.org/10.18848/1833-1866/cgp/v04i03/35660
First of all, I love your title!! It’s very catchy and fun and relatable, since when I was in Osaka, I was literally ‘watching out’ for these manhole covers to take photos because each one of them was stunning and unique. I think how you linked this blog with what’s in your previous blog, the Osaka Castle is an interesting idea, as it makes people go back to read more of your blogs, but perhaps, you can insert a hyperlink to your other blog posts next time, just for convenience and marketing of your blog :) There are different impressions of the manhole cover as a souvenir and prints on cards which informs the popularity of the manhole cover in Osaka. Overall, I enjoyed and was inspired reading this blog!
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