My Tamashii Convention Experience: A First

“Tamacon” is the hashtag name of a Japanese cultural event called the Tamashii Convention, held this year at the SMX Convention Center on the 28th of March 2015. Its theme, “Igniting the Japanese Spirit,” suggests a mystery worth waiting for—and true, the Japanese pop culture of anime, cosplaying, and J-pop was, before Tamacon, a mystery to me. The habit of spending so much money on cosplaying, even, puzzled me and I used to wonder why people  still love cosplaying so much. Although many close friends and relatives love anime, I can say this fad never appealed to me as much as it does to them. I used to watch Japanese cartoons like Zoids, Bey Blade, Bidaman, Naruto, and even non-anime shows like Pokemon (a personal favorite), but apart from those shows, there was no other anime I could remember becoming so attached to. The anime Bungaku Shoujo—which literally means “literature girl,” a close “archetype” of myself—was the most I ever watched from this genre, and I looked for it only because a friend suggested that I watch it. Clearly, Japanese anime was never really my thing, not until Tamacon.

The moment I entered the convention room, I was mesmerized. I saw Japan-themed booths, Japan game booths, Japanese food booths, as well as culture and arts booths. I cannot exclude the fact that almost everyone was dressed up as a character. Real live anime characters toured the room and mingled with other characters—it was such a sight to behold. In addition, there were girls in kimonos and booths that sold kimonos. I did not get to buy myself a kimono,  unfortunately, but I found it to be so beautiful and was sure that I wanted one. Maybe when I go to Japan, I will look for a kimono for myself. I also have never seen so many people take a single culture to heart with so much fervor and eagerness the way the Tamacon participants did. As I watched booth artists make illustrations of anime characters from heart, I realized that the fandom of anime is more than just a subculture to these people. It could, in fact, be like music or food to them. The passion they show for the arts, language, and other aspects of the Japanese culture is inspiring. Truly, it is something I cannot compare to people who cannot even love or appreciate a foreign culture, much less a culture of their own. 

I met up with a group of anime-loving friends during the exhibit. I was amazed at how they could keep identifying every anime character that passed by. Their enthusiasm for the whole event makes me so curious about this lifestyle. These people know Nihonggo, and it is something I wasn’t surprised about. For these people who like J-pop and anime, it is only natural that they could pick up the language easily. A lover of Italian music, I understand what it means to vehemently love a language to the point of thinking in it. 

The latter part of the convention was devoted to a forum about exchange studies in Japan. Ever since I made friends with Japanese exchange students from the DLSU International Center, I had always been so interested in going on an exchange program to Japan. This convention hasd helped me settle with the decision of Japan through stories and feedbacks. Some former exchange students to Japan had shared their experiences and travels and disclosed how truly wonderful it could be to study in a Japanese university. I now find Japan a very beautiful country  because of their stories, plus the idea that Japan has a strong inclination to culture and tradition fascinates me. It is not easy to do away with the fact that there are so many “fans” of this culture, whether they are fans of the anime, language, food, or whatnot. Whatever it is that they find themselves interested in, their love and connection to it has surely ignited an interest and curiosity in my heart for this culture and country.

The Tamashii Convention was a one-day affair but a fun-filled and overcrowded one. There was a point in the afternoon where the second floor convention center was already too crowded so that newcomers had to wait at the ground floor until enough people had come down. The area was full of people, cosplayers especially, and it was a great experience to have witnessed a unique cultural event like this one. Not only did it introduce me to many new-to-me aspects of the pop culture of Japan, but it also gave answers to old thoughts I once had about going on exchange to that country.