Kumoricon
Convention Events and Programming => Panels & et cetera => Topic started by: FilkAeris on April 24, 2012, 04:54:06 pm
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I know most panels are anime-related, but cultural panels can be pretty cool, too, right? I'm thinking of submitting an application to give a panel about the history, language and culture of the Ainu people in northern Japan.
Most people (including the Japanese) think of Japan as a very racially and culturally homogenous country, but there are actually a number of minority groups living in the archipelago, and one of the most fascinating is the Ainu, a native people who were driven north into Hokkaido hundreds of years ago. They're sort of the "Native Americans" of Japan, and have faced a lot of the same struggles and oppressions as the American first peoples, before experiencing a cultural reflowering in the last few years. When I lived in Hokkaido, I dug up as much information as I could about the Ainu, and spent a fascinating weekend at the Ainu museum in Shikaoi.
I'm still far from an expert, but still - would anybody be interested in learning about the Ainu? I'm thinking of a short, snappy, fun panel with lots of photos and videos, and maybe a live demonstration of my mukkuri, a kind of traditional Ainu bamboo mouth harp. Thoughts?
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We visited Japan and saw an Ainu village while there. I've got a couple of books on Ainu - mostly showing the cool patterns they did with embroidery / applique and their costumes. I even have photos of the Ainu village (it's more like an outdoor museum, like Ft Vancouver or Plymouth Rock, with people dressed in traditional garb and performing traditional crafts / activities of the place.) that we visited. :) So if it's approved, let me know and I can bring my Ainu stuff.
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Oh, awesome! ;D That sounds like the same village-museum I visited. Southern Hokkaido, right? With dance performances and a bear enclosure? (Or is there more than one outdoor village museum, I wonder? That would be even cooler.)
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I would love this. Of note, when Creation Station had Dr. Antonia Levi as a panelist, up at Sakuracon and Anime Evolution, she gave presentations based on an article that I beta'd for her, that was published in 2007 in Mechademia: Emerging Worlds of Anime and Manga, Vol. 1, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. It's called "The Werewolf in the Crested Kimono: The Wolf-Human Dynamic in Anime and Manga," and Ainu culture, folklore, and mythology are prominently featured in it. Thus, it may be a valuable resource for you.
You might also consider viewing the new anime series I've found delightful, "Japanese Folk Tales," to see if any it portrays are Ainu in derivation.