Japan's Regional Dialects & Local Cultures

About this book

One country, two hundred voices. Japan is usually described as a country of one language — travel it, and the description fails within a day. From the syllable-crushing speed of Tsugaru to the courtly layers of Kyoto, from Osaka's merchant banter to the sister languages of the Ryukyu Islands, this complete guide explains 200 dialects, famous expressions and local speech traditions in one clear, uniform style: each dialect's sound and signature features, its roots in castle towns, ports, farms and islands, the speech as it lives today, and official sources for current classes, events and exhibitions. It closes with the themes that bind Japan's voices together — the atlas that mapped them, the tag that once shamed them, dialect in hospitals, markets and anime, and the great modern revival that put the home voice on the station sign. Respectful, practical and endlessly browsable — the Japan you have been visiting, finally speaking.

Written and created in Japan by Japanese author Aki Wakamatsu. Published by Takikawa TOKOTOKO Kids LLC, a Japanese publisher in Hokkaido, Japan. Authentic Japanese content, carefully made in Japan — not mass-produced.