The materials listed below may be useful for getting a more broad taste of the culture and language of Kansai. While Kansaibenkyou.net does not endorse these materials and has not fully reviewed their contents, we wanted to include links to additional resources and media types that are not represented on Kansaibenkyou.net but might be of interest.
Kansai-ben textbooks (English)
- Kansai Japanese - The Language of Osaka, Kyoto, and Western Japan
- by Peter Tse, 1993, [ISBN9780804818681]
- Colloquial Kansai Japanese - The Dialects and Culture of the Kansai Region
- by D. C. Palter / Kaoru Slotsve, 1995, [ISBN9780804837231]
Kansai-ben textbooks (Japanese)
- 聞いておぼえる関西(大阪)弁入門 ("Kiite oboeru kansai Ōsaka ben nyūmon")
- by Makiko Okamoto. et al, 2006, [ISBN9784894762961]
Kansai-ben website (English)
- The Kansai and Osaka dialects-nihongoresources.com
- This is one of the few sites that explains Kansai-ben in English. Although most of the information on this site is covered by Kansibenkyou.net, you might find new words in the word list.
- Kansai Ben: Kansai Dialect Self-study Site
- This is a self study site for Japanese language learners created by MIT Japanese teachers. I especially recommend Chapter 5 and 6, where you can listen to actual Kansai-ben.
- Kansai Japanese Guide
- This site provides Kansai-ben texts and videos made by Ritsumeikan University students. Although how people talk in these videos is sometimes unnatural, you may find the provided subtitles useful.
Kansai-ben website (Japanese)
- 日本のふるさとことば集成～近畿～ ("The database of speaking of Japanese dialects, Kinki") - NIJLA
- This site contains real conversations by Kansai natives (click on サンプル and then click on 再生 to play). Although the information is all in Japanese, you can view a transcript of the conversation and get information about the speakers' backgrounds. These conversations are very natural and real--I highly recommend them.
- 関西弁基礎講座 ("The basic lecture of Kansai-ben")
- This site introduces characteristic Kansai-ben grammar points and onomatopoeia. Although the explanations are all in Japanese, you should be able to roughly understand them.
General information on Kansai
- Kansai Window
- This site is a Kansai portal and operated by Kansai Unity. Although their definition of Kansai is larger than the general definition, this website is quite useful for getting general information.
- Welcome! KANSAI
- This site is also operated by Kansai Unity, and provides information on Kansai for visitors. Like Kansai Window, their definition of Kansai is larger than the general definition.
- JAPANESE LIFESTYLE -KANSAI-
- While this site is a general guide to Japan, there is a lot of information on Kansai, such as geography and culture.
- VisitKansai travel guide
- This site is for Kansai visitors. While the information they provide is minimal, you can use the site to request volunteer guides for when you visit Kansai.
- Japanese Lifestyle
- This site has a lot of information on Kansai, such as geography and culture. It may be useful for visitors.