Rolling the Japanese "r"?

Question:

I thought it was just an anime thing, but I was just watching a confrontation scene from a Japanese film and I noticed that many of the men were rolling their r's. It seems like that's something Japanese males do when wanting to appear tough...is that correct, or does no one in real life do that?

Answer:

Well, I have lived in Japan nine years, I can speak the language extensively, and I sometimes hang out in some shady places, so yes, I have heard this millions of times.

You are exactly right. Men, when they are using "fighting words" will roll their "r"s, it's a sign that the argument has escalated and may become a brawl. It can be found in iza kayas with lots of unemployed people drinking cheap shochu and the cops waiting outside for disorderly conduct.

And luddite, it's misleading to say they don't have "r"s. They don't have the deep "r" that German and French and English have. This is a sound unique to us. Their らりるれろ　is much more similar to a Spanish/Italian "r" which is produced on the tip of the tongue behind the front teeth. Interestingly, Russian also has the same "r" sound as Spanish, and they almost always roll their r's. In Spanish, I believe you do it only if there are two rr's , like in the word "perro." So not only does the Japanese らりるれろ sound like Spanish, it is also rolled on occasion, although this is not standard Japanese by any stretch of the imagination.

The fact that luddite and that other guy have never heard it makes me think it may be a regional thing. I live in Western Honshu and our dialect is close to Osaka ben. Maybe you guys are from different parts of the country?