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Sunday, July 19, 2009
Hello Kitty & Doraemon!
Hello! This week I will be researching on a very interesting topic which is Japanese original two popular cartoon characters: Hello Kitty and Doraemon! Hello Kitty is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. The first hello kitty product is a vinyl coin purse designed by Ikuko Shimizu in 1974. Ever since it was developed, it had earned a lot from the sales. Some hello kitty products are dolls, stickers, greeting cards, clothes, accessories and home appliances. There is even a Hello Kitty theme park in Japan known as Sanrio Puroland. Hello kitty was later been made into animated series to target towards young children. In the animated films made by Sanrio from 1977 to 1985, Hello kitty has made cameo appearances in them. The earliest Hello kitty animated series was “ Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theatre” with is aired throughout 1986. The Japanese anime series “Hello Kitty and Friends” was made and aired in 1991. In 1993 and 1994, another anime series “Hello Kitty’s Paradise” was produced. Hello kitty and other Sanrio characters also appear in their versions of different fairy tales. Hello kitty not only appears on television but also on video games. The first video game is in 1992 which is “Hello Kitty no Hanabatake”. Other examples of video games are: Hello Kitty’s Big Fun Piano, Hello Kitty’s Cube Frenzy and Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams. Hello Kitty can be found on a variety of consumer products ranging from school supplies to fashion accessories. There is even a Hello Kitty album, Hello World, featuring songs inspired by Hello Kitty performed a collection of artists. They even produce hello kitty guitar and jet airplane. Hello Kitty is not only popular in Japan but also around the world. For example in Taiwan, there is a hello kitty restaurant and even a hospital. 
Hello Kitty, Sanrio Puroland(hello kitty theme park), Hello kitty & friends, hello kitty jet plane!
Doraemon is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio. which later became an anime series and Asian franchise. Doraemon is a robotic cat who travels back in the time from 22nd century to help a schoolboy, Nobita Nobi. The first series was appeared in December 1969 when it was published simultaneously in six different magazines. A majority of Doraemon episodes are comedies with moral lesson regarding values such as integrity, perseverance, courage, family and respect of elderly. They also talk about environmental issues and other topics such as deforestation and history of Japan. Doraemon was awarded the first Shogakukan Manga Award for children’s manga in 1982 and the first Osamu Tezuka Culture Award in 1997. Here is the plot summary of doraemon: Doraemon is sent back in time by Nobita Nobi’s great-great grandson Sewashi to improve Nobita’s life. Nobi experienced nothing but misery and misforture throughout his life thus, Sewashi sent him doraemon to alter the history and to make better the Nobi’s family forture. Doraemon has a pocket which produces many gadgets, medicine and tools from the future. He has phobia of mouse as his ears were eaten by them. Although he has no ears, he can still hear perfectly well. He always provide advice to Nobi’s problem but that was not enough as he always look for quick and easy way. Finally after Nobi’s consistent pleading, doraemon produces a gadget to help him. But Nobi always take it for granted and gets into trouble. However, by the end of the story, there is a retribution to the characters who misuse the gadget and a moral is taught.
Doraemon!
There are many characters in the series, but the main ones are doraemon, Nobita Nobi, Shizuka Minamoto( Nobi’s girlfriend), Takeshi Goda(nickname is Gian, who is Nobi’s friend), Suneo “Kurt” Honekawa(Nobi’s friend) and Hidetoshi “Logan” Dekisugi(Nobi’s rival). Shizuka Minamoto is a smart, kind and pretty kid in the neighbourhood, who baths several times a day and avoid learning piano by giving excuses of going out with Nobi. With doraemon’s help, she became Nobi’s wife in the future. Gian is known for his confidence in his terrible singing voice. He often steals’s other children’s toys and books. But when Nobi and his friends’ got into trouble, he does not hesitate to help them. Suneo is a rich kid who likes to show off his wealth. He is often with Gian to bully Nobi. He has an extensive knowledge of science, and is a talented designer and artist. Hidetoshi is Nobi’s classmate and rival for Shizuka affections. He is smart but he does not show off his abilities and he willing to help Nobi in his studies.
Doraemon & friends!
This week, I have know more about hello kitty and doraemon even thought I know who they are. I didn’t know that hello kitty has came out an album before and there is actually a hello kitty hospital in Taiwan! I hope could one day fly over to Taiwan to look at hospital, can’t image how it would look like! So cool! Now I have know more about doraemon and its story as I don’t watch doraemon series and knew less things about it. So today’s research about doraemon was helpful! Ok, so that’s all for this week! Hope your enjoy reading them! Check out next week for more! Bye! :)
shalalalala' 1:23 PM
Friday, July 10, 2009
Music and Cosplay
Hello... this week I will blog on Japanese hobbies which are music and cosplay! The modern Japanese music scene includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern, ranging from rock, electro, punk, folk, metal, reggae, salsa and tango to country music and hip hop while the old Japanese music has no specific beat and is calm. The two oldest forms of traditional music are shomyo(Buddhist chanting) and gagaku( Orchestral court music). Gagaku is a type of classical music that has been performed at the Imperial court since the Heian period(794-1185). It is divided into kangen(instrumental music) and bugaku(dance accompanied by gagaku). The samurai often listened to and performing in these music activites, in their practices of enriching their lives and understanding. During Edo period, actors performed the lively and popular kabuki theatre where kabuki could feature anything from historical plays to dance plays and are accompanied by nagauta style of singing and shamisen performance. The biwa, a form of short-necked lute, was played by a group of itinerant perfomers who used it to accompany stories. It is a type of folk music. In addition, numerous smaller group of itinerant blind musicians were formed and they will toured their local areas and performed a variety of religious and semi-religious texts to purify households and bring about good luck and good health. Blind woman also toured the land since the medieval era, singing songs and playing accompanying music on a lap drum. Taiko is a Japanese drum that comes in various sizes and used to play a variety of musical genres. Taiko drum were used during battle to intimidate the enemy and to communicate commands. During 1970s, , the government allocated funds to preserve Japanese culture and many community taiko group were formed. Later in the century, they were spread across the world and video games on this were created. Japanese folk songs are grouped into four main categories: work songs, religious songs, songs used for gathering and children’s songs. In minyo(folk music), singers are typically accompanied by the three-stringed lute known as the shamisen, taiko drums and a bamboo flute called shakuhachi. Terms often heard when speaking about minyo are ondo(describes any folk song with a distinctive swing that may be heard as 2/4 times rhythm), bushi(a song with a distinctive melody), bon uta(songs for Obon, the lantern festival of the dead) and komori uta(are children’s lullabies). Western music was introduced during the Meijij Restoration(latter half of the 19th century). It was later became popular in Japan. Two major forms of music that developed were shoka, which was composed to bring western music to schools and gunka, which are military marches with some Japanese elements. In the 1950s, tango and other kinds of Latin music became very popular in Japan. In 1960s, Japanese bands imitated The Beatles, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stone. In the late 70s and 80s, electronic pop music in Japan became a successful commodity with the technopop crazy. Art music like western classical music and jazz and Popular music like rock music, punk rock and heavy metal were also introduced to Japan. All these created the idea of Japanese modern music known as J-pop.
Biwa, Taiko drum
Taiko drum video game, shamisen, shakuhachi
Cosplay is short form of costume roleplay. It is a type of performance art whose participants outfit themselves, with often-elaborate costumes and accessories , as a specific character or idea. The characters are usually from various Japanese and East Asian media which include manga, anime, comic books, graphic novels, video games and fantasy movies. Others include performers from J-pop, J-rock, fantasy music stories and objects from cyberspace or real world that are unique and dramatic. In Japan, cosplay can be seen at public events such as video game shows and at dedicated cosplay parties at nightclubs or amusement parks. Since 1998, Tokyo’s Akihabara distinct has contained a large number of cosplay cafes, catering to devoted anime and cosplay fans and the waitresses at such cafes dress as game or anime characters. The single largest and most famous event attended by cosplayers is the semiannual doujinshi market, Comiket. This event is held in summer and winter and attract hundreds of thousands of people. Cosplay costumes are different from Halloweeen costumes. They must adhere to the design of the characters’ attire, and even more generic costumes are often elaborately artistic. Attention to detail is needed to make the costumes like ensuring the seams are aligned properly and finished, thread colours are appropriate and fabric colours precisely match the character and their attire. Some of them would buy the costumes from talented artists while others create their own. A recent trend at Japanese cosplay events is an increase in the popularity of non-Japanese fantasy and science fiction movie charcters. Some people cosplay as characters of the opposite sex and are called crossplay. The reason why they do this is because in anime there is an abundance of beautiful youth who are very attractive and feminine-looking male characters. Thus, in reality, females can often act as these characters better than males. A recent trend in cosplay has been increase in use of social networks to share experiences and photographs with other players. Due to the popularity of cosplay in Japan, it has affected westerner. For almost fifty years, cosplay has been widespread and continues to experience growing popularity in North America and Europe and has recently spread throughout South America and Australia. However, Western cosplay’s origins are based only on science fiction and historical fantasy as opposed to animation. But over the years, anime conventions have become more numerous in the West in the last decade and now compete with science fiction, comic and historical conferences in attendance. In the west, most people made their own costumes rather than purchasing them.
Cosplay costumes
From this week’s research, I have known the various Japanese music from the past to the present, from classical music to J-pop. I also know what cosplay is and how it works. I was quite shocked when I heard that westerners do cosplay too(not for Halloween but for other purpose like spare time) and is currently still influencing other western countries! I thought is only popular and is done in Japan! Anyway that’s all for this wk! Come back next wk as I will be doing on Japanese popular cartoon character! Tata! :)
shalalalala' 9:48 PM