Cultural panel topics, please!

[FilkAeris]

Every year, we seem to have a huge demand for Japanese cultural panels, but very few people able or willing to host them. So I thought it might be worthwhile to make a thread specifically for suggestions about what people would like to see, so that potential panelists could easily decide what they might speak about or demonstrate.

(I'm definitely hoping to do at least one panel on a cultural topic this year!)

[TalaRedWolf33]

Id love to do a panel on Amigurumi. It originated in Japan, so its somewhat Asian culture.
I also really want to see a panel on Bento Boxes. If it can be okayed by the hotel, we could actually have food in the panel.
There was talk of kimono panels, where there's learning to make, buy, tie, and wear properly. It'd be informational. A panel on geishas would be cool too.

[FilkAeris]

Awesome! I saw people talking about panels on mythology and traditional holidays, which would be fantastic. A panel about matsuri would be fun, too, and I second the idea of a panel about geisha and geiko, especially if it debunks the nasty stereotypes and misconceptions we have about them in the West. (Telling Geisha And Oiran Apart 101?)

Also, would anyone be interested in a panel about the Heian era? It doesn't come up super often in imported anime - not like the Edo era and the Warring States era - but it was the cradle of Japanese literature and civilization, and a glorious Versailles-esque court in its own right.

[RoriLei]

I know that Kumoricon is based on Japanese subjects like manga, anime and such, but I think it'd be cool to see some other cultural panels also. Nowadays, a lot of people listen to K-Pop. We read manga that aren't just made in Japan, but also in Korea (like the Maximum Ride manga) and other places. Ranma 1/2 and a number of other manga have huge influences from China, and the Chinese written language is actually the basis for Japan's writing. Don't forget amazing food that many con-goers love, like Thai, Indian, and Vietnamese food!

Perhaps we should have one panel about Japan, and then one about all of the other Asian countries that influence the life of an anime fan.

[TalaRedWolf33]

I totally thought we were just an Asian culture con for the longest time lol
Maybe we should be! More Asian culture stuff would be cool.
Chinese new year activities, maybe some Korean dance parties. Vietnamese... stuff lol I actually only know about the food from Vietnam, not any of their culture stuff.

[acton]

Every year, we seem to have a huge demand for Japanese cultural panels, but very few people able or willing to host them. So I thought it might be worthwhile to make a thread specifically for suggestions about what people would like to see, so that potential panelists could easily decide what they might speak about or demonstrate.

(I'm definitely hoping to do at least one panel on a cultural topic this year!)

The problem I see is finding people  who  have the knowledge to host one.  While I been stationed in Japan ion the 1980's I not an expert.