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As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 792,497 and the density of 5,793.53 persons per kmē. The total area is 136.79 kmē.
The current city was legally founded on April 1, 1889 according to the law of the Imperial Japan.
Sakai is famous for the quality of its Japanese style kitchen knives, which is a major industry in Sakai.
In the Muromachi period Sakai was one of richest cities in Japan. Sakai is located along a coast and the mouth of Yamago-gawa river which connected Yamato region (now Nara Prefecture) to the sea, it was therefore one of connection between the Asian trade and the inland trade. Sakai was an autonomous city run by merchants citizens. In those day it was said Umi Sakai, Riku Imai (tr. "The richest city along the sea is Sakai, inlands Imai."). The famous zen-buddist priest Ikkyu loved to live in Sakai because of its free atmosphere. In the Sengoku period some ChristianChristian cross and its many variations are widely recognized as an ancient Christian symbol. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. Although Christians generally chara priests visited Sakai and documented its prosperity. After the coming of Europeans Sakai became a trade center of fire armsA firearm is a kinetic energy weapon that fires either a single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced by action of the rapid confined burning of a propellant. This process of rapid burning is technically known as deflagr and a daimyo Oda NobunagaOda Nobunaga ( June 23, 1534 June 21, 1582) was a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. Son of Oda Nobuhide, a minor warlord with meager land holdings in Owari Province, Nobunaga lived a life of continuous military conquest to eventu was one of their important customers. Nobunaga was so ambious to try unifying Japan and attempted to take the autonomy preverege from Sakai. Sakai citizens denied his order and made an desperate war against his army. Most of citizens flied out somewhere and Sakai was burned and seized by Nobunaga.
Sen no RikyuSen no Rikyu (; 1522 1591) is considered the most profound influence on the Japanese tea ceremony. A man of simple taste, he had a cultivated and disciplined lifestyle and defined the term wabi cha by emphasizing simplicity, rusticness and other humble qu known as the great teaThis article is about the beverage. For alternative meanings, see tea (disambiguation). Tang Dynasty ( 618- 907). Tea is a caffeinated beverage, an infusion made by steeping the dried leaves or buds of the shrub Camellia sinensis in hot water. In addition master was originally a merchant ofSakai. Because of the close relationship between ChanoyuThe Japanese tea ceremony cha-no-yu chado or sado is a traditional ritual influenced by Zen Buddhism in which powdered green tea, or matcha , is ceremonially prepared by a skilled practitioner and served to a small group of guests in a tranquil setting. and Zen buddhism like Priest Ikkyu, and of the high prosperity of citizens, Sakai was one of center for tea favorites since the early time.
After the death of Nobunaga, one of his men, Toyotomi HideyoshiToyotomi Hideyoshi (; 1536 September 18, 1598), was a Japanese general who united Japan. He succeeded his former liege, Oda Nobunaga. Later, he invaded Korea. He is known for a number of cultural legacies, including the restriction that only members of th seized the power. Under his reign Sakai became a prosperous city again.
In the Edo periodThe Edo period is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1867. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa Shogunate which was also officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. During this period external Sakai was still an important trade center but now only inland trade for the sake of Tokugawa Bakufu policy, named Sakoku. Later the end of this era Westerners landed again to Sakai, but it resulted in a tragic accident, since citizens and foreigners were ignorant of eachother's ways. French troops and Sakai citizens clashed with some French were injured, thus some Japanese who were responsible were sentenced death by seppuku. This accident is called Sakai Case(Sakai-jiken).
In the modern Japan, Sakai is mainly a industrious city with a big port.