Visualization of historical landscapes in Osaka

Abstract

The city of Osaka in Japan has been developed since the Edo period (1603) -- originally featuring water transportation through rivers and canals. It used to be called the 'Oriental Venice' after its beautiful landscapes, but this feature of the city does not remain today. A project for visualization of the historical landscape using 3D-CG was begun in 2010 at the Research Center for Cityscape and Cultural Heritage of Osaka within Kansai University. The purpose of the project was to create digital contents for validation of historical research and to develop applications for history education and for regional promotion of Osaka. This paper introduces the visualization of the Dotonbori area of Osaka around 1919 and the development of 3D interactive contents.