Osaka is Japan's third-largest city and a major commercial and industrial hub, with a population of over 19 million people in the greater Osaka area.

The Kamakura period, which lasted from the 12th to the 14th century, was a time of political upheaval and marked the rise of the shogunate.

The first novel ever written, The Tale of Genji, was written in Japan in the 11th century by a noblewoman named Murasaki Shikibu.