Kansai! Kansai! Kansai!

Why did we come here? Why do we stay? Why do we love Kansai?
KS searches the region and comes up with lots of reasons.

Miyamoto Musashi, the samurai, poet, artist and writer could be considered the personification of Kansai. To paraphrase one of his quotes, Kansai learned all the rules of Japanese culture and etiquette so they could be properly broken. Born in present day Hyogo, Musashi became famous as a roguish samurai who did the unexpected and ignored tradition at times. A good example is when, at age 13, he was expected to apologize to an adult he turned a bow into a charge and beat his opponent to death.

People in Kansai today are, fortunately, less bloodthirsty but the tendency to buck convention still lives on. The food has strong tastes, the celebrities speak their own language and personal styles fight it out with Louis Vuitton in the streets of Osaka's youth oriented districts.

In an area that makes up about a tenth of Japan's land mass, Kansai has proje- cted it's tastes onto the rest of the nation, and occasionally the world. The influences it wields can be found in its people, the food, fashion and history and makes the Kansai district a place many people have come to adore.

The people of Kansai

It's impossible to discuss entertainment in Japan without mentioning Kansai. Bunraku puppet theater started in Osaka, kabuki still has a strong presence, but the modern entertainers are ambassadors of Kansai to the rest of Japan, and occasionally the world.

Yoshimoto Kogyo talent agency produces TV shows for all of Japan and represents comics such as Masaki Sumitani, aka Razor Ramon Hard Gay. What makes Hard Gay unique, besides his latex shorts and vest, is in the delivery of his jokes. Kansai-ben is the dialect of choice, whether he's playing to a home crowd or in Tokyo. Technically not a language, Kansai-ben is a style of Japanese that is considered the official voice of Yoshimoto Kogyo comics because of its unique blending of words, harsh insults and tendency to reach 120 decibels in 0.8 seconds flat.

Other entertainers, such as Toyonaka native Osamu Tezuka who created Astro Boy, pepper Kansai-ben in their dialogues to make the characters stand out more. While understood by people from other areas of Japan, the phrases are often considered to be crude and not friendly when spoken by people not on stage or within the borders of Kansai. Most people would be shocked to be called an idiot or told they would have the life beaten from them, but in Kansai it's a earthier way of saying konnichiwa.

Less successful, but nonetheless entertaining, Kansai natives have been featured on TV recently. Osaka oba-chan, or Osaka Mamas, are the over forty set of women who tend to gossip, often in shouts, brandish gaudy handbags as weapons on packed commuter trains and are prone to styles all their own. Animal prints and Day-glo colors are the Osaka oba-chan's way of attracting others of their kind and warning others to clear the way.

Their actions and personalities have been the topics of documentaries and a source of entertainment for numerous people watchers in Osaka.

The food

Osaka is often refered to as Japan's kitchen. Staple Japanese dishes, such as sushi and noodles, are found within it's borders as well as the rest of the country but restaurants and food stalls in Osaka and Kobe offer dishes that ignore the subtlety of other traditional meals. Some of the region's dishes attack the taste buds and camp out in a person's stomach, leaving them full like few other dishes anywhere in the world.

The first cup of instant ramen was made in Osaka, but prior to that takoyaki was the quick snack of choice. Chopped bits of octopus cooked in a heavy batter in a specialized grill, the ball shaped snacks are still popular today. Often found at stands in entertainment areas, the snacks are nearly a meal by themselves.

It seems fitting that Osaka would be known for okonomiyaki, another diversion from delicate Japanese tastes. Okonomo means 'what you like', which perfectly describes the ingredients of the pancake shaped meals. Except for the batter, anything is an option. Shrimp, pork, noodles? Anything can be an ingredient. As you like it. All smothered in a thick, sweet sauce, if you want.

The thick cakes of batter and ... whatever you choose, are prepared at the customer's table by the cook. Sometimes, the customer is responsible for preparing the meals themselves. "What you like " may also apply to the cooking arrangements.

Perhaps to help the heavy dishes settle in the stomachs of consumers, Kansai also produces about 45 percent of Japan's sake, according to Wikipedia. Good food, entertainment and booze are surely good ways to the hearts of people and make Kansai popular with many visitors.

The fashion

Osaka could also be considered the nation's closet. It's where the country looks to decide what to wear for formal or casual occasions. While most foreign visitors to Japan aren't expecting kimono and yukata these days, some people will likely be surprised to see women dressed as Winnie the Pooh or Pikachu in Triangle Park or a couple in matching studded dog collars and bracelets.

These are some of the more extreme samples on view in America Mura, but the tamer styles on display are often picked up by visitors and brought back and imitated in other parts of Japan, and occasionally the world. Some of the styles on view are goth, punk, laced bonnet Lolitas and school girl uniforms (or they may be real school girls. It's hard to judge what is fashion and what is regimental wear at times.) Kansai has taken fashion very seriously and has opened the Kobe Fashion Museum (078) 858-0050 open every day but Wednesday. Permanent displays inform visitors about different cloth and materials used over the ages and the temporary exhibits cover more. It's likely not a coincidence that the museum is located in the city known for its foreign brand shops. Fashion has also become the topic of serious academia in Osaka. At Osaka Bunka Fukusou Gakuin students learn the basics of design and fashion then more. The school offers courses on brand identity and marketing and even offers a shop where students can sell clothes they design and make themselves. Japanese fashion has changed from the somber business suit and tie days of the sixties and seventies. While brand names like Chanel and Gucci are dominant on the streets, Pikachu costumes and maid costumes are giving them a run for their money in a contest likely only viewed in Osaka.

The history

The eclectic tastes in food and fashion are likely influences from the region's history. One of the first communities of foreigners was in Kobe, and they brought their clothes and culinary tastes with them. Today Kobe beef is world famous and often considered the best. The introduction of beef and a Japanese twist to raising cattle resulted in an export that rivals it's competitors from other nations with longer histories in the business.

A timeline from the Asuka period to present day would show constant interaction with other countries, even when Kansai was officially closed to the outside world. Kansai's ability to change an imported dish or custom, slightly, has resulted in a region that has become famous for it's unique tastes and customs. Kansaiben's tendencies to be harsh to friends might be influenced by sailors visiting ports in Kobe and Osaka and someone translating the phrases word for word.

However Kansai's gruffer tones and sweeter tastes developed they are friendlier than some of the stuffed shirts in Tokyo and other parts of Japan.

"The Kansai region is the cultural and historical heart of Japan with 11 percent of its land area and 24 million residents." according to Wikipedia. Tokyo may be the political capital of the country but to see the heart of Japan, visitors should revel in the good food, hearty laughs of Kansai's residents and region-wide, occasional, bucking of Japanese traditions and etiquette.

Text: Charlie Harrington • Photos: Jatin Banker