[lg policy] Japan: VOX POPULI: Calling on Kyoto and its residents to show more pride

[Harold Schiffman]

 VOX POPULI: Calling on Kyoto and its residents to show more pride
February 27, 2016

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of The Asahi
Shimbun.

"Kyoto Girai" (I hate Kyoto), which won this year's Shinsho Taisho best
paperback award, is a hugely entertaining book. The author, Shoichi Inoue,
is a specialist on the history of architecture.

Inoue was born and raised in Kyoto's Saga area, also called Rakugai, whose
residents were ridiculed and scorned as hicks by their neighbors in the
central Kyoto district of Rakuchu. In the book, Inoue liberally disparages
stuck-up urbanites for their lack of neighborly attitude.

However, Inoue does not put them down entirely. For instance, he explains,
there is a zone in Kyoto's traditional entertainment district that is
referred to as "Kamishichiken" outside Kyoto. But all Kyotoites,
irrespective of where they live, say "Kamihichiken." In refusing to
acknowledge the non-Kyoto pronunciation, even Rakugai and Rakuchu residents
can agree with one another.

>From there, Inoue's attack is directed at the "centralized" Japanese
language policy of the Tokyo bureaucracy.

Once the capital of Japan, Kyoto's 1,000-year history is profound. And now,
I understand that the Agency of Cultural Affairs is planning a full
relocation from Tokyo to Kyoto as part of the government's "regional
revitalization" policy.

If realized, the relocation of this central government agency should leave
a deep impression.

Actually, the plan has a geographical advantage. The Kansai region,
including Kyoto, boasts a heavy concentration of national treasures and
important cultural assets, and there are many ancient sites of historic and
cultural significance, too.

Kyoto and Nara are homes to well-known museums and research institutes for
cultural properties. Image-wise, Kyoto is a fitting place for the Agency of
Cultural Affairs.

But the agency also oversees copyright issues and policies related to the
Japanese language. The agency's annual surveys on Japanese are quite
interesting with regard to changes in the language, and I have written
about them from time to time in this column.

Where these matters are concerned, I wonder how much benefit will be
derived from the agency's move to Kyoto.

In the Kyoto edition of The Asahi Shimbun, by the way, Inoue was quoted
last month as saying that Kyoto does not need the Agency of Cultural
Affairs.

He explained that this is not because he is miffed with the agency's policy
with regard to the Japanese language. The real reason, he said, is that he
is not happy to see the people of Kyoto, who have looked down their noses
at him over and over, throwing away all their pride and practically begging
the Agency of Cultural Affairs to come to Kyoto.

"Profound" is how I would describe Kyoto and its people.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 27

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/vox/AJ201602270024

* * *

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of
topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written
by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives
on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.


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