What is Japan's mainland?

[Superboy]

Which island is it?

 

[cnleio]

... 本州岛, the biggest island.

 

[Aepsilons]

Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku are referred to as the mainland islands of the Japanese Archipelago.

 

[Superboy]

Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku are referred to as the mainland islands of the Japanese Archipelago.

A country can only have 1 mainland, so I would imagine Honshu is Japan's mainland.

 

[Aepsilons]

A country can only have 1 mainland, so I would imagine Honshu is Japan's mainland.

No. The Japanese Mainland refers to the 4 large islands. Period.

内地

 

[Superboy]

No. The Japanese Mainland refers to the 4 large islands. Period.

内地

Mainland must be 1, not 4.

 

[Aepsilons]

There are over 6,500 islands that make up the Nihon Retto (Japanese Archipelago), of that number, all but 400 are inhabited. The Mainland refers to the 4 largest islands --- Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu.

 

[redpk]

I think in fact Japanese dont have any mainland,when they say mainlander,they mean Chinese,is that right?

 

[Aepsilons]

I think in fact Japanese dont have any mainland,when they say mainlander,they mean Chinese,is that right?

Lexically speaking, the word we Japanese use to refer to the 'mainland' of Japan is naichi [内地 ], and another colloquial term used is Dogai. These terms, literally, mean the 'inner lands'.

The word Gaichi [外地] refers to the 'outer lands' and specifically are reference to the traditional outer territories of The Greater Japanese Empire - Dai Nippon Teikoku [大日本帝国/大日本帝國 ] :

1. Chosen (Korea)
2. Taiwan
3. Kwangtung Province
4. Nan'yo Islands (The islands of the South Pacific)
   
5. Manchukuo (Manchuria)

 

[Place Of Space]

Lexically speaking, the word we Japanese use to refer to the 'mainland' of Japan is naichi [内地 ], and another colloquial term used is Dogai. These terms, literally, mean the 'inner lands'.

The word Gaichi [外地] refers to the 'outer lands' and specifically are reference to the traditional outer territories of The Greater Japanese Empire - Dai Nippon Teikoku [大日本帝国/大日本帝國 ] :

1. Chosen (Korea)
2. Taiwan
3. Kwangtung Province
4. Nan'yo Islands (The islands of the South Pacific)
   
5. Manchukuo (Manchuria)

You make me laugh. A empire lasted only for 50 years. This is not empire at all. Give up your empire dream, or your guys will be beat again. Chosen, Taiwan, ...Nan'o, Manchu consider Japan as Nazi, but not empire. Introduce you to read a Korean book: 壬辰倭乱

 

[Aepsilons]

You make me laugh. A empire lasted only for 50 years. This is not empire at all. Give up your empire dream, or your guys will be beat again. Chosen, Taiwan, ...Nan'o, Manchu consider Japan as Nazi, but not empire. Introduce you to read a Korean book: 壬辰倭乱

Calm down.

Japan no longer is an Empire, i was merely providing a lexical-historical explanation of the use of the words Daichi, Naichi / Daigo --- in the context of Mainland and Outerland.

 

[SipahSalar]

Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku are referred to as the mainland islands of the Japanese Archipelago.

Is there any ancient rivalry between any of them or any stereotypes? Like Honshu people are lazy or people from hokkaido are theives etc.

 

[Aepsilons]

Is there any ancient rivalry between any of them or any stereotypes? Like Honshu people are lazy or people from hokkaido are theives etc.

LOL!

Of course there are stereotypes.

Every Japanese person knows the stereotypes about how different one region’s people are from another. Tokyo people are supposedly formal, obedient and cold. Osakans are funny and friendly, but also somewhat crude and uncouth. Depending on who you speak to Kyoto people are seen as sophisticated or pretentious, whereas those from Shikoku are sometimes labelled as rural hicks or country bumpkins.

Of course stereotypes are nothing more than broad categorizations of people, and for every person that fits the stereotype there are many that don’t. However misleading these labels are though, they continue to be said and used all over Japan. So where do they come from?

Some stereotypes clearly stem from current cultural trends. The idea that Tokyo people are too straight laced and stressed out comes from the idea that Tokyo, as a huge metropolis filled with some of Japan’s most successful companies, is also filled with some of the country’s busiest and most serious workers. Similarly, the stereotype that Osaka people are all fun loving people comes in part from the dominance of the city on Japan’s comedy circuit.

Japan’s most successful comedians all hail from Osaka or the Kansai area. Even if they aren’t from the area originally, many comedians choose to adopt the Kansai way of speaking so as not to stick out. No wonder the country as a whole thinks Osakans are the funniest!

As much as today’s culture clearly influences regional stereotypes, events of the past have also influenced the development of specific labels. Kyoto people are said to have an air of sophistication or even superiority, and there is no doubt that people say this because of its historical position as the centre of Japanese culture. Kyoto was once the home of Japan’s royal family and society at the time gravitated around it accordingly, meaning Kyoto was the birth place of many of Japan’s traditions and cultural characteristics; something Kyoto people are rightly proud of but which may explain their stereotype.

Returning to Osaka and Tokyo, each city’s unique history may also hold some of the basis for their current stereotypes. In the past, Tokyo was the political center of Japan. It was dominated by Samurai culture; a culture based on formality and respect. Osaka meanwhile, became the trading and commercial center of the country. This difference may have influenced the two cities’ stereotypes; Tokyo people may be associated with following rules and being straight laced because they would have been during the samurai period, whereas Osaka, a place slightly freer of the samurai influence and more geared towards making money, has become known for being more unruly.

Similarly it is history rather than the present that encourages the stereotype that people from Shikoku are country hicks. The idea that Shikoku people are uneducated or uninformed probably comes more from the fact that historically Shikoku was isolated from the main cultural centers of Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo, than it does from any evidence of backwardness in the present day.

This brings us on to the importance of Geography. Okinawans are often referred to, and refer to themselves, as sunny warm people mainly because of the difference in their climate compared to the rest of Japan. Similarly, people from the north of Japan, be it Hokkaido or Iwate, are invariably referred to as tough because of the colder weather they have to endure.

Geography impacts stereotypes in other ways. Saitama is sometimes cruelly referred to as ‘Dasaitama’, a play on words that implies the city’s people are uncouth, vulgar and unsophisticated. The reason for this though probably has more to do with its proximity to Tokyo and the rivalry between the two cities, than it does with the people of Saitama itself.

Lastly, there is nothing bad at all about my region -- Hokkaido. Because clearly we are perfect.

 

[SipahSalar]

Thanks for the detailed insight.

The idea that Tokyo people are too straight laced and stressed out comes from the idea that Tokyo, as a huge metropolis filled with some of Japan’s most successful companies, is also filled with some of the country’s busiest and most serious workers.

That stereotype seems to be present in every country's biggest cities. I think same is said for people from New York, and also my city, Karachi, a city of 20 million souls

Similarly, people from the north of Japan, be it Hokkaido or Iwate, are invariably referred to as tough because of the colder weather they have to endure.

So you are the Japanese version of Nords Nords are badass. The Pakistani version of Nords are Pathans.

 

[Aepsilons]

So you are the Japanese version of Nords Nords are badass. The Pakistani version of Nords are Pathans.

Hahaha, yes, you could say that. 'The Pathans of Japan' . I like the sound of that ! Now only if could grow a beard like a pure blooded Pathan warrior ! !

@Armstrong

That stereotype seems to be present in every country's biggest cities. I think same is said for people from New York, and also my city, Karachi, a city of 20 million souls

Awesome, buddy. So you're a Karachiite eh? Are you Punjabi?