The Kansai dialect is a group of Japanese dialects in the Kansai region of Japan. In Japanese, Kansai-ben is the common name and it is called Kinki dialect in technical terms. The dialects of Kyoto and Osaka are known as Kamigata dialect , and were particularly referred to as such in the Edo period. The Kansai dialect is typified by the speech of Osaka, the major city of Kansai, which is referred to specifically as Osaka-ben. It is characterized as being both more melodic and harsher by speakers of the standard language.
A label in Kansai dialect. The advertisement, Iwashi o tabena akan!, translates as "You must eat sardines!"
A poster written in Kansai dialect. The warning, Chikan wa akan de. Zettai akan de, translates as "Groping is out. Absolutely out."
A caution written in Kansai dialect. The warning, Kii tsuke yā, Anta no koto ya de, Sono baggu, translates as "Take care! Do not let your bag get snatched!"
A signboard written in Kansai dialect at Kusatsu Station in Kusatsu, Shiga. The message, ICOCA de iko ka!, translates as "Let's go with ICOCA!" ICOCA is a rechargeable contactless smart card. Its name is a play on the Kansai phrase "iko ka!" ("Let's go!").
The Kansai region or the Kinki region lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolitan region of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto is the second-most populated in Japan after the Greater Tokyo Area.
The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world until 2022, with a centre span of 1,991 m
Himeji Castle
Daisen Kofun, the largest burial mound in the world
Hōryū-ji Golden Hall, the oldest wooden structure in the world
