[Kitchan]

Hello, Kit here. Glad to meet you!

I'm wondering who'd be interested if there was a panel on Japanese philosophy/religion - from miko uniforms, to magatama (and why are magatama so important anyway, aside from helping you see lies in Phoenix Wright), to Shinto shrines, O-Bon, and other things?

I've done a panel like this at Otakon 2004 and 2005, and it was well attended then. So I'm wondering if it'd be a good idea to have one at ACen! (I did a presentation, taking examples from popular anime and manga, and also did a Q&A.)

Any thoughts? Post here!

[Voxx]

Hm.... I'm not sure if this would be a good idea for a panel. 2 things you don't bring into conversation with the masses: Politics and Religion. You get different opinions and whatnot. Also, do you have any credentials? Have you studied Japanese Religion & Customs? If your not 100% positive on facts that you would be talking about, then that wouldn't be a good idea to have this panel.

Just my opinion. Good luck on submitting the panel though!

[Jiraiya]

Wow! Finally somebody else who are interested in the same crap as I am (mainly Asian philosophy, religion, culture, mythology, and studies)! LOL!!!

But anyway, this might be a good educational panel for those who have yet to understand the symbolism and influence of japanese mythology, folklore, and religion in anime. These people would need to understand the who, what, where, when, and how some stories, places, and characters are, not think its just simply cool... LOL!!!

I think this is a good idea (I was toying with the idea of doing this panel myself before but my passion in fighting games comes first, ^^), and I will offer my services and support if you need them, will even be glad if I could join you to host this panel if you want. LOL!!!

Other than that, good luck... hopefully there would a lot interested but you've got to apply to have this panel approved first (I just hope it's not too late though).

[Kitchan]

Sa-chan, on Feb 15 2009, 02:38 PM, said:

Hm.... I'm not sure if this would be a good idea for a panel. 2 things you don't bring into conversation with the masses: Politics and Religion. You get different opinions and whatnot. Also, do you have any credentials? Have you studied Japanese Religion & Customs? If your not 100% positive on facts that you would be talking about, then that wouldn't be a good idea to have this panel.

I'll address the first concern first.

I've done a panel on this exact topic twice - Otakon 2004 and Otakon 2005, where it was well attended. By 'well attended' I mean the room I was assigned to was full both times. This generally falls into the idea of self-selection; because you can go to any panel you want to go to (as there are multiple panels offered), the people that came to the Otakon panels self-selected themselves and I encountered no trouble at all. The Jewish Wolfwood even made an appearance in 2004, and apart from some jokes involving the number 42, everyone was really polite. ^^

As for credentials, apart from this I have also studied Shinto (and followed the Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America, which is the only Shinto shrine in the continental United States) and Japanese folklore. Some things, like Confucian ideals or academic/societal ideals, were imported from China, but they are often touched upon as well (example: why 'studying for exams' worked so well as an excuse for Yagami Light in Death Note). I have also majored in East Asian Studies, as well as English literature, and have studied Japanese for approximately nine years now.

[Voxx]

Kitchan, on Feb 15 2009, 02:06 PM, said:

I'll address the first concern first.

I've done a panel on this exact topic twice - Otakon 2004 and Otakon 2005, where it was well attended. By 'well attended' I mean the room I was assigned to was full both times. This generally falls into the idea of self-selection; because you can go to any panel you want to go to (as there are multiple panels offered), the people that came to the Otakon panels self-selected themselves and I encountered no trouble at all. The Jewish Wolfwood even made an appearance in 2004, and apart from some jokes involving the number 42, everyone was really polite. ^^

As for credentials, apart from this I have also studied Shinto (and followed the Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America, which is the only Shinto shrine in the continental United States) and Japanese folklore. Some things, like Confucian ideals or academic/societal ideals, were imported from China, but they are often touched upon as well (example: why 'studying for exams' worked so well as an excuse for Yagami Light in Death Note). I have also majored in East Asian Studies, as well as English literature, and have studied Japanese for approximately nine years now.

Well thats good ^.^ I have always been interested in all cultural folklore and mythologies, but not a big fan of religious aspects. (Funny thing, because that's pretty much the basis of myths) Good luck on your panel!

[Kitchan]

Sa-chan, on Feb 15 2009, 03:12 PM, said:

Well thats good ^.^ I have always been interested in all cultural folklore and mythologies, but not a big fan of religious aspects. (Funny thing, because that's pretty much the basis of myths) Good luck on your panel!

Yes, religious stories or legends are usually the basis of myths, though Japanese has things that don't really fall into the 'religion' category; if you can find a copy, I recommend checking out 'Japanese Tales' by Royall Tyler. It's gone out of print the last time I checked, but the fiction novel 'The Fox Woman' by Kij Johnson took one of the kitsune stories from there as the basis for the novel, and the Tyler book has many stories ranging from tanuki and kitsune to dancers, wrestlers, and supernatural bells to making fun of Buddhist clergy. ^^;

[jsieczkar]

Kitchan, on Feb 15 2009, 03:16 PM, said:

Yes, religious stories or legends are usually the basis of myths, though Japanese has things that don't really fall into the 'religion' category; if you can find a copy, I recommend checking out 'Japanese Tales' by Royall Tyler. It's gone out of print the last time I checked, but the fiction novel 'The Fox Woman' by Kij Johnson took one of the kitsune stories from there as the basis for the novel, and the Tyler book has many stories ranging from tanuki and kitsune to dancers, wrestlers, and supernatural bells to making fun of Buddhist clergy. ^^;

If this doesn't interfere with my work schedule and my panel (if it happens) I will be there. I was trying to talk a friend of mine into doing this panel last week, glad to see some one wants to run it.

[Kitchan]

jsieczkar, on Feb 15 2009, 09:55 PM, said:

If this doesn't interfere with my work schedule and my panel (if it happens) I will be there. I was trying to talk a friend of mine into doing this panel last week, glad to see some one wants to run it.

I'm just trying to see who'd be likely to go - but yes, I'd be glad to run it, especially as I've done successful panels on this subject before. (Also, it's slightly easier for me to know what people are interested in!)

[aki-bara]

I would definitely attend. I never thought about the magatama as a religiously influenced game item before, so I would definitely love to see what other influences I am "missing."

[Kitchan]

aki-bara, on Mar 25 2009, 01:30 AM, said:

I would definitely attend. I never thought about the magatama as a religiously influenced game item before, so I would definitely love to see what other influences I am "missing."

This panel has been approved, so look forward to it!

Also there will be a question and answer session if you have specific questions.

[kenkendazo]

Let me know if you need any help on this or any visual aids. I have a habit of collecting eastern relics.

[PKMNC-2120]

This would be a panel I'd love to attend. I'm interested in Eastern philosophy in general, and I think combining aspects of it with anime would be a hit at ACen.

You've got my support!

[Xenn]

This sounds like a very interesting panel. Definitely will be going if it doesn't conflict with my other preset appointments at Acen.

[tenten_hero]

i would definitely go

[Kitchan]

The panel seems to be scheduled on Saturday, but CHECK THE SCHEDULE AT THE CONVENTION for the final listings!

Thanks for all your support, and I hope you enjoy it!

[Rurounotaku]

Kitchan, on May 6 2009, 01:11 PM, said:

The panel seems to be scheduled on Saturday, but CHECK THE SCHEDULE AT THE CONVENTION for the final listings!

Thanks for all your support, and I hope you enjoy it!

Looking at the program schedule, is your panel titled "otaku's guide to philosophy" at 7pm or "Japanese mythology and fairytales" at 8am?