Experience Japan is a Japanese cultural festival held in Dublin. I am involved with the cosplay and run the cosplay stage show and Japanese fashion show. I suppose I look after the pop culture end of it. Similar to Eirtakon I am also on the Experience Japan committee. Experience Japan started two years ago and it only featured traditional Japanese culture but since two years ago they want to promote cosplay and anime culture which is great!
I decided not to cosplay but wear wa-lolita which is Japanese kimono mixed with lolita. I thought it would be nice to suit the Japanese cultural theme.
I also wore Lolita heels from Bodyline which I love.x I love bows.
That is me with my cosplay partner in crime Fiona as Mikuru from Haruhi Suzumiya. Fiona is on the Eirtakon committee with me and helps out at all the cosplay events. I am sure you have seen her in alot of cosplay photos with me.
Farmleigh is a really picturesque place and really suits the Japanese festival with many cherry blossom trees. There is the main stage which featured many Japanese entertainment.
This is the first time we had a graffiti wall as we want to promote a mixture of traditional Japanese culture along with modern pop culture. There were a few very good artists drawing anime and Japanese art on the wall then later on during the day the kids and attendees joined in.
This is Fiona and I presenting the cosplay stageshow. We had to say a few words explaining what is cosplaying and had a few cosplayers get on the stage and we interviewed three of them on their cosplays.
The cosplayers in the stage show. I am not the best at public speaking so it was a god send having Fiona up there with me but I am working on it ;) as I will be doing lots of public speaking with Cosplay Ireland and for events. The cosplayers we interviewed were very confident. It was fun!
Our first interviewee was Kate cosplaying from Black Butler. Her costume was very cute.
Our second victim was Louise cosplaying as Lightning.
Strike a pose Lightning.
This is Ken and Andy their cosplays were very good. Andy did a great job making the Pokemon costume.
The cosplayers do their posing for the audience.
After the stageshow we gathered the cosplayers up at the graffiti wall to create an atmosphere but there were far too many people so Stephen kindly gathered them behind the wall and took photos. Not ideal but it worked I suppose.
This is Fiona and I. Yes another Fiona :p I known her and her sister Mimi a few years from Eirtakon and from the anime conventions. They are both very creative and make their own lolita dresses and run their own fashion label called DreamWear they want to expand into cosplay. Fiona made that dress herself.
The girls. <3
So cute posing with the kid.
Fiona is fixing my bow. My bow kept on falling off and Fiona did a great job styling my hair and keeping the bow in.
That is Seaneen on the right in cute lolita, she is adorable. So is the girl on the left. She looks dressed in Mori Girl which is forest girl.
Amy: Where shall we go Fiona?
Fiona: To the trees!
A photographer wanted to get a photo of us and we were wondering where will we pose.
Stephen took some photos of me in my dress as Farmleigh really made a great setting for it.
This was a talk about how Anime conventions from Japan spread from to the USA and how it spread to Ireland and gave an overview of what to expect at an Irish anime con. The talk was done by both from the Eirtakon committee and the Nomcon (the other anime convention in Dublin) committee who I know well and get on well with. Fiona and I dipped our nose in for abit it was very good but unfortunely very few were at it.
Mimi and Fiona posing with people who did martial arts. At Experience Japan there was Martial Arts demonstration, calligraphy, a photography gallery by artist Mitoko who resides in Dublin. There was alot going on!
At the end of the day there was the Japanese fashion show which we called a photocall. The photocall featured lolitas, visual kei, J-rock which were all striking. That is Vicky on the far left with the doll, then Sarah who looks like a queen and Josephine who I know from the Irish Elegant Lolita group. Lolita fashion is getting popular in Ireland.
That is Anu who is also on the committee she is the staff manager. She calls me her cosplay girl. :P Anu is from India and is studying in Ireland she is very humourous. My dress blends into the wall abit.
Me with two of Anu's friends who were lovely! That is the great thing about working at events you get to meet so much people and working at Experience Japan I met some lovely Japanese people. It is great for me to make connections and to get closer with Japanese culture.
What became of the grafitti wall at the end of the day.
Things did not go to plan and this was not what we had in mind...
The show is all over folks.
Experience Japan was great fun and I really enjoyed working for it. We got nice weather and there were alot of people at it. My next cosplay related event is Anime Dublin which is on the 14th. I will be judging the cosplay centest woth Teri who is the cosplay coordinator for Nomcon. I decided to cosplay as C.C. from Code Geass in my black night uniform. I will try get some pictures of it and post them here. This will be interesting as it is a new event. Then after that no shoots, no cosplays just straight into the books! I have only a month left of my postgraduate so when it is all over I will be back shooting which I can't wait! :)
My next blog post will be about my art trip Prague. :p
Listening to: Little Earthquake (Live) by Tori Amos
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