Japanese animation festival

17th All-Russian Festival of Japanese Animation in Voronezh

From April 30 to May 3, hospitable Voronezh was turned into the Russian capital of Japanese anime by the efforts of organizers and volunteers.
The cosplay show was held in Voronezh for the first time in Russia and was liked by so many that it turned into an annual traditional event. Numerous participants from among residents of the city and region, festival guests from other cities, together made the last festival bright and memorable. The spectacular closing point of the festival was the exhibition-forum of animation festivals and communities.

Forum-exhibition of anime festivals and communities

Life constantly tries to throw various surprises at us, and always from the side where we don’t expect them. This time, this surprise for us was the 17th All-Russian Festival of Japanese Animation in Voronezh. The festival took place during the May holidays and ran from April 30 to May 3. At the encouragement of our second-grader grandson, the whole family went to the city park “Scarlet Sails” on May 3. A little late for the start of the event, on the way to the park we got caught in multi-directional streams of participants and guests of the festival, which even caused some confusion - is it really all over?

The day turned out to be warm, sunny and windless like a spring one. The bright colors of the costumes of the forum-festival participants, support groups and the idly staggering public, harmoniously merged with the green foliage of the trees and the blue sky. Our grandson with his mom and dad first headed to the attractions: the ropes course and the paintball range. Having divided into two groups and agreed on a meeting place, we began the “festival”, systematically getting acquainted with the ongoing activities of the participants of the exhibition-forum.

Unlike the events organized and conducted by the city’s cultural department, there was no clearly defined mandatory scenario; sometimes it seemed that everything was happening by itself, although this was not the case, everything was in clearly organized movement. The gathered participants of the event were of different, as they say, weight categories: from seasoned festival “fighters” to rookie cosplayers. The first were immediately distinguished by the appearance of their spectacular, detailed costumes and well-practiced posing manners. The latter tried to look like experienced “fighters”, but the lack of festival experience in behavior and clothing style clearly revealed the young replenishment of cosplayers.

Located in the central alley of the park and the surrounding area, the festival was organized locally: from places of communication, dressing and posing for singles to performances from the stage. By the way, musical performances were not only on stage, random ensembles appeared spontaneously and songs were sung from the heart.

The nearby shopping arcades with various paraphernalia attracted the attention of those present. Many people chose and bought something along the way, discussing and receiving advice from sellers about amazing products. The “ghost hunters” who were right there quickly caught all the evil spirits and all kinds of evil.

Everything that happened was very reminiscent of a fairy-tale dream, where all the characters appeared and disappeared, a variety of role options were formed, and often even the public took an active part...

Pre-equipped places for games were not idle; everyone was given the opportunity to play various games under the strict guidance of master mentors. Nearby were masters of fighting with wooden swords, offering short master classes to those interested.

Organized and spontaneously emerging places for photo sessions, the number of photographers and videographers could not be counted, but there were no less than the festival participants themselves. We took pictures with cool phones, point-and-shoot cameras and professional cameras. However, we are talking about an anime festival, and photographers are modern chroniclers of history, fortunately there was an abundance of factual material for everyone.

It’s surprising, at least for me, how many enthusiasts of this movement we have in our city. The annual Japanese anime festivals that are held allow us to say with confidence that the tradition of holding such an event has developed a strong one. For me personally, this is exotic with game elements; the cosplayers themselves, despite their outwardly extraordinary appearance, turned out to be kind, sociable and adequate in the process of communication.

My attempts to remember and write down the names of the costumed characters to caption the photographs I took failed after several attempts. The number of anime characters was amazing, and their appearance, I repeat once again, aroused genuine interest among others. The names of the anime characters turned out to be too far from Russian names and I didn’t remember anything except their extravagant appearance, and I don’t know such cartoons or comics. The problem, of course, can be solved by simply viewing photos on social networks on the Internet, but is it really so important when the grandson recognized almost all the characters and wanted to take “photos for memory.” Taking advantage of grandfather's love, understanding of the situation and the good nature of the cosplayers, a good dozen such photographs were taken.

New idols or filling a void?

The initial, slightly discouraging effect of the ongoing festival, gradually diminished and the eyes began to get used to the bright colors of the replica costumes of the anime characters, the anime characters became more familiar, but obsessive thoughts arose: holding such a wide multi-day festival on sheer enthusiasm is hardly possible .

This means that there are those who are willing and able to organize and carry out this action. The absence of such characters in our folklore, holding even one festival a year does not prevent people from preparing for it - spending their financial resources, time and energy. Why doesn’t our cultural and propaganda state mechanism with a huge base of historical and mythological material, possessing countless reserves of costumes of the peoples living in the vastness of our country, hold such events? An example of such a form of holiday was the one I described in the previous article. Often, organized public holidays with a similar theme are held in the form of rare and stereotyped boring scenarios of the “just for show” type - come, look and leave.

In such an important matter as nurturing love for one’s history and true patriotism, one should not miss even small but important elements in shaping the personality of our younger generation. Of course, at first glance, our fairy tales, amusements, and folk costumes are something that is passing away and becoming obsolete. But children and growing youth attend numerous clubs, courses, and actively exchange information on historical heritage issues on social networks on the Internet.

Ideology does not tolerate inaction and instead of the idea of ​​​​creating and educating a “man of communist society”, against the background of the emerging ideological void, new idols appear, new heroes who also influence the formation of personality. Separated from the state (at least officially), the church has been actively working to evangelize the people for the last few decades, and is especially active in working with young people. State media actively reproduce speeches by leaders of various church denominations, our officials, even the highest rank, constantly publicly take part in various religious events, even the restoration of destroyed and construction of new church buildings is partially financed from the budget, new religious educational institutions are appearing, the church is aggressively introducing itself into schools, army units, institutions of correction and punishment... Taking into account thousands of years of religious experience and the growing role of religion, a worldview is currently being formed that is very different from that formed in the last hundred years.
Mass celebrations and holidays such as New Year, Maslenitsa (pagan and secular), the celebration of the Cossack Savior, performances of folk musical groups, the revival of folk crafts certainly have elements of costume action, although they are aimed at ensuring that our traditions and customs are not forgotten. If we recall our communist holidays, their external attributes and harmonious pyramid system (Octobers, Pioneers, Komsomol members, Communists), then they were superior to current propaganda in terms of the power of influence on the masses.

Personal impressions of the festival

Flickering thoughts about the ongoing Japanese anime festival do not in the least detract from the positive impressions left from what we saw. Meanwhile, the time allotted by the park organizers for the forum-exhibition of anime festivals and communities has ended, festival participants began to close down their gaming places and retail outlets, and people slowly flocked to the exit of the park.
The joint event made it possible to find new friends, so friendly communication continued even at the exit from the park: some were waiting for their friends, others apparently for personal cars, a positive attitude led to a lack of desire to leave. Many of the cosplayers who got into character didn’t even change their clothes; they left on public transport right in their festival costumes, arousing increased interest from those around them. At this point the festival in the park ended, but there was a continuation in the form of a musical party at 19:00 in one of the city clubs. The festival in Voronezh has ended, but the anime movement continues, soon there will be new meetings, new characters and of course new friends.

If this topic seemed interesting to you, then you still have the opportunity to take part in the traditional radio bridge, which will take place on May 20, starting at 20:00. by following the link from the organizers.

During the broadcast, guests and festival participants can ask the organizers questions that concern them, take part in competitions, demonstrate their creative abilities in front of other listeners, or simply chat with like-minded people in a Skype conference specially created for this purpose.

Of course, some will not like the festival and the way it is held, but personally I liked the original ideas and their implementation. The time spent today at the forum-exhibition was usefully spent: I learned a lot about this unusual hobby of young people, my grandson practically met live anime characters for the first time, communication with cosplayers was mutually useful and interesting. I think that next year I will definitely visit several festival venues. Maybe we’ll even try to make a costume for our grandson, if, of course, he still has an interest in the festival movement.

Photo album in the style of a photo report

P.S. — I tried to put many of the characters from among those photographed in the album, because there was no other way
I can’t thank the people who invested their energy in holding the festival.
P.P.S. — I will separately send your photo in full quality to those who wish. Write your request either in the comments below or.

Enjoy viewing the photos!

It's the season for taiko sounds, late-night food stalls, yukata and goldfish games: yes, it's matsuri time!

Summer in Japan brings a lot of creative things to do to help you brave the hot weather - watermelon and soda, kakigori, matcha, dancing and yukata are a few of them. But there is only one place where you can enjoy them in true Japanese style - the summer matsuri night that attracts tourists who decide to go on holiday to Japan in June, July or August.

While there are many unique festivals across the country, here are our top ten festivals in Tokyo and other parts of Japan! Stop waiting, it's time to buy a tour to Japan and plunge into the spirit of Matsuri!

1. Fireworks Festival on the Sumida River (Tokyo)

Rumor has it that the first festival took place in 1733. The Sumida River Fireworks Festival is one of the most popular (and crowded) summer festivals in Tokyo. With a history of nearly four centuries, it survived the Meiji Restoration and continued to be held until the world wars. The festival was reinstated in 1977 and celebrated its 40th anniversary in its current form in 2017. Visitors will see a spectacular display of 22,000 fireworks, but be prepared - almost a million people attended the event last year, so expect large crowds!

Where: Sumida River, Sumida-ku, Tokyo;

How to get there: the nearest station to the 1st venue: Asakusa or Honjo-Azumabashi, the closest station to the 2nd venue: Kuramae or Ryugoku.

2. Shinjuku Eisa Matsuri (Tokyo)

Born from the island of chinsuko and brown sugar, Okinawa's dance and music culture has always been distinct from that of the mainland, and Eisa Matsuri was no exception. Traditional costumes, drums and dances will look and sound different. The origin of the name is unknown, but one theory is that it came from an exclamation used in Ace's original song, "ensaa". This year will mark the event's 44th anniversary, and organizers expect close to a million people to join in the fun!

Where: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo;

How to get there: Shinjuku Station West Exit.

3. Fukagawa Matsuri (Tokyo)

The Fukagawa Festival, officially known as the Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri, is one of the three great festivals of Edo along with the Kanda Matsuri and the Sanno Matsuri. The Fukagawa Festival is held at the ancient Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine in the Koto district. Since 1642, the festival has featured a procession of mikoshi (portable shrines) where 120 mikoshi are paraded through local streets while spectators splash water on the participants.

Where: Tomioka Hachimangu, 1-20-3 Tomioka, Koto-ku, Tokyo;

How to get there: Monzen-nakacho Station, Exit 1.

4. Azabu-Juban Matsuri

This festival is officially known as Azabu-Juban Norio Matsuri. "Norio" is translated as "summer nights" according to many dictionaries, but upon closer examination, the more accurate definition is: "to avoid the heat and find coolness." 300 thousand participants of this “trend” festival (most of whom are young people) gather here for the sole purpose of overeating. Stalls sell regional dishes from all over Japan, from the northern island of Hokkaido to southern Okinawa. The Bon Dance in the evening is also a must-see event for travelers planning a summer holiday in Japan.

Where: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Azabu-Juban shopping district;

How to get there: Azabu-Juban station, exit 4.

5. Koenji Awa Odori (Tokyo)

Originating in Tokyo approximately 56 years ago, the festival is now considered one of Tokyo's largest and most famous summer events of its kind. With 10,000 dancers walking through the streets of Koenji, the small area manages to attract about a million visitors every year. It is crowded, but the experience of such unbridled fun is priceless!

Where: Sugunami-ku, Tokyo, Koenjiminami 2nd, 3rd and 4th chome, Koenjikita 2nd and 3rd chome

How to get there: Koenji Station.

6. Soma Nomaoi (Fukushima)

Known for its horse breeding, the Soma region in Fukushima Prefecture hosts the annual 1000-year-old Soma Namaoi Festival. It is organized by three different shrines in the area - Ota, Odaka and Nakamura. The highlight of this festival is the recreation of a battle scene from the turbulent Sengoku period in Japan. Clad in heavy armor and wielding katana swords, several hundred samurai horsemen engage in battle to capture the 40 sacred flags.

Where: Nomaoi Gyuretsu and Hibarigahara Field, Soma, Fukushima;

How to get there: JR Haranomachi Station.

7. Aomori Nebuta Matsuri (Aomori)

The Aomori Nebuta Matsuri, or simply Aomori Nebuta, is one of the three largest festivals in the Tohoku region. The word "nebuta" refers to giant paper platforms made in the shape of terrible warriors. According to legend, the commander Sakanoue no Tamuramaro placed giant lanterns depicting warriors and monsters on the top of the hills to frighten the enemy army. Nowadays, at festivals, dancers wear a unique outfit (which can be described as a kimono with a fruit basket as a headdress) called "haneto" and invoke "rassera" by performing wild dances around the floats. One of the largest in the country, this matsuri should be included in the list of must-see festivals for travelers purchasing tours to Japan in the summer.

When: August 2-7, 2017, 19:10-21:00 (August 2-6), 13:00-15:00 and 19:15-21:00 (August 7);

Where: Aomori City Hall;

How to get there: JR Aomori Station.

8. Sendai Tanabata Matsuri (Miyagi)

Tanabata, literally meaning "evening of the seventh", originates from the Chinese festival of Qixi, which celebrates the annual meeting of a young shepherd and a weaver maiden, known in Japan as Orihime and Hikoboshi. While Tanabata holidays are celebrated throughout Japan, the Sendai Tanabata festival is the most popular, with nearly two million tourists flocking to see the thousands of wish cards decorating the bamboo trees. This is a breathtaking sight and a great opportunity to spend a bright and eventful holiday in Japan!

When: August 6-8, 2017, 10:00-22:00 (August 6-7), 10:00-21:00 (August 8). Fireworks August 5, 2017 19:00-20:30;

Where: Kotodai Park (Central Sendai and nearby shopping areas);

How to get there: JR Sendai Station.

9. Kyoto Gozan Okuribi (Kyoto)

Gozan no Okuribi (literally "five mountain farewell lights"), or better known in Kyoto as Daimonji, is the summer equivalent of Halloween. During the festival, families in Japan prepare their homes to welcome the spirits of their ancestors, and on the third day, giant ritual bonfires are lit around the city of Kyoto in the shape of the five Chinese characters - Daimonji ("big" or "great"), Muo-Ho ("wonderful") dharma", referring to Buddhist teachings), Funagata ("boat shape"), Hidari Daimonji ("large left") and Toriigata ("shrine gate shape"). A trip to Japan in the summer should include a visit to this spectacular event, which attracts millions of tourists every year.

Where: Central Kyoto, panoramic views from Funaokayama Park;

Popular places: Daimonji: along the eastern bank of the Kamo River (Marutamachi Bridge - Misono Bridge); Moo Ho: near Notre Dame Women's College; Funagata: Near Kitayama Station (northwest of Kitayama Bridge); Hidari Daimonji: Near Nishioji Station (Saiin Station - Kinkaku-ji Temple); Toriigata: Saga Arashiyama area.

10. Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri (Osaka)

The Kishiwada Danjiri Festival first took place in 1703, when the daimyo (feudal lord) of Kishiwada Castle, Okabe Nagayasu, prayed to the Shinto gods for a bountiful harvest. Today the festival has a reputation as Osaka's wildest and most daring event. Local boys try to prove their mettle and bravery by dancing on the roofs of 35 floats, known as danjiri, that parade through the streets. All platforms are expertly designed, hand assembled and weigh over 3000kg. The most exciting part of the hyper parade is when the floats move at a 90 degree angle.

Where: Near Kishiwada Station, Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture;

How to get there: Kishiwada Station.

to Japan for Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus |in Japan |to Japan

Today in the Land of the Rising Sun there is a national holiday of love - the Tanabata festival. On this occasion, we decided to talk not only about it, but also about other Japanese festivals that deserve close attention.

The Awa-odori Festival, part of the national Obon holiday, attracts more than a million participants and spectators to the city of Tokushima. And they all go to the island of Shikoku with one goal - to admire the procession continuously performing the ancient Japanese dance, the name of which the festival bears. The laconic simplicity of the dance and the scale of the action make Awa-odori one of the most popular processions in the country for more than four hundred years.

The naked festival takes place in the city of Okayama, on the day of which ten thousand men rush headlong through the streets of the city, wearing only traditional loincloths. They are not running in vain - they are looking for a completely naked person, who, by catching him, can gain good luck for many years to come. There are rumors that no one has ever been able to find and catch him.

The festival, held annually in the city of Kawasaki, could claim the title of the most vulgar holiday in the world if it were not perceived by local residents extremely calmly. Many thousands of phalluses, molded from papier-mâché, carved from radishes and obtained from archaeological excavations, have nothing to do with pornography, although they contain a sexual context. The message of Kanamara Matsuri is the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

The astronomical imperial holiday, timed to coincide with the meeting of Altair and Vega in the starry sky, over the years became a Japanese analogue much later than Valentine's Day, imported to the Land of the Rising Sun. Festivals taking place throughout the archipelago leave behind myriads of strips of multi-colored paper with deepest desires written in haiku, and, of course, unforgettable impressions from the festive processions.

A traditional holiday of snow figures, which originated in the twentieth century, and after the 1972 Winter Olympics became famous throughout the world. After this event, he began to attract a bunch of ice carvers and snowman sculptors from all over the world to the small Japanese city - and, as a result, a lot of tourists.

On New Year's Eve, the Japanese prefecture of Akita is occupied by sinister demons who have flocked to the major Namahage festival. A kind of analogue of the Western Eve of All Hallows' Day, where children prefer not to look out from under the table - after all, at any moment people dressed in creepy costumes can burst into the house demanding exemplary behavior in the coming year.

A celebration of eras, when many past time periods are mixed in a single procession in the city of Kyoto. An excellent opportunity to clearly and in one place study the history of Japan attracts many tourists to the Land of the Rising Sun on October 22, waiting for the golden Hoo bird at the end of the procession.

Judging by this festival, the inhabitants of the industrial city of Himeji have a very violent temperament. Otherwise, it will be difficult to explain the fact that a very traditional procession for Japan ultimately develops into a giant brawl of half-naked participants attacking the ceremonial portable platforms of other participants with their mikoshi. Fortunately, this dump does not threaten participants or spectators with serious injuries.

In mid-August, Kyoto residents head to the slopes of Mount Niigatake to light hundreds of bonfires at once. Folded in such a way as to form five different hieroglyphs from a distance, they illuminate the night sky, creating a unique magical atmosphere and beautiful views of the mountainside.

Kanto is a twelve-meter pole on which many lanterns are hung, symbolizing grains of rice. It is these structures, weighing half a centner each, that are carried by residents of the city of Akita in early August, celebrating the festival of fertility. And they don’t just carry them, but perform various acrobatic somersaults with them, often building tall human pyramids.

Another Kyoto festival, which is one of the most popular and spectacular in Japan. Beginning at Yasaka Shrine, it ends with a parade of ceremoniously decorated huge floats, reaching two stories in height and weighing more than ten tons.

Once again, an extremely popular festival taking place on the streets of the Japanese capital. A prim-looking festive procession of thousands of participants dressed in ceremonial costumes passes along a route three dozen kilometers long. There are practically no public festivities, but this does not prevent Sanno from gathering a lot of spectators from all over the world.

The third, together with the Gion and Sanno festivals, is the most popular holiday in the Land of the Rising Sun. Taking place in Osaka, it is marked by funatogo - a parade of boats sailing along the Okawa River and, of course, an impressive fire show.

Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara, famous for its wisteria gardens, hosts the beautiful and tranquil Mantoro Festival twice a year. On the territory of the sanctuary there are more than three thousand stone and bronze toro lanterns, which are all lit together on February 3 and August 14 or 15.

A celebration of nature, the onset of spring, thanks to which Japan received the common name of the Land of Cherry Blossoms. The most leisurely and peaceful festival, moving across the islands from south to north, following the short-lived cherry blossoms. For this reason, many tourists go to the Land of the Rising Sun, and local residents are ready to sit for several days in crowded parks, waiting for the moment of flowering.

Story

The first All-Russian festival of Japanese animation

First The festival was held in the Yunost cinema (large hall) from February 25 to March 8, 2000. 11 anime films were presented at the festival, five of them by . The festival was organized through the efforts of the Voronezh branch of the R.An.Ma club. under the leadership of Artyom Tolstobrov with the participation of individual representatives of other branches, the Fumoto Russian-Japanese Friendship Society and the Japanese Embassy.

Full list of anime films from the first festival:

• Memories of the future
• Macross Plus
• Darkseid - dark avenger
• Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
• Porco Rosso
• Kiki's Delivery Service

Second All-Russian Festival of Japanese Animation

Festival with number two was also held at the Yunost cinema (small hall) from April 29 to May 5, 2001. Its program included eight films - different in genre and mood. The youngest viewers once again met with the characters of an amazingly kind and funny film, included in the program at the request of Voronezh residents. The kids also enjoyed watching the adventure film The Castle of Cagliostro from the series of films about noble thief Lupine the Third is a very popular animated character in Japan. Also shown:

• Spriggan
• The Last Submarine

Third All-Russian Festival of Japanese Animation

Third The All-Russian festival started on May 3, 2002. Like the previous two, it was held in the Voronezh cinema "Yunost" (small hall). During the festival, My Neighbors the Yamadas, and many other anime films were shown. The third festival for the first time took the event beyond the usual screening - the group Suki Da performed at the closing of the event! and for the first time a large-scale cosplay with a photo shoot was organized.

The Fourth All-Russian Festival of Japanese Animation

Fourth- took place from April 24 to April 30, 2003. Unlike the first three, the event was moved to the Spartak cinema. At the opening of the festival, the drama Actress of the Millennium was shown, and viewers were also able to see, Almost Human, and. Among other things, it included the first "anime night" and was celebrated.

Fifth All-Russian Festival of Japanese Animation

Fifth The festival took place from April 29 to May 5, 2004. The scale of the event required two (Spartak and Illusion) cinemas. Next was shown a wonderful one. The best films from past festivals and the latest in Japanese animation were shown, and on the night of May 1-2, a “night of experimental anime” took place, which included films such as Cat Soup, Nasu - The Summer of Andalusia, Neo-Tokyo . The cosplay performance that preceded the start of the “night” took place directly on the cinema stage. The festival ended with the Russian premiere of Once Upon a Time in Tokyo.

5 1/2 All-Russian Festival of Japanese Animation

In 2005, the numbering was changed and the festival was held under the name Fifth and a half. The main efforts of the organizers this time were aimed at organizing cosplay, for which a separate room was allocated. A night of experimental animation was held at the Spartak cinema, which continued the show last year. Featured: Mind Game, Trava: the Fist Planet, Dead Leaves, Ginga no Uo URSA minor BLUE, Blame!, Noiseman Sound Insect. The Illusion cinema hosted retrospective screenings of films from past festivals. This is the first festival that included a seminar, during which Artyom Tolstobrov and the magazine’s editor-in-chief Valery Korneev gave a lecture on the process of creating anime using the example of the studio.