Japan KANTO/KANSAI/KYUSHU

[ricecake]

Kanto is north(east) Japan and Kansai for south(west) Japan plus Kyushu the southern most island.

I like to learn the distinctive local cultural aspects of these three regions.

festivals
customs
foods
traditions
dialects

[Mike Cash]

Kanto is northeast Japan and Kansai for southwest Japan plus Kyushu the southern most island.

I like to learn the distinctive local cultural aspects of these three regions.


I'd start by learning that Kanto is not northeast Japan.

[ricecake]

Kanji is " east " for TO as in Kanto.
Kanji is " west " for SAI as in Kansai.

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Japan is roughly divided.:relief:
"東日本"
East Japan
"西日本"
West Japan

It is divided by Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line.
Takayama in the Hida mountain range or Akaishi Mountains stands in a row.
Ecosystems differ greatly bordering on Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line.
An east half is called East Japan and a west half is called western part of Japan.
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%B1%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC
By this boundary line, food culture and currencies were different.
Moreover, the west differs from the east also in the frequency of electric power.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/upload/8/88/Eastern_Japan-region_Small.png

[Glenn]

That looks more like north and south to me, though.

[Mike Cash]

Kanji is " east " for to as in Kanto.
Kanji is " west " for sai as in Kansai.

Thank you for telling me that.

I would still start by learning that Kanto is not northeast Japan.

If Kanto is northeast (which a look at a map will tell you it is not).....

Then what is the Touhoku area?

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

A Japanese local classification
Hokkaido:
Hokkaido
http://ja.wikipedia.org/upload/3/33/Hokkaido-pref_Small.png
Tohoku region:
Aomori | Iwate | Miyagi | Akita | Yamagata | Fukushima
http://ja.wikipedia.org/upload/a/a3/Tohoku-region_Small.png
Kanto region:
Ibaraki | Tochigi | Gunma | Saitama | Chiba | Tokyo | Kanagawa
http://ja.wikipedia.org/upload/9/9f/Kanto-region_Small.png
The Chubu District:
Niigata | Toyama | Ishikawa | Fukui | Yamanashi | Nagano | Gifu |Shizuoka | Aichi
http://ja.wikipedia.org/upload/a/a9/Chubu-region1_Small.png
Kinki region:
Mie | Shiga | Kyoto | Osaka | Hyogo | Nara | Wakayama
http://ja.wikipedia.org/upload/f/f5/Kinki-region_Small.png
CHUGOKU district:
Tottori | Shimane | Okayama | Hiroshima | Yamaguchi
http://ja.wikipedia.org/upload/6/68/Chugoku-region_Small.png
Shikoku region:
Tokushima | Kagawa | Ehime | Kochi
http://ja.wikipedia.org/upload/a/ac/Shikoku-region_Small.png
Kyushu region:
Fukuoka | Saga | Nagasaki | Kumamoto | Ooita | Miyazaki | Kagoshima
http://ja.wikipedia.org/upload/5/5e/Kyushu-region_Small.png
Ryukyu archipelago:
Okinawa
http://ja.wikipedia.org/upload/c/c9/Okinawa-pref_Small.png

[ricecake]

Hiroyuki-san

Thank you for the maps .....

[Orionvortex]

have you ever checked out the kenminsei article at quirky japan website? that might open up your eyes to some of the stereotypes and personalities of each prefecture. http://www3.tky.3web.ne.jp/~edjacob/kenminsei.htm

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Kanto
It is the east from Seki of Hakone
It is the west from Seki of SHIRAKAWA.
However,
The Heian era seems to have called the east Kanto from Seki of Sekigahara.
In addition,
The Heian era seems to have called the west Kansai from Seki of OUSAKA(It is not Osaka).
逢坂の関(Seki of OUSAKA)
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~sg2h-ymst/yamatouta/utamaku/oumi_u.html
East Japan and a difference of culture of West Japan
MOCHI(A rice cake)
West Japan
MOCHI is round
http://www.sunday-brunch.com/shop/nouentai/item/ei27.gif
East Japan
MOCHI is square
http://www.takashimaya.co.jp/shopping/tvm/photo/0001083/s000108336_00.jpg