[Toraerie] Fwd: Re: Tor Aerie Japanese Event

[ester030 at umn.edu]

Some Good Answers from Raito-sama

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Neil Gilmore" <raito at raito.com>
To: <ester030 at umn.edu>
Subject: Re: Tor Aerie Japanese Event
Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 09:38:40 -0600

OK, this gives me a better idea of what you're after.

> What would you like to get out of an event like this? What classes could
> you teach? We are still bouncing around ideas on what exactly the focus of
> the event will be. Our tentative theme is a sakura viewing festival.

There's a bunch of spring festivals. Sakura viewing is nice, but only if you
have the cherry trees.

> We have a few ideas for classes so far. The classes with tentative
teachers
> being: beginning kumihimo, shibori, some sort of class lead by Kou
> Toshikage, possibly an over view of Japanese history, and basic
> what-they-wore. Other ideas included: hanga (wood block prints), ikebana
> (flower arranging), karuta (Heian card game I've forgotten how to play),
> yoroi (armor), tea ceremony, go, though pretty much I'm banking on the
> teachers having their own idea on what to teach. Perhaps a keynote speaker
> would be a good idea, though finding a topic that would be interesting to
> most is rather troublesome. Would a general topic be better, or a specific
> one?

Lady Eliane teached kumihimo at every opportunity, but be aware that it's
only one of a whole bunch of cord-making constructions out there (my
retainer Koha does the sort of fingerloop resulting in yoroi-odoshi [armour
lacing]).

I don't think I'd do woodblock prints, because their heyday was well after
the unification by the Tokugawas (well after 1600 [yeah, I'm pretty stodgy
that way]).

I'm not sure when ikebana came into style. There may be flower arranging
syles in period, but I haven't researched that. You should be aware that
ikebana is a specific style of flower arranging -- not flower arranging
itself.

Karuta isn't all that hard, as it's a matching game, but I don't think it
was made in the Heian (see here:
http://www.geocities.com/a_pollett/cards9a.htm). But kai-oi or uta-awase
would be marvelous to play. They're really played the same way as the
children's card game concentration, except that rather than matching 2
identical pieces, the 2 pieces are just related. In uta-awase, the 2 pieces
are pieces of verse, and in kai-oi, they are pictures. It could be quite
nice to have, say, an uta-awase set where the pieces have the words to
various Northshield songs, or poems, or the Peerage oaths.

Tea ceremony also pushes the end of our period, but the one who knows most
about that is Master Danr.

I'm afraid that I'm probably the best bet for armour. I'd probably do
something on the evolution of it, as there's significant changes throught
SCA period (and after).

I'm not sure who would be best to teach go. I'm mediocre, at best.

If there is a keynote speaker, it might be good to have them speak on the
similarities and differences in chivalry and the feudal systems between
Japan and western Europe.

I would also suggest poetry as a topic and/or contest. Although the haiku is
stylistically out of our period, the form (haikai) is simple and used in
period. As well there's the renga, waka, and tanka. The linked-verse styles
can be quite a bit of fun for a group.

Doing a feast is also quite possible, though keeping it in period is more
difficult. Japanese feasts do tend to take more cooks per guest than other
feasts, though. I've only done one, and we had a dozen full-time cooks and 8
servers for what turned out to be 108 people (and we still worked very
hard). Difficult to do, but very rewarding. And it isbest to attempt to
serve it in a Japanese manner (which is a subject in itself).

> Do you believe adding a fighting aspect would make the event more rounded,
> or more of a headache than it is worth? We were toying with the idea of
> setting up teams, one side fighting for the central court and one for the
> southern from the Muromachi period. If we had fighting we'd have to find a
> marshal. Is there any way to get a general estimate of how many people may
> be coming? Is pre-registration worth the hassle?

Fighting can certainly be done, though it would likely remove some of the
prospective teachers and students frm the classes. The Japanese didn't
really hold tournaments as such, but there are certainly classical forms for
individual combat. Archery is also something to consider, as it was a
primary skill of the nobility in Japan. Finding marshalls usually isn't a
problem.

I know of no way to estimate how many people will attend an event, unless it
has been held before. One way to make sure you don't turn anyone away is to
make sure that the namban (Europeans) are specifically invited.
Pre-registration is always useful if you're serving food or have other
things that require knowing how many people will be attending. It may or may
not give you a heads-up on how many eople to expect overall. Otherwise, it
doesn't do much for anyone.

> Are there other people we should be contacting individually who would be
> interested in this sort of thing, or would a general cattle call work for
> most of the populous? Perhaps a bit of both would be our best bet.

Certainly. As I mentioned before, Master Danr for tea ceremony. Me, as you
have done. Also Sir Hagen has done some Japanese works, and his squire
Katsuo. Toramassa from Korsvag. Masasugu from Nordskogen or Silfren Mere (I
forget). My squire Kagemori. Nagamochi from Jaravellir (who does early
period imperial stuff, completely different from what I do). There's a few
others around who I'm not recalling at the moment.

Besides asking individuals (which is more likely to work), you should also
put out your 'cattle call' to (in order): Tor Aeire, Norskogen, and
Northshield (via the lists).

> What are the pros and cons of inviting Merchants? What is the purpose of a
> merchant fee? What is considered an appropriate form of thanks for
> teaching? How long do events usually last? May I please keep spamming you
> with questions as I come up with them?

The pros to inviting merchants is that it will somewhat boost attendance
(especially if you advertise who will be there). The cons are that it's yet
another activity for people to divide their attention with, and it takes up
space, and they usually break down at just the time court or something else
is starting. The merchant fee's purpose is to make sure that the merchant is
serious about selling, and to offset the cost of the effort of making
accomodations for them so that they can make money. At some sites, the
tables and chairs are rented, and the fee defrays those costs for the
merchant.

The usual, and appropriate thanks for teaching is to publicly thank the
teachers at court or feast or during the introduction to the keynote
speaker, and an email fo thanks afterward.

Events usually last most of a Saturday, but is somewhat dependent on the
site used. Often, an event will open for the merchants, Royalty, and
teachers at, say, 8, and the general public at 9. There's often a lunch
break (especially with a day full of classes), another round of activities
in the afternoon, followed by court (if any), feast (if any), and revelry
(assuming the site is open for long enough [and Japanese dancing is
generally a performance, rather than a participatory event]).

It's not spam if I keep answering. And I'll do my best, but you'd get a LOT
better general event planning advice from any number of other people (I'm
not an autocrat, and would likely be a poor one.) Ask your Baroness (just
because she's likely to know) who is an experienced autocrat who might be
willing to show you the ropes. They'd be local, and you get faster response
from a phone call than email. I'm not trying to fob you off on someone, it
really would get you up to speed better and in a shorter amount of time.

But I'm more than willing to help with the Japanese end of things. It is,
after all, what I do.

Raito