(Time for a really overdue post)
While it’s sometimes enough to talk about anime, video games and other hobbies with friends or in online forums, it’s occasionally great to attend gatherings around the local area that is dedicated to what you love. If that didn’t make much sense, I meant to say that is what conventions are usually for.
Here in the Philippines, almost every month there is a fan-gathering catered to fans of various pop cultures (by that I mean Japanese and Korean pop culture). While I have yet to determine what is lacking in conventions here in the Philippines, I’d like to talk about one convention I liked.
Last March 28 was the third time De La Salle University’s Japanese Studies Organization, Nihon Kenkyuu Kai (日本研究会), held a Japanese Culture convention called the Tamashii Convention…or TamaCon for short.
“Tamashii” is Japanese for “soul,” from what I’ve read and I believe it’s meant to be named like that as this event aims to embody the spirit of Japanese culture’s festivities.
I find it unique in that it not only hosts the usual booths that display anime figures and merchandise, the usual stage that holds a Battle of the Bands or a cosplay competition, but it also has booths that represent Japanese culture more, like how Japanese festivals are done.
There’s the booth for Kingyo Sukui, where you scoop goldfish.
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- Woah.
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- Scoop’em, baby~
There’s also a Kendama booth, where you just spend time playing a Kendama.
Those tricks…I give up.
And there’s also an O-mikuji shrine where you draw a stick with a number, then you open the corresponding number’s drawer in a cabinet which holds your fortune on a piece of paper, which is an O-mikuji.
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- You first shake this can and pick the stick that…sticks out from the rest.
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- An O-mikuji..I got this from the first shinto shrine booth…what bad luck x.x
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- I was told to tie the paper containing my bad luck to this to “get rid of it.”
I also happened to find another O-mikuji booth…and it also has Ema in it. Ema are wooden blocks with a string on top of it. You write your wishes on an Ema and tie it somewhere.
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- I got better luck here~
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- You either keep your o-mikuji or tie it to the ropes to “secure that fortune.”
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- This is what I wrote on my Ema.
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- Once you’re done writing on your ema, you tie it to…more ropes.
The event was supposed to have a talk about Hayao Miyazaki, but I either didn’t make it earlier or later. Regardless, I was happy with this convention, despite the space. I got to experience Japanese culture like how I’ve seen it in anime.
Still…I wish there were candy apples. (maybe I didn’t look hard enough)
While I took a lot more pictures, I put them elsewhere…if you’re interested, here’s the link:
Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tukrcohd1m1au14/AAAFsnQG8j9NWskwKSs7gwhza?dl=0
FB: https://www.facebook.com/hiphoppy11/media_set?set=a.10204147871478044.1073741865.1263716677
Alright! I gotta get ready for Ozine Fest 2015 now. See you there~ ;D
References:
Panda Pile 