ABSTRACT
Or does Osaka seem chaotic because ofits sheer scale? Is it the volume of the far-flung plumes of lurid gas spilling out of the great kombinato complexes composed of petrochemical and iron and steel plants sandwiched together, which brings home to us the gigantic scale of the industrial capacity ringing the shores of Osaka Bay? Or is it the multistoried amalgamation of subway stations, department stores, shopping arcades, restaurants, and electric railroad terminals that drives home the sense of economic activity carried out on a vast scale but within a narrow compass?
