Changes

Located to the west of Kyoto, facing the [[Inland Sea]], Osaka sits astride the [[Yodo River]], providing shipping & transportation access to Kyoto, and allowing for considerable access and influence in the Inland Sea.  

Located to the west of Kyoto, facing the [[Inland Sea]], Osaka sits astride the [[Yodo River]], providing shipping & transportation access to Kyoto, and allowing for considerable access and influence in the Inland Sea.  

Beginning in the mid-17th century, the [[Nishimawari]], or "Western Circuit," shipping route was put into place, connecting Osaka, via the Inland Sea and through the [[Straits of Shimonoseki]], to ports all along the [[Sea of Japan]] coast, as well as [[Ezo]] (Hokkaidô); the city was also an extremely common stopover point for travelers to and from Western Japan and Kyushu, including ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' daimyô processions, as well as [[Korean embassies to Edo|Korean]] and [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo]], who traveled by ship through the Inland Sea to Osaka, and then overland via the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]]<ref>The 57 Stations of the Tôkaidô ended at [[Sanjo Ohashi|Sanjô Bridge]] in Kyoto, but four more stations, known alternatively as the Ôsaka kaidô, Kyôkaidô, or simply considered an extension of the Tôkaidô, continued onwards to Osaka, ending at Kôraibashi.</ref> to Edo.

Beginning in the mid-17th century, the ''Nishimawari'', or "[[Western Circuit]]," shipping route was put into place, connecting Osaka, via the Inland Sea and through the [[Straits of Shimonoseki]], to ports all along the [[Sea of Japan]] coast, as well as [[Ezo]] (Hokkaidô); the city was also an extremely common stopover point for travelers to and from Western Japan and Kyushu, including ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' daimyô processions, as well as [[Korean embassies to Edo|Korean]] and [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo]], who traveled by ship through the Inland Sea to Osaka, and then overland via the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]]<ref>The 57 Stations of the Tôkaidô ended at [[Sanjo Ohashi|Sanjô Bridge]] in Kyoto, but four more stations, known alternatively as the Ôsaka kaidô, Kyôkaidô, or simply considered an extension of the Tôkaidô, continued onwards to Osaka, ending at Kôraibashi.</ref> to Edo.

==History==

==History==