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Some additional reasons for the rivalry between East and West are language and demography. The dialects of Japanese spoken in Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, etc. are dist
by tkgally 3y ago
Some additional reasons for the rivalry between East and West are language and demography.
The dialects of Japanese spoken in Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, etc. are distinct and different from both the colloquial Japanese spoken in Tokyo and the standard language that is taught in schools and used in broadcasting. A person from Osaka who visits Tokyo is immediately identified by their accent and vocabulary. This makes people very aware of where they and others come from within Japan.
Also, Tokyo is similar to cities like New York and London. While there are people who have lived in Tokyo their whole lives and whose ancestors also lived in Tokyo, since the 19th century the city has drawn waves of immigrants from throughout Japan. This makes it something of a melting pot for ethnic Japanese. While Osaka has also drawn outsiders, it has a larger core of people who have lived there for generations. This creates a sense of loyalty and attachment to the home area and to the food eaten there.
That localism is amplified by the mass media. A popular topic on television quiz shows is differences in food, speech, and behavior between eastern and western Japan.
- glandium 3y ago> A popular topic on television quiz shows is differences in food, speech, and behavior between eastern and western Japan. A popular topic on television quiz shows is differences in food, speech, and behavior in various parts or Japan. It's not only Eastern vs. Western. It's prefectures vs. prefectures. Hyogo vs. Fukuoka vs. Akita vs. Ibaraki, vs. etc. This regionalism is amplified by the fact that there aren't, actually, fully national TV channels (except for NHK, with exceptions for the news). So for example, I live in Aichi, which is between Kantou and Kansai. The channels I have are: Toukai TV, NHK, Chukyo TV, CBC, Meitele and TV Aichi. They are part of broader networks, so for instance, Toukai TV is "mostly" Fuji TV, Chukyo TV is "mostly" Nippon TV, CBC is mostly TBS, Meitele is "mostly" TV Asahi and TV Aichi is "mostly" TV Tokyo. "Mostly" because they all have local programs or even sometimes programs from Kansai instead of whatever might be on air in Tokyo on the corresponding channels. To give an example of a program I can watch on Chukyo TV, that can't be seen in Tokyo and some other areas: https://www.ytv.co.jp/iinkai/area/index.html https://www.ytv.co.jp/iinkai/area/index.html (it's produced by Yomiuri TV, which is from Osaka)