- The Osaka Labor Archive (OLA) established in 2008 in Osaka, Japan operated by the Osaka Social Movement Institute (Public Interest Incorporated Foundation), which has served to collect, preserve, and utilize materials related to social and labor movements in Osaka. OLA belongs to a national network of institutions collecting labor materials. Since Osaka Prefecture eliminated OLA’s grant funding in 2008, it has retained only two regular staff. Its rich holdings are comprised of objects used for exhibits, archival materials, books, and journals mainly related to the Osaka labor movement.
- Overview of the Osaka Labor Archive (OLA)
The Osaka Labor Archive’s parent institution is the Osaka Social Movement Institution established in 1978. The OLA is housed on the fourth floor within the Osaka Prefectural Labor Center at the heart of the administrative and business district of Osaka city. One of its missions is to compile and publish A History of the Labor Movements in Osaka[i] of which 9 volumes have already been published, with a 10th volume soon to be completed.
- From 2000, the institute was contracted by the Osaka Prefectural Government to operate the Osaka Labor Information Plaza. From this point, the number of users increased fourfold. However, in 2008, the Plaza was closed because of Osaka Governor Toru Hashimoto’s massive budget cuts. Most cultural institutions in Osaka suffered similar fates under Hashimoto’s draconian budget. Though two-thirds of the budget was lost, the institute decided to reestablish the OLA to protect its materials from dispersal. Thus, the Osaka Labor Archives became an independent institution supported with donations from citizens, including laborers and researchers. Over the past decade, since the cuts and independence, the institute has made extraordinary efforts to operate OLA and keep it viable for the public.
[i] Osaka Shakai Rodo unodoshi, https://www.worldcat.org/title/osaka-shakai-rodo-undoshi/oclc/18872603&referer=brief_results
Library Catalogue
Archival materials Catalogue (Under test operation)
May Day Exhibition 2009
A Labor Oral History Archive Project
open 10:00-17:00 (10:00-20:00 on 2nd and 4th Friday)
Please make an appointment in advance for your visit.
phone: +81 6 6947 7722 (Japanese only)
contact form (Japanese / English)
Address:
Osaka Labor Archive
L-Osaka 4th Floor,
3-14 Kitahamahigashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka
Japan 540-0031