The difference between Kansai and Kansai

The expressions "Kanto" and "Kansai" are commonly used by the Japanese to distinguish regions, but if we think further, we can only say that the regional scope mentioned in this expression is very obscure. This statement clearly shows that this concept is the dividing line between "Kanto" and "Kansai" represented by "Guan". "Pass" refers to "checkpoint". Specifically, there are three checkpoints between East and West Japan to check pedestrians: Suzuka, Tokaido, Bubu, Hokuriku (Fuwa, Gifu) and Aifa (Peanut, Fukui) in Dongshan. Three passes are called "Kanto" to the east and "Kansai" to the west. It is said that this statement began in the twelfth century. Later, I don't know when it was distributed, but the brand changed these three checkpoints into Osaka checkpoints between Kyoto and Otsu (Shiga Prefecture).

However, judging from the history of Japan, which has always been centered on Kyoto, it seems more appropriate to set up checkpoints to defend the capital, so it is called "inside the customs" in Kyoto and "outside the customs". There is no such thing as "Kansai". The area around Kyoto is called "Kini" because "Kini" means "capital". Expand the scope again, and that area will be called "Feng Jingen". This name continues to this day. After entering the Kamakura era, the rulers left Kyoto, and people began to realize that Kyoto was in the west, so the word "Kansai" came into being.

As mentioned above, although there is little information about the boundary between "Kanto" and "Kansai", there is a basis for explanation. However, if we simply consider the problem in this way, we will think that "Kansai" refers to the western part of Japan and "Kanto" refers to the eastern part of Japan. But in fact, most Japanese don't think so.

The administrative division of "Kanto" refers to Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Gunma, Tochigi and * * * as six counties. Administrative divisions call the area centered on Kyoto and Osaka "Feng Jingen", including Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture and Hyogo Prefecture, and * * * is two counties and four counties (sometimes including Mie Prefecture, two counties and five counties). As for the meaning of "Kansai", it is difficult to set such a clear scope. However, as the name of a region, "Kansai" is much more used than "Feng Jingen". For example, Osaka accent, Kyoto accent, Nara accent and Wakayama accent are still different, but as the same system, dialects are all called Kansai accent. In contrast, there is no so-called "Kanto accent". In addition, when comparing the temperament of people living in Tokyo and Osaka, people often use the word "Kansai people", but basically they don't use the word "Kanto people" but say "Tokyo people".

It is also interesting from the self-perception of residents in the two places. Residents of two counties and four counties in Feng Jingen usually call themselves "Kansai people"; The residents of one capital and six counties in kanto region basically don't call themselves "Kanto people".

Finally, talk about the "subtle" area that can be called "buffer".

Residents of six counties in Yidu not only don't call themselves "Kanto people", but also don't think they belong to any region. From this perspective, let's treat these six counties as "pure Kanto" for the time being. Subtle is the Izu place in Yamanashi Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture. The map shows that these two counties belong to the "central region". If carefully divided, Yamanashi Prefecture, Niigata Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture are all "places where Schwab crossed"; Shizuoka Prefecture, on the other hand, is considered as the place in the East China Sea, which is different from Kanto. However, from the administrative point of view, Yamanashi Prefecture and Izu Prefecture are close to Tokyo, and are within the traffic circle of Tokyo office workers like the suburbs of Tokyo, and sometimes they are considered to be included in kanto region. Residents of these two places sometimes consider themselves "Kanto people". On the other hand, the residents of Fukushima Prefecture, a neighboring county to the north of kanto region, consider themselves as "northeast places" and therefore cannot be called "buffer zones".

Feng Jingen is located in the central and western part of Honshu Island, Japan, bordering the central part in the east, China in the west, Seto Inland Sea, Osaka Bay and the Pacific Ocean in the south, and Wakayama Bay and the Sea of Japan in the north. It covers an area of more than 27,000 square kilometers. Population is 1, 988. 1, 000. The urban population accounts for more than 80%. Five countries in old Guinea and their neighboring areas (ten countries). Today, it includes Kyoto, Osaka and Shiga, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama and Mie Prefecture.

In Kansai, the delicate areas are Mie Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture. On the map, Mie Prefecture belongs to Feng Jingen Prefecture, but judging from the local life, it is basically a part of the life circle of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. The so-called "East China Sea" certainly includes Mie Prefecture. However, from the perspective of dialects and living habits, there are many similarities with Kansai. In some ways, it is very different from Aichi Prefecture. With the development of railways and highways, the close contact between Mie County and surrounding areas began to shift from Feng Jingen to the East China Sea. It can be said that Mie Prefecture was originally a member of Kansai. When NHK Osaka Radio and Television broadcasts the weather forecast in Feng Jingen, Mie Prefecture near the east is also included. In addition, Okayama Prefecture belongs to the "land of China" both on the map and in administrative divisions. Among the students I have taught and are teaching, there are people from Okayama Prefecture. Many of them (of course, I can't say the vast majority) said, "It's nothing to treat us as Kansai people. This makes people feel that at least they don't regard their county as a district with Hiroshima. Of course, Okayama Prefecture cannot be said to be a county in the traffic circle of "Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe". Of course, it's not too far. Perhaps the residents of this county have a sense of closeness to Kansai out of yearning for big cities.

Kansai region is a conventional concept. Geographically, it refers to Feng Jingen, including Osaka, Kyoto, Shiga, Mie, Nara, Wakayama and Hyogo. It is located at the waist of Honshu Island, Japan's largest island, bordering the central part of the East China Sea in the northeast, China in Japan in the west and Seto Inland Sea in the south. Nara, Osaka and Kyoto have thousands of years of capital history. According to the ancient ceremony that the capital is the top and the place is the bottom, it is customarily called "top".

Feng Jingen is suitable for planting rice because of its superior geographical environment and warm climate. Humans have lived here since the Paleolithic Age. It has preserved many Japanese cultural heritages from ancient times to modern times and is the cradle of Japanese culture. Until the edo period, it was the most developed, densely populated and affluent area in Japan, which was equivalent to the "Central Plains" of Japan. Whoever comes here can control the world in Japan. Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi realized their wish by entering Kyoto. During the Edo period, although the political center moved to Edo, Kyoto and Osaka still supported the shogunate as the capital of economy, culture, commerce and technology. In modern times, Kyoto, as the stage of Meiji Restoration, Kobe, as the earliest port city, and Osaka, as the largest industrial city, played an important role in Japan's modernization process respectively. Today, the main population in Feng Jingen is concentrated in the areas centered on Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe, so this area is also called Osaka Metropolitan Area, or the three capital areas of Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe.

Traveling in Feng Jingen is like entering a cloister of history and culture, and you can have a panoramic view of Japanese civilization for thousands of years. Many legendary stories can be confirmed here.

Nara is the cradle of ancient Japanese culture. There are ancient cultural sites here, such as the rope-pattern era, the Yayoi era, the ancient grave era, the Asuka era and the Tianping era. It has preserved the outstanding heritage of bird collection and Bai Fenghuang culture, and also recorded the Japanese footprint from clan society to feudal centralized state. In the lush Nara Park in Luming Literature, the Spring Festival society tells the myth of the birth of the Japanese nation. Dongda Temple, Horyuji Temple and Zhaoti Temple in the Tang Dynasty recorded the collision and blending of the cultures of the mainland and other countries with those of the island countries. The treasure of Zhengcangyuan, once treasured by the royal family, is a witness to the spread of civilization across the Silk Road and the waves in the East China Sea.

Kyoto has been the capital of Japan for thousands of years. Chang 'an on the left and the ancient city of Luo Yang on the right have long since disappeared, leaving only the place names and chessboard streets outside Heluo, telling the ancient Japanese people's yearning for civilization. Kyoto, which has experienced vicissitudes, repeated disasters and repeated constructions, is still so calm and has preserved a rich cultural heritage for future generations. As a whole, the "Cultural Heritage of the Ancient Capital Kyoto" includes 65,438+07 historical sites in Kyoto: Kiyomizu Temple, Nijo Castle, Kinkaku Temple, Yinta Temple, Tianlong Temple, Long 'an Temple, Liyan Temple, Xiaozang Temple, Ningna Temple, Xihe Temple, Dongsi Temple, Daiguo Temple, Xihong 'an Temple, Shanghemao Shrine, Xia Ya Shrine and Neishan Shrine. These temples not only contain the beauty of architecture, but also the beauty of gardens and shapes, which are in harmony with the surrounding environment. They are really fine works of traditional art.