What exactly have I gotten myself into?

[gurdymonkey]

bovil's  recent journal entry pegs Costume Con pre-registration at over 600 attendees. I'm on the official schedule grid for Sunday 10 AM. Is it time to start panicking yet?

This is not going to be like the average SCA class where I get anywhere from two to ten people - if I'm really lucky. It's not even going to be like Known World Costuming & Rattan, where I got twenty or so for the sideless surcote class. This is a convention for costuming. SCA attendees are only part of the equation. Instead of a tiny SCA-Japanese niche, I expect to see attendees from the anime/manga/cosplay part of the spectrum, and I could get quite a lot of them.

Here's the thing. I don't know jack about anime. I'm not into it, it's never really grabbed me.

OK, I have actually done some homework when it comes to historical Japanese clothing or I wouldn't have let myself be roped into this gig, but anime? Only this afternoon someone posted a question about a "hime-cut" to Immortal Geisha. I scratched my head and went a Googlin'. (Which is not, praise John Fogarty, the same as Chooglin'.) Please compare the following:

Bangs???? Hime don' wear no BANGS! Sidelocks yes, but bangs?

It's my understanding that the character is supposed to be a miko (Shinto shrine maiden). The woman on the right actually is one and her vestments have their origin in Heian women's underwear, which later became fashionable as outerwear during the Kamakura period (see scroll drawing at far left).  The toon is also wearing hitatare instead of a kosode: note the artistically flying strings at the lapels and the drawstrings in her billowingly not-kosode-sleeves.

This is a bucket of freshly caught squid I just cannot embroil myself in during the presentation.  If someone asks me for an opinion about what some toon in some series is wearing, I'm going to have to say, "Sorry, I'm not a fan, I can't comment without having seen it." Well, shucky darn. Or should I say, shigata ga nai.
 

Comments

[bovil.livejournal.com]

Yes, you will get cosplayers. Many of them will be trying to sleep in, though.

You'll probably get a bunch of non-SCA history enthusiasts who want to branch out and already know that Edo and Meiji Japanese looks cool.

It can't be helped...

[elmunadi.livejournal.com]

Alternatively, to tweak the Japanese speakers amongst your audience... a snarky response is "Shigoto ga nai" versus "Shikata ga nai".

It's "I don't have a job" versus "It can't be helped". They will sound alike to most, and unless your accent is dead-on, even most Nihonjin will at least do a double take.

Your class description indicates *historic* costume/clothing, yes? You could advise that you're terrible at mixed period clothing, but that kosode with a square sailor collar and thigh-high wrap-around-hakama just doesn't cut it... (What *is* that girl on the right in the anime shot wearing?)

I've no doubt that you'll do fine - BTW, there's a reasonable chance that Mela Hoyt-Haydon (M. Mela du Prion when she played SCA) may attend your class - if she does and introduces herself, please tell her Akagawa Yoshio (a former life of mine) says "Hi".

Re: It can't be helped...

[karisu-sama.livejournal.com]

What *is* that girl on the right in the anime shot wearing?

Japanese High School girls uniform, AKA "seifuku" (this one being sailor suit style.) Yes, I have seen real Japanese schoolgirls wearing things much like that, and in such colors too.

Shoganai, ne...

[eleryth.livejournal.com]

Most anime is "this looks pretty", and they don't bother to be historically (or currently) accurate. Inuyasha (which I haven't watched) is about a girl who "falls down a well" and "time travels" to "ancient Japan", where it's found that she's the reincarnation of the miko who sealed the dog demon (the white-haired boy) - so that's why I think it's a mix of styles (they depict Inuyasha's mother in an approximation of juunihitoe).

Either way, saying "I don't follow anime, and I can't comment without having seen the show" is perfectly fine. You can also add that disclaimer at the very beginning of your panel as well. It's also ok to add that "anime isn't necessarily historically accurate, so your mileage may vary". The anime costumers you'll probably have will not be the screaming, rabid fangirly type (unless it's about costumes) associated with many anime fans, as Costume Con is expensive and more focused on costuming and not anime, which weeds out the little rabid kiddies who think they know a lot about favorite show from TV, but don't really.

As for a "hime cut" currently, it mostly means just the sidelocks, not the lack of bangs, which, in my opinion, can look pretty cute. I know it's not historically accurate, but I think that's what it's referred to in "fashion" (I use the term loosely, as I haven't researched it at all). Might have started as a type of pop culture or anime reference, I have no idea.

[reynardine.livejournal.com]

That Inuyasha character (Kikyo is her name) is indeed supposed to be a miko, but the artist took liberties and her clothing is closer to that of a kagura dancer from the Kamakura period. Hence the hitatare. I've got a picture from one of my taiga drama magazines that shows a very similar costume. If you'd like me to scan it for you, let me know.

As for the bangs, that's an anime thing that you see a lot of, even if they're doing "historical" manga. I have some Heian era based series (like this one) that stay pretty accurate as to clothing, but they fudge on the hair of the main characters and add bangs because that's the manga style.

In one of the manga I read (Kaze Hikaru, set during the 1860's), the artist actually angsts about not being historically accurate in the hairstyles, but she had to make the lead characters "cute" so that the series would sell (it worked, the series is on its 23rd volume). She does do her best on other details, and usually writes something about her research in the back of each volume.

But yeah, I think your answer of not being able to comment without having seen the character in question is quite sensible and should work fine for you.

Looks like you've got a great presentation lined up! Good luck with it, and have fun!

The Cute, It Burns Us!

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

Seriously, do you KNOW any Japanese girls who have eyes the size of baseballs? It's not normal, I tell ya.

Here's the class description which appears on the convention website. I think it's pretty clear what the focus is, and it's not 'Toons.

"An overview of historical fashions from the Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi and Momoyama Period and practical suggestions on how to replicate them.

"Before the Shogun: Pre-Edo Japanese Historical Dress" explores the native dress of Japan from its early history through 1600. We will explore such topics as early Chinese influences, the development of native styles and the transition of a humble undergarment to a national ethnic costume. We will also discuss how to successfully replicate the costume of the period. Lisa Joseph is a member of the Society For Creative Anachronism, with an interest in feudal Japan. She has re-created both male and female looks from the Heian, Kamakura and Momoyama periods."

[karisu-sama.livejournal.com]

Bangs are considered sexier than lack thereof. They can hang over eyes and get peered through. And it's a signature look of most characters in Rumiko Takahashi's art style. :)