[3] The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori.

The terms Kansai (関西), Kinki (近畿), and Kinai (畿内) have their roots during the Asuka period.

The term "Kinai", once synonymous with Kinki, now refers to the Kyoto–Osaka–Kobe (Keihanshin) area at the center of the Kansai region.

The Kansai region is a cultural center and the historical heart of Japan, with 11% of the nation's land area and 22,757,897 residents as of 2010.

In the north, the region is bordered by the Sea of Japan, to the south by the Kii Peninsula and the Pacific Ocean, and to the east by the Ibuki Mountains and Ise Bay.

With a samurai population of less than 1% the culture of the merchant city of Osaka stood in sharp contrast to that of Edo, the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate.

Catherine Maxwell, an editor for the newsletter Omusubi, writes: "Kansai residents are seen as being pragmatic, entrepreneurial, down-to-earth and possessing a strong sense of humor.

Kantō people, on the other hand, are perceived as more sophisticated, reserved and formal, in keeping with Tokyo's history and modern status as the nation's capital and largest metropolis.

[12][16] The dialects of the people from the Kansai region, commonly called Kansai-ben, have their own variations of pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.

Two Nippon Professional Baseball teams, Hanshin Tigers and Orix Buffaloes, are based in Kansai.

[18] As a part of the Ritsuryō reforms of the seventh and eighth centuries, the provinces of Yamato, Yamashiro, Kawachi, Settsu, and Izumi, were established by the Gokishichidō.

[21] The Heian period saw the capital moved to Heian-kyō (平安京, present-day Kyoto), where it would remain for over a thousand years until the Meiji Restoration.

In 788, Saicho, the founder of the Tendai sect of Buddhism established his monastery at Mount Hiei in Shiga prefecture.

Noh and Kabuki, Japan's traditional dramatic forms both saw their birth and evolution in Kyoto, while Bunraku, Japanese puppet theater, is native to Osaka.

[23] The economy of Kansai region is largely based on that of Keihanshin (Greater Osaka) metropolitan area.

Per Japanese census data,[24][25] Kansai region much like Keihanshin has experienced a small population increase beginning around 2010.

[26] After a long history of teaching a German curriculum, the school changed to The Primary Years Programme (PYP) in 2002.

[30] Today, the school offers a distinctive British-style primary education based on the National Curriculum of England and Wales.