Ikeda (池田市; -shi) is a city located in Osaka, Japan.

As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 100,986 and the density of 4,567.44 persons per km². The total area is 22.11 km².

In the Edo period, Ikeda had a castle occupied by a daimyo, the seat of a 50 000 goku domain. It was famous for Ikeda-zumi (Ikeda charcoal) traded by Ikeda merchants. In Cha no yu Ikeda-zumi is loved because of its high quality even today.

The city was founded on April 29, 1939.

Ikeda was developed as an urban town by a local railway company, Hankyu Dentetsu. Its founder Kobayashi Ichizo (Itsuo) lived also there. In Ikeda there are Itsuo Museum and Ikeda Bunko (Ikeda Archive). Itsuo Museum holds Itsuo Collection which is mainly Japanese art for cha no yu, Ikeda Bunko holds collections on Takarazuka and other materials related to Hankyu Dentetsu.

There is a municipal Zoo, named Satsukiyama Zoo.

On June 8, 2001, the Osaka school massacre occurred in this city. A man entered an elementary school and fatally stabbed eight children in the school.　Many pupils have suffered PTSD. To avoid flashback memory of the massacre and improve school security, the school buildings were reformed and April 2004 the newly reformed building has been utilized. On September 14, 2004, Mamoru Takuma was executed for the murders.

External links

• Official website in Japanese