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Kinki region)
The Kansai (Japanese: 関西) region of Japan, also known as the Kinki region (近畿地方, Kinki-chihō), lies in the middle 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 counterculture to Kanto region (Tokyo and Yokohama) is strongly formed in Kansai region.
History
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.
Dialect
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.
Universities
Airports
The region has three major airports (one under construction):
There are three minor airports:
See also
External links
This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.[10]
The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinki_region under GFDL
