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KU (Kansai Unity) Presents the Latest on Art and Culture in the Kansai Region

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■ Keep up with the newest cultural undertakings in Kansai as our reporters bring you first-hand accounts of the area's most passionate artists.

2010/08/06: Vol. 9　Will Kyoto Station Be the Next Center for Contemporary Art?
2010/06/09: Vol. 8　Tokushima: The Land of Ningyo Joruri (Puppet Theatre)
2010/04/28: Vol.7 An Intersection Between People, Nature, and Art:The Kanaz Forest of
2010/02/25: Vol.6 Various Forms of “Wa” Born from the Encounters on the Sea and Mountains
2009/11/13: Vol.5 Japanese Cultural Redaction in Kumano Nachi
2009/09/25: Vol.4 The World's Only Headquarters for Borderless Art NO-MA; Omi Hachiman, Shiga Prefecture
2009/08/13: Vol.3 The Third Osaka （The Past, Present, and Future of the Waterfront District of Nakanoshima）
2009/07/07: Vol.2 Nara Prefectural Library ＆ Information Center (Nara City, Nara Prefecture)
2009/05/22: Vol.1 Tori no Gekijo (Bird Theatre; Shikano, Tottori)

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Take an in-depth look at the distinctive culture of the Kansai region of western Japan through the eyes of its foreign residents.

Social Distortion

Christopher Stephens finds out how Osaka became bad It hardly bears repeating. The people of Osaka are impudent, impatient, and ill-mannered; they talk too loud, don’t stop at red lights, and when it comes to money, are incredibly tight. Or are they? Kuroda Isamu, professor of Mass Media Studies at Kansai University, has been watching the way Osaka and its residents are portrayed in print and broadcast media for over 15 years. He argues that much of what we, and more recently Osakans themselves, believe about the city is little more than a stereotype that was perpetrated by Tokyo in the 1980s, and through constant repetition, has come to be accepted fact.