Image from the Japan Society for Laughter and Humor Studies website.
KIPPO: 'Laughter Dictionary' published
The Society to Think About Kansai, sponsored by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance, has published a "Laughter Dictionary - Kansai's Laughter and Japan's Laughter." It compiles all aspects of laughter, including the characteristics and root of laughter in Kansai, laughter in literature and arts, and the origin and onomatopoeia of laughter. The dictionary has collected opinions about laughter from 103 people, including comic storytellers, entertainment industry people, laughter researchers and prefectural governors. Hiroshi Inoue, a Kansai University professor emeritus and chairman of the Japan Society for Laughter and Humor Studies, says in the publication "laughter culture" has developed in Kansai because laughter is needed in daily life. "Kansai is a flat society where the caliber of individuals speaks louder than their status," he says. "It's fundamental to build personal relations there, and laughter is necessary in this regard." The publication also contains messages from intellectuals in various fields, including one that "although laughter transmission is being concentrated in Tokyo, a phenomenon of Kansai-style laughter spreading throughout the nation is emerging as well." Attached to the dictionary is a "collection of laughter proverbs" which can be detached as a pocket book. The dictionary is free of charge.
