Grammatical construction「placeはsubplace、story」 as an introduction


In old stories I often find the following structure:

> _general place_ **は** _specific place_ **、** _story unfolds_

for example:

> ① 江戸は芝、増上寺門前町で _(例: ◯◯人が歩いた)_  
>  ② 東海道は宮宿、ただいま名古屋市の熱田神宮辺で _(例: ◯◯浪人の二人が出会った)_

  * I took it for granted so far, but how exactly does it work? What is the function of **は**? It just sets the place of the story, so it is hard to call it "topic marker".

  * Why place names are not combined with の particle like 「江戸の芝の増上寺門前町で〜」 or 「東海道の宮宿はただ今〜」?

  * Is this construction limited to literature? Is it used contemporarily? Like let's say... 「東京は新宿、JR駅前にコカ・コーラの自動販売機がございます」 :) How does it sound?




It is a little remnant of [美文調]{びぶんちょう}, the ornate writing style that was
popular in the literary circle for a decade or two in Meiji Era. The style as
a whole has largely, if not completely, died out in literature but has
remained alive in [浪曲]{ろうきょく}, which is a recitation of stories that sounds
like a mixture of singing and speaking. (Please go to YouTube if interested.)

The pattern 「Place + **は** + Sub-place」 is probably much more common even
today than Japanese-learners might think. In documentaries, narrations,
stories, etc. we still use it quite often. In meaning, it is exactly the same
as 「Place + **の** + Sub-place」. So, we say things like:

「今、イギリス **は** ロンドンからメールしています。」"I am now e-mailing from London, England."

「京大 **は** 経済学部の出身です。」"I hail from the Economics Department of Kyoto
University."

In both sentences above, the 「は」 functions as a fancy version of 「の」.

> I took it for granted so far, but how exactly does it work? What is the
> function of は? It just sets the place of the story, so it is hard to call it
> "topic marker".

It is no topic marker; It is a [係助詞]{かかりじょし} (a binding particle). It is used
to specify the preceding word/phrase. That is to say the pattern will always
be:

> 「Larger & More General Entity + **は or の** + Smaller & More Specific Entity」

As I stated above, this 「は」 is used just like 「の」 in the "usual", non-ornate
speech style.

> Why place names are not combined with の particle like 「江戸の芝の増上寺門前町で〜」 or
> 「東海道の宮宿はただ今〜」?

Because that would not help create one's intended aesthetic effect, which in
this case is a **_more stylized story-opener with dramatic impact_**. Any
3-year-old native speaker could form those phrases using 「の」. Using 「の」 would
only make the phrases sound "bare factual", which is fine as you do not expect
a 3-year-old to speak an ornate type of language.

> Is this construction limited to literature? Is it used contemporarily? Like
> let's say... 「東京は新宿、JR駅前にコカ・コーラの自動販売機がございます」 :) How does it sound?

Though it might depend on the larger context, that sentence sounds pretty
funny (and unnatural) all by itself if I may be honest. Why? Because it is a
cold and factual piece of information that one is trying to convey. Where is
the need to dramatize it?

This 「は」 is used over 「の」 contemporarily in personal letters, conversations,
self-introductions, etc. by quite a few adults if not by teenagers.

If I asked someone where he was from and he just said 「北海道です。」, I might reply
「北海道 **は** どちらですか。」 to ask for a specific city or region. Unless the other
person is a kid or teenager, I would rarely use 「の」 there as it would not make
me sound like a seasoned speaker.

Unlike the sentence about the location of a Coke machine that you mentioned,
this is about a real person that I am trying to get to know. That makes a huge
difference even though I know Coke is real as well.




It is a little remnant of [美文調]{びぶんちょう}, the ornate writing style that was
popular in the literary circle for a decade or two in Meiji Era. The style as
a whole has largely, if not completely, died out in literature but has
remained alive in [浪曲]{ろうきょく}, which is a recitation of stories that sounds
like a mixture of singing and speaking. (Please go to YouTube if interested.)

The pattern 「Place + **は** + Sub-place」 is probably much more common even
today than Japanese-learners might think. In documentaries, narrations,
stories, etc. we still use it quite often. In meaning, it is exactly the same
as 「Place + **の** + Sub-place」. So, we say things like:

「今、イギリス **は** ロンドンからメールしています。」"I am now e-mailing from London, England."

「京大 **は** 経済学部の出身です。」"I hail from the Economics Department of Kyoto
University."

In both sentences above, the 「は」 functions as a fancy version of 「の」.

> I took it for granted so far, but how exactly does it work? What is the
> function of は? It just sets the place of the story, so it is hard to call it
> "topic marker".

It is no topic marker; It is a [係助詞]{かかりじょし} (a binding particle). It is used
to specify the preceding word/phrase. That is to say the pattern will always
be:

> 「Larger & More General Entity + **は or の** + Smaller & More Specific Entity」

As I stated above, this 「は」 is used just like 「の」 in the "usual", non-ornate
speech style.

> Why place names are not combined with の particle like 「江戸の芝の増上寺門前町で〜」 or
> 「東海道の宮宿はただ今〜」?

Because that would not help create one's intended aesthetic effect, which in
this case is a **_more stylized story-opener with dramatic impact_**. Any
3-year-old native speaker could form those phrases using 「の」. Using 「の」 would
only make the phrases sound "bare factual", which is fine as you do not expect
a 3-year-old to speak an ornate type of language.

> Is this construction limited to literature? Is it used contemporarily? Like
> let's say... 「東京は新宿、JR駅前にコカ・コーラの自動販売機がございます」 :) How does it sound?

Though it might depend on the larger context, that sentence sounds pretty
funny (and unnatural) all by itself if I may be honest. Why? Because it is a
cold and factual piece of information that one is trying to convey. Where is
the need to dramatize it?

This 「は」 is used over 「の」 contemporarily in personal letters, conversations,
self-introductions, etc. by quite a few adults if not by teenagers.

If I asked someone where he was from and he just said 「北海道です。」, I might reply
「北海道 **は** どちらですか。」 to ask for a specific city or region. Unless the other
person is a kid or teenager, I would rarely use 「の」 there as it would not make
me sound like a seasoned speaker.

Unlike the sentence about the location of a Coke machine that you mentioned,
this is about a real person that I am trying to get to know. That makes a huge
difference even though I know Coke is real as well.

