Difference in Japans Two Biggest Regions: Kanto and Kansai

Difference in Japan’s

Running head: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KANTO AND KANSAI

Difference in Japan’s Two Biggest Region: Kanto and Kansai

February 6, 2004Difference in Japan’s Two Biggest Region: Kanto and Kansai

When people think about Japanese, they may think that Japanese society has similar way of thinking and behavior. However, when you have enough experience or exposure in many different part of Japan, you will know that Japan has a wide variety of people, with difference in many aspects of live. This paper will disclose differences in ways of thinking and behavior among Japanese living in different parts of Japanese regions.

Kansai Region

The Kansai region of Japan, or also known as Kinki region, lies in the middle of Japan’s main island, Honshu. Japan’s capital was located in this area, up until the ruling of Edo era. Kansai region consists of several prefectures. These prefectures are Nara, Wakayama, Mie, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo and Shiga. Kansai region has a wide variety of old Japanese history and culture.

Kyoto was the capital of Japan from 794 until the transfer of the government to Tokyo in 1868 at the time of the Imperial Restoration ("Kyoto: History", n.d.). Located on the middle-western portion of the island of Honshu the city is surrounded by mountains. Today, it is the only major city in Japan that still has an abundance of prewar buildings, although modernization is continually breaking down the traditional Kyoto in favor of newer architecture, such as the Kyoto Station complex.

Osaka is the third-largest city in Japan. It is located on the island of Honshu, at the mouth of the Yodo river on Osaka Bay. The city is one of Japan's major industrial centers and ports, as well as the capital of Osaka prefecture. Historically, Osaka was the center of Japanese commerce. Osaka is known for bunraku (a type of puppetry) and kabuki theatre. Nowadays, most major companies have moved their main offices to Tokyo, but several major companies are still based in Osaka, including Sharp Electronics, and the West Japan Railway Company ("Osaka Prefectural", n.d.).

Nara is the capital city of Nara prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan, near Kyoto. Nara was the capital of Japan for some time in the 8th Century. Most of Japanese society during this period was agricultural in nature, centered on villages. Most of the villagers followed the Shinto religion, based around the worship kami. Nara is also known for many shrines and temples.

Kobe is the capital of Hyogo prefecture, to the south-west of Osaka, and is one of Japan's major ports. Kobe is a modern city by Japanese standards: the port area is dominated by the red steel Kobe tower. A giant ferries wheel sits in Harbor Land, a notable tourist promenade, and offers spectacular views of the surroundings including the bay area, especially at night. Kobe is also famous for its Kobe beef, the Arima Onsen (hot springs), and the expensive and elite Ashiya district (the haunt of wealthy yakuza) ("City of Kobe.", n.d.).

Kanto Region

The Kanto region is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island in Japan. Its boundaries are roughly the same as those of the Kanto plain. The Kanto plain is the relatively flat region of Japan where Tokyo is located. "It is the largest plain in Japan and was, when it was fully developed in the Edo period, the richest agricultural area. During the Edo period when agriculture was the strongest part of the economy, this gave the rulers of the Kanto Plain far more wealth and power than any other feudal lords." (Stanley & Irving, n.d., para. ...

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Kanto Region

Tochigi prefecture is a located in the Kanto region on Honshu island, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya. Utsonomiya is famous amongst others for their many delicious gyoza specialist shops. Gyoza is originally a Chinese dish that has also become very popular in Japan ("Gyoza - Japanese", n.d., para. 1). One of the most famous tourist attractions of Japan, Nikko (old temples) is in this prefecture (approximately one hour train ride from Tokyo). Other famous parts of Tochigi include a region called Nasu in Tochigi known for onsens and local sake and ski resorts.

Chiba is the capital city of Chiba prefecture, Japan. It is east-southeast of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. Chiba City is one of the Kanto region's primary seaports. Much of the city is residential, although there are many factories and warehouses along the coast.

Yokohama is the capital city of Kanagawa prefecture in Japan, and also a major port. It is Japan's second-biggest city next to Tokyo. A major part of the city is a residential area for people commuting to Tokyo. In fact, the greater Tokyo area, including Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures, is often regarded as the largest metropolitan area in the world. Sightseeing spots in Yokohama include the port area (Yamashita Park, Minato Mirai 21 and China Town), Yamate area (harbor view park) and Sankeien Garden. The ramen museum and the curry museum are interesting spots recently opened in Yokohama ("City of Yokohama.", n.d.).

Tokyo is the capital and largest city of Japan, and the most populous metropolitan area in the world. Millions people live in the city while hundreds of thousands of others commute everyday from surrounding areas to work and do business in the city. Tokyo is the business center of the country as well as the home of the Japanese emperor and government. The city is well known for its highly modern skyscrapers, thousands of flashing neon signs, and a very extensive underground railway system. Tokyo occupies the Tokyo prefecture, which is located in the Kanto region on Honshu island. The prefecture is sometimes referred to as the Tokyo Metropolitan Prefecture or Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Tokyo is often considered part of the Greater Tokyo Area, which consists of Tokyo prefecture itself and the surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba.

Difference between Kansai and Kanto region

There are many notable differences between Kansai and Kanto region of Japan. There is difference in food preparation, especially udon soba. There is also difference in dialect of Japanese language spoken by people in those areas. Price difference may also exist in the regions. Below are most notable differences between the two regions.

1. Different Flavors

There are two dominant flavors in Japanese cuisine. One is the kamigata flavor (Kansai area) and the other is Edo flavor (Tokyo area) (Naomichi, n.d.).

People in the Kanto region around Tokyo have traditionally preferred soba, while those in the Kansai region of Osaka and Kobe favor udon. Because of this, fewer restaurants in the Kanto region specialize in udon. Udon noodles are made from a mixture of water, salt, and wheat flour that has been kneaded, ripened, rolled flat, and cut into strips. The noodles are then boiled and served in hot broth or with a dipping sauce ("Noodles", n.d.).

The most common controversy to date is the difference in flavor between Kansai's udon and Kanto's soba. Along with udon, soba is one of the most common types of noodles in Japan. Made using a base of buckwheat flour, soba enjoys great popularity as a health food because it is high in protein, low in calories, and filled with vitamin B, dietary fiber, and other important nutrients. It is commonly eaten as cold zaru soba noodles dipped in a soup of bonito broth flavored with soy sauce; or as kake soba —noodles in a bowl of hot broth—often with such toppings as tempura (tempura soba) ("Noodles", n.d.).

There are many soba restaurants in the Kanto region. So many, in fact, that there is certain to be at least one in any shopping arcade or train station. Speaking of quality of the cuisine they serve, some well-established soba restaurants can match even the highest class Japanese restaurants. People often preferred to eat in small, but well-established soba restaurants.

2. Different Dialects

Japan mostly divides its language into two types of dialects, although people have so many dialects in Japan. They are called the Kanto dialect and the Kansai dialect. Kanto stands for the area around Tokyo, which is located in the eastern part of Japan, and Kansai stands for the area around Osaka, which is located in the western part of Japan. As in any country, the Kansai dialect has its own variations according to the locality, such as Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe (Hamaguchi, n.d., para. 4). As everyone knows, dialects have strongly to do with the geographical background of the speaker. People who live in the Kanto region speak flatly, in other words, they have no stress on words; on the other hand, people who live in the Kansai region speak emotionally, in other words, their intonation is up and down and has strong stress. However, Japanese can all understand each other because Japanese language is consolidated into the Kanto dialect by the mass media such as TV, radio, newspaper and ads except for local TV programs. People basically get most of the information in standard language, which is the Kanto dialect, wherever they live. In the meantime, the reason why people can understand what other people of the Kansai region said is that they generally watch most comedy channels in the Kansai dialect because most comedians come from the Kansai region. The area is somewhat famous; there are a lot of training schools for comedians (Sugimoto, 1997).

3. Other Differences

If local flavors and dialects are the most notable differences between Kansai and Kanto regions, still there are a lot more differences that one may conclude. Here are some differences based on research, surveys, and personal experience.

In Kanto region, especially in Tokyo, the degree of obedience to the rule is perhaps higher than in Kansai region. There was a television show which showed the big difference of obedience in traffic rule. In Osaka, people tend to neglect red lights, even in crowded streets, whereas in Tokyo, people tend to obey the rule. In Osaka, people start crossing a crosswalk before the signal turn green. They start crossing a crosswalk after the signal turn green. Although it may not be always true, it is just a tendency of the people attitude towards traffic rule. Car and motorcycles drivers also tend to do the same between Kansai and Kanto region.

The TV program also showed a research on how fast people walking in the streets of Kansai and Kanto regions. The research showed that Kansai people tend to walk faster than those of Kanto region. Maybe that is why Osaka people are called Sekkachi (impatient, hastly). The research was conducted by measuring the time a person in the street spent to walk some preset distance, compared it with the other person from other region.

In Osaka, when a shopper is going to take out a bill from a wallet, the person of a register will prepare change at once. However in Tokyo, after shopper pay money, the person of a register will prepare change. In Osaka, they cannot wait for more than 10 minutes after the order in a restaurant. In Tokyo, they can wait forever after the order in a restaurant.

Osaka is surrounded by beautiful areas (Kyoto, Nara, Kobe) which feature ancient temples and jaw dropping beauty, where as Tokyo’s beauty comes from its high rises and neon signs. Fashion trends in the two cities differ greatly as well. Osaka is definitely more traditional and conservative while Tokyo features all the newest fashion trends that Asia has to offer.

Although Osaka is huge it generally moves at a slower pace. Tokyo on the other hand is a much faster paced city. Tokyo people can be rather cold and unlikable however the cities hysterical lifestyle mixed with its crazy nightlife will make even the usual people living in Tokyo want to have some break. People usually prefer to spend some times in Tokyo and then more times in Osaka. They think that Osaka has more approaches to life.

Reason of Differences

Because of the mountainous landscape of Japan, many communities were previously unable to maintain contact with each other. As a result, regional dialects (hogen), regional flavors, different attitudes, and many more, were developed (Abe, n.d.). As an example, Melayu language is spoken in Indonesia and Malaysia. Both are based on the same language root, and can be considered as hogen of Melayu. Another example is Spanish and French. Both are Latin based languages, and can therefore be considered a hogen of Latin. Many Japanese dialects share similar features. Due to different regions having difficulty communicating, a common language was developed. The basis of the common language was derived from the Kanto-ben (Tokyo's regional dialect). Recently, a movement has arisen to preserve local dialects as a distinct element of a region's culture (Abe, n.d.).

There is also historical background for these differences. Osaka was the former Japan’s capital city. Many aspects of life was centered in the areas surrounding Osaka. Although now the capital is Tokyo, Osaka people considered themselves as the origin of Japan’s society.

Final Words

. Many foreigners think that Japanese people are homogeneous. However, Japanese are not homogeneous at all. There are differences, not only because of different regions, or different generations, but also ways of thinking. These differences not only exist in Japan, but also in other countries, with different cultures and geographical locations. It is natural that people have differences. However, these differences should not be regarded as reason to hate each other. Maybe it is a cliché to say that differences should be used in positive ways. Nevertheless, these differences can help people to become better. There will be competition. And if the competition is positive, it can lead to a positive effect.