Historical Japanese-related Panels 2013 (brainstorm)

[veraca]

This is a thread where those who are wanting to, planning to and those who want to see these types of panels can collaborate together!~ And anyone who wants to try to put together the stuff to host one of these ideas, yay!

FilkAeris (ideas)
Heian-era literature (Tale of Genji, Pillow Book, ect), Ainu tribespeople (of possible relation to the Emishi people of Princess Mononoke's Ashitaka), Japanese cosplay culture

"Like to see" panels:
Joman Japanese pottery, and other art of ancient Japan
Shibori dying techniques
Calligraphy

(I'd kind of like to see a panel explaining Japan's mech-space animes from the older to the newer ones... What started it all? Just AstroBoy?)

Perhaps, but not required, some of these panels could have segments of how they apply to things found at the con: anime, video games, ect.

[iceytina]

No one's responded to this thread? =|

Well, I know I'm going to submit at least 2 panel ideas when the panels submissions open, and one of them is going to be a Geisha info, facts, clearing up myths, and other infoish type stuff. There seems to be a good amount of confusion about Geisha--just what they do, how far they may go with their arts, if they sell their bodies or not (Memoirs of  Geisha...).

This is important to me, as it's such an integral part of Japanese culture that is sadly overlooked. Geisha are thinning out, and if there is not more attention paid to them, may become extinct in the next few decades. This is a topic I read about and research earnestly; so I don't pretend to be an expert or scholar, but I feel I can clear up a few things and get people interested to learn more about Geisha on their own.

There could be a slant to where Geisha-type performers or Geisha-style influenced characters appear in Anime or Manga.

Is anyone else curious, or wants to co-host such a panel with me?

[superjaz]

I <3 Kyōgen.

The style of the plays strike my funny bone , like the fox pretended to be the farmers uncle and told him to remove the fox traps but then the farmer realized that it was a fox pretending his uncle.

I am guessing that the tail gave it away.

something that might be fun for a Geisha pannel would be to list some of the inaccuracies of "Memoirs of a Geisha"
My teacher at psu would get carried away if someone brought it up "and then she runs up and rings a bell that is suppose make a sound likw  'clank clank' and instead it goes bong"

[iceytina]

Something that might be fun for a Geisha pannel would be to list some of the inaccuracies of "Memoirs of a Geisha"
My teacher at psu would get carried away if someone brought it up "and then she runs up and rings a bell that is suppose make a sound likw  'clank clank' and instead it goes bong"

Maybe ask your teacher if they'd be interested to host such a thing?
I'd be more focused on the basic history of Geisha, Maiko and Geiko, then talk about their clothing in some detail, their makeup, some of their dance; then about the costume incorrections and misconceptions about Geisha from that movie. Talk some about the source Geisha Arthur Golden based Chiyo on. I would also want to mention the Australian Geisha, who is currently of no Geisha house... possibly... depends on what can be crammed in an hour.

Stuff like incorrect sound effects is awesome and fun too. I would want to focus on what people would be more interested in hearing about.

[Shingami_lover]

I can bring the The Art of the Tea Ceremony. I have been schooled by a Japanese Master. 

[veraca]

Ooooh hearing about the art, costumes, make-up and the skills Geisha learn would be pretty neat~ I'm not concerned about inaccuracies from that movie cause, meh it's a movie, and even then I didn't enjoy the plot of past that it was interesting to see all the stuff she learned as a Geisha.
On the Geisha note, I'd be interested to know some fashion history of it- if that is connected to the traditions of kimono/yukata wearing and such?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't there been Tea Ceremony panels before? Or some kind of event hosted where people can participate in it? I might be thinking of Sakura... But I recall reading it in one of the books one year.

[Shingami_lover]

I do not remember if Kcon has ever had one but i know Sakuracon has before

[FilkAeris]

Man, I would be very interested in cohosting or at least attending a geisha panel.  I find excuses to wander around Gion every time I'm in Kyoto.  Last time I was there, I actually had the incredible good luck to be invited to share a table at a parfait shop with an older couple who were fans of the manga I was carrying, and who turned out to be the parents of a maiko, so that was a fascinating conversation.

If you do a panel like that, could you please include a "differences between oiran and geisha" segment?  It drives me crazy when people mix them up, especially since the occupational differences were enforced by law at the time (though the costume differences are egregious enough!).

[Tsukinya]

I'd be interested in the geisha topic.  I also went to a tea ceremony at NDK, and that was fascinating.  I like the sound of calligraphy..  Someone also mentioned kimono/yukata.. perhaps include how to tie them?

I love all of these ideas; everyone else just beat me to suggesting them myself!

[veraca]

I'd actually wouldn't mind knowing some interesting tidbits that are a bit more interesting then just wiki-googling them e_e
Like a yukata. My god. Some people say it's just a night dress/robe, some say it's what they wear in the summer, some say it's what they wear when they die, some say it's a soft cotton layer that's the bottom most layer of the kimono, it's just casual dress, women wore it more then men until certain year, blah blah blah.... Can you see my confusion? I'm sure a "yukata" is for all of those purposes, but I doubt they were ALL made out of the same material. I'm sorry, but I'd really like to doubt that someone is put to rest for eternity in the same clothing they wore at the summer festival to catch goldfish and just chilling around the house-- all though that'd be comfy~ Meh, nah.

By the way, what are those little dolls called that are super cute and fancy? Pokemon mentioned them in one of their earliest episodes with the princess day or something and how they're on a tier and serve as the king, queen, and other nobility? What are they from? I saw mention of them in a Japanese movie before, too....

[Prinz Eugen]

I got into this last December and January.
Candlestick charting is a commodity trading method
invented in Japan around 1710AD.

One of Japan's most prolific traders who dominated the Osaka
rice exchange was Munehisa Homma, who was said to have
set a record in his day of over 100 consecutive profitable trades.
I just achieved 32 consecutive profitable trades in silver, oil and
gold using some of Homma's techniques, (but in con-
junction with a few modern analyses to confirm the prediction
of the classical candlestick pattern.)

I would like to present this topic again to a small audience. The panel
was first a general overview of commodity techniques, THEN specific
focus on identifying price patterns in some common 'stuffs,' and then
analyzing how well they predicted what actually happened.

In my previous panel, candlesticks correctly predicted price movements
about 86% of the time. I think it would be cool to look at this technique
again and see how this century old technique survives the coming shocks,
FOMC inflation at $40 billion/month, plus the "Fiscal Cliff" which is supposed
to hit this January.

The dangers of currency inflation are probed in the anime "C: The Money
of Soul and the possibility of Control," and some basic commodity trading techniques
are demonstrated in the 2nd season of "Spice and Wolf."

This might be a "mature audience" panel not for prurient content, but because it would
be of interest to people who are responsible for managing or protecting their assets as
they save and compound them over time in todays economic climate, and it would be
very interesting to see how such an ancient technique is still an effective predictor even
in modern times (the historical aspect.)


DISCLAIMER: I am not encouraging anyone to go off and trade commodities or screw
around with options or futures contracts; I am NOT an investment advisor or financial
planner, nor a licensed securities dealer. No offers or promises are made that using this
technique can guarantee profit or any specific gain. No claims are being made that Japanese
candlestick charting is more or less effective that other market analysis techniques.

[Prinz Eugen]

I have presented this topic off and on before and it's drawn a decent crowd.
I have personally visited the Japanese Sword Museum and the Museum of Metallurgy at Tohoku University
in Sendai Japan, and I present from interview notes, technical texts, and my own
experineces in materials as a mechanical engineer.

[iceytina]

Man, I would be very interested in cohosting or at least attending a geisha panel.  I find excuses to wander around Gion every time I'm in Kyoto.  Last time I was there, I actually had the incredible good luck to be invited to share a table at a parfait shop with an older couple who were fans of the manga I was carrying, and who turned out to be the parents of a maiko, so that was a fascinating conversation.

If you do a panel like that, could you please include a "differences between oiran and geisha" segment?  It drives me crazy when people mix them up, especially since the occupational differences were enforced by law at the time (though the costume differences are egregious enough!).

PM'ing you. It would be more fun to co-host such a panel, and more interesting for attendants.

Ooooh hearing about the art, costumes, make-up and the skills Geisha learn would be pretty neat~ I'm not concerned about inaccuracies from that movie cause, meh it's a movie, and even then I didn't enjoy the plot of past that it was interesting to see all the stuff she learned as a Geisha.
On the Geisha note, I'd be interested to know some fashion history of it- if that is connected to the traditions of kimono/yukata wearing and such?

That's such an awesome idea! Got it down on my notes. I will, absolutely, be submitting this panel idea.

I can bring the The Art of the Tea Ceremony. I have been schooled by a Japanese Master.

Oh my wooorrd... please do it. I would LOOOOVEEE to attend such a panel!!!! Would you bring Japanese teas and/or some sort of dishes for the panel?

[Shingami_lover]

I can bring the The Art of the Tea Ceremony. I have been schooled by a Japanese Master.

Oh my wooorrd... please do it. I would LOOOOVEEE to attend such a panel!!!! Would you bring Japanese teas and/or some sort of dishes for the panel?
[/quote]
Alright I will bring it to Panels then... I would bring the green tea powder that I was taught on. And yeah I will probably bring a few little treats

[govi]

Perhaps an 18+ panel as an extension of the idea about clearing up geisha myths, and discussing the different between geisha and oiran, with maybe a bit of history of the Yoshiwara?

[Washougal_Otaku]

^ I was thinking something similar, as well as a "Truths about Ninja" panel.

[Prinz Eugen]

AND IT'S STILL WORKING.

Recent news article mentioning the DOJI candlestick we mentioned in the panel:

http://investorplace.com/2012/11/doji-candlestick-points-to-upside-for-silver/

[Washougal_Otaku]

Another idea that could be fun (that I would be willing to do, maybe) is a review of some of Japan's top holidays/festivals, and common examples in various anime titles, such as Haruhi's Tanabata celebration.

[Prinz Eugen]

Another idea that could be fun (that I would be willing to do, maybe) is a review of some of Japan's top holiday...

...LOCATIONS WE'VE ALL SEEN IN ANIME!

A different topic, but in our last trip to Japan we visited Hakodate in Hokkaido and rod the tramway in Noein, and previous to that we visited Okayama and Ryoko's cave from Tenchi Muyo.

Rather than visiting, it may be possible to Google around and find Japanese sites from otaku over there who have done much of the work for us.

Here's an example site for Haruhi Suzumiya fans:
http://tanasinn.info/wiki/Stalking_Haruhi_Suzumiya

[Washougal_Otaku]

^ That's not a bad idea, either. We could also include the town that was used to model the village in When They Cry.  (I am unsure of I remember the name, but I think it's Shirikawa-go... I can go check).

Update: Wow! Was I close! It's called Shirakawa-go.