You are on Ebisubashi, Osaka's most famous bridge. All around you, Dotonbori glitters like a shop window. But this canal has a history that begins in 1612 and a legend that ended in 2023.

1Dōton's canal

Work on the Dotonbori canal began in 1612, driven by several merchants. The best remembered is Narisu Dōton, who died during the siege of Osaka fighting on the Toyotomi side. His partners finished it in 1615, and the canal bears his name. This bridge was built at the same time and named Ebisu because it lay on the road to Imamiya Ebisu Shrine. Theaters soon followed, and the area became the city's entertainment district.

2The night of the Colonel

On 16 October 1985, the Hanshin Tigers baseball team won the league, and thousands of fans celebrated here. Some jumped into the canal and, in the frenzy, threw in a life-size statue of Colonel Sanders taken from a KFC restaurant. The Tigers went on to win the Japan Series that year.

Then came almost two decades of poor results, and fans began talking about "the Curse of the Colonel".

The statue was found at the bottom of the canal in March 2009. The "curse" was not considered broken until 2023, when the Tigers won the Japan Series again. It is a superstition, but nobody in Osaka has forgotten it.

3What to look for

  • The Glico running man, on this corner since 1935.
  • The canal water, deeper and dirtier than it looks.
  • The circular plaza of the current bridge, built in 2007.
Old black-and-white photograph of Ebisu Bridge and its advertising signs
The bridge and its advertisements in an old photograph.
The illuminated Glico running man sign at night in Dōtonbori
The Glico running man, on this corner since 1935.

Documented

The Dotonbori canal was dug between 1612 and 1615; on 16 October 1985 Hanshin Tigers fans threw a statue of Colonel Sanders into the canal, and it was recovered in March 2009.

Oral tradition

The "Curse of the Colonel" is a fan superstition used to explain the Tigers' defeats until 2023.

Sources and credits

City of Osaka, information on the Dotonbori River; Japanese Wikipedia, "戎橋" and "道頓堀"; press coverage of the statue's recovery (The Japan Times and Mainichi Shimbun, March 2009).

Photos:

  • Ebisu Bridge over the Dōtonbori canal, surrounded by signs: S5A-0043, CC BY 4.0.
  • Old black-and-white photograph of Ebisu Bridge and its advertising signs: Autor desconocido, Dominio público.
  • The illuminated Glico running man sign at night in Dōtonbori: Schellack, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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