During the Meiji Era, a new town emerged behind the torii gate of Kureha Shrine, west of what is now Ikeda Station. As the population in urban Osaka surged in search of wealth, many people worked as live-in employees or rented homes nearby. During this time, Ichizo Kobayashi, the founder of Hankyu Railway, proposed the idea of building homes in the suburbs.
During the Meiji Era, there was a significant boom in railway construction, resulting in the establishment of numerous private railway companies throughout Japan. One such company was the Minoh-Arima Electric Tramway, which later evolved into Hankyu Railway. Kobayashi took the initiative to connect two popular tourist destinations, Minoh and Arima, with Umeda, and he volunteered to lead this project.
However, the villages along the railway line were rural and had few train users. Some locals even mocked him, saying, “Are you putting monkeys on the train?” Despite this, Kobayashi traveled through the towns along the route and contemplated the future. He believed people should live in the suburbs, where the air was clean, rather than in the polluted city.
Kobayashi famously stated, “Trains create passengers.” To promote this idea, he developed tourist facilities in Minoh and Takarazuka. In Ikeda, he established Japan's first suburban housing development, “Ikeda Shinshigai,” which later became known as Muromachi Residence. Essential services such as hospitals and schools were built in the surrounding areas, leading to further development.
Kobayashi developed a loan system that allowed individuals to buy homes in installments, drawing on his banking background for inspiration. This innovative approach made home ownership accessible not only to the wealthy but also to ordinary salarymen. As a result, commuting by train from these suburban homes became a common lifestyle, helping to maintain a consistent number of passengers on the trains.
Kobayashi’s groundbreaking approach of separating work and living spaces set the standard for suburban life that persists to this day.