Kansai
 |
Kinki region, Japan |
The
Kansai (
Japanese: 関西) region of
Japan, also known as the
Kinki region (近畿地方,
Kinki-chihō), lies in the Southern-Central region of Japan's main island,
Honshu.
The word
ki (畿) in Kinki is also read in
Japanese as
miyako meaning
capital. It stems from the fact that up until the
Edo era Japan's capital was located in this region.
The Kansai region includes the
prefectures of
Nara,
Wakayama,
Mie,
Kyoto,
Osaka,
Hyogo, and
Shiga. The Kansai region is often compared (yet more often contrasted) with the
Kantō region, which lies to the east and is comprised primarily of
Tokyo and the surrounding area.
Whereas the Kanto region is symbolic of standardization throughout Japan (from the government to economics to the language), the Kansai region displays many more idiosyncrasies through the culture in
Kyoto, the mercantilism of
Osaka, the history of
Nara, the internationality of
Kobe, and the distinct dialect (
Kansai-ben) heard through the seven prefectures.
The Kansai region is the mainstay of the
counterculture to the Kanto region (
Tokyo and
Yokohama), and can be said to define the character of Western Japan.
Kinai (畿内) is a historical region of
Japan. Its name literally means "inside the capital." It consisted of the following five
provinces:
Yamato,
Yamashiro,
Kawachi,
Settsu and
Izumi.
Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe belonged to Kinai, now Kinai means
Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto (Keihanshin) area, the center of Kansai region.
Kinki (近畿) literally stands for "the neighbourhood of the capital".
Kansai (関西) which literally means "west of the
checkpoints", whose location moved eastward through the history. Multiple definitions of the area of Kinki and Kansai partially come from the ambiguity of the neighbourhood and relocation of the checkpoints.
The
dialects of the people of the Kansai region have their own variations of pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar which are unique to the region.
Kansai-ben is a term referring to the group of dialects spoken in Kansai. This dialect is especially strong in cities such as Osaka, Kyoto, and
Otsu. The Kansai-ben group of dialects can be further subdivided into recognizable dialects such as Osaka-ben and Kyoto-ben.
*
Doshisha University (Private University)
*
Kansai University (Private University) [
1]
*
Kansai Gaidai University (Private University)
*
Kinki University (Private University) [
2]
*
Kobe City University of Foreign Studies (Municipal University)
*Kobe City College of
Nursing (Municipal University)
*
Kobe University (National University)
*
Konan University (Private University) [
3]
*
Kyoto City University of Arts (Municipal University)
*
Kyoto Institute of Technology (National University)
*
Kyoto Prefecture University (Prefectural University)
*
Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine (Prefectural University)
*
Kyoto Sangyo University (Private University) [
4]
*
Kyoto University (National University)
*
Kyoto University of Education (National University)
*
Kwansei Gakuin University (Private University) [
5] (the name is a variant romanization of
Kansai)
*
Marine Technical College (Governmental College)
*
Nagahama Institute of Bio-Science and Technology (Private University)
Univ.-Website*
Nara Medical University (Prefectural University)
*
Nara Prefectual University (Prefectural University)
*
Nara University of Education (National University)
*
Nara Women's University (National University)
*
Osaka Kyoiku University (National University)
*
Osaka University (National University)
*
Osaka University of Foreign Studies (National University) [
6]
*
Osaka City University (Municipal University)
*
Osaka Prefecture University (Prefectural University) [
7]
*
Ritsumeikan University (Private University)
*
Ryukoku University (Private University) [
8]
*
Shiga University (National University)
*
Shiga University of Medical Science (National University)
*
University of Hyogo (Prefectural University) [
9]
*
University of Shiga Prefecture (Prefectural University)
*
Wakayama Medical University (Prefectural University)
*
Wakayama University (National University)
The region has three major airports:
*
Kansai International Airport, south of
Osaka, which handles some domestic and all of the international traffic. It is famous for being built on an artificial island.
*
Osaka International Airport, in
Itami and
Toyonaka, handles most of the domestic traffic
*
Kobe Airport, on another artificial island in
Kobe, handling domestic traffic. This newest airport opened
February 16,
2006.
There are three minor airports:
*
Nanki-Shirahama Airport, in
Shirahama, Wakayama, handles scheduled flights between
Tokyo and scenic flights mainly for
tourists*
Tajima Airport, in
Toyooka, Hyogo, handles commuter services between Osaka International Airport
*
Yao Airport, in
Yao, Osaka, for
general aviation and no scheduled transport services
*
Geography of Japan*
List of regions in Japan*
naa (なぁ or なー, Osaka
dialect) -- One of the ten non-English words that were voted hardest to
translate in
June 2004 by a
British translation company. (see
Words hardest to translate)
*
Gokishichido*
*
KansaiConnect Community for English speakers interested in the Kansai region.
*
KansaiSearch English search engine for the Kansai region.
[
10]
