As the Anime Expo community comes together from all around the world for Anime Expo Lite, we want to especially celebrate the many different aspects Japanese culture! Throughout the weekend, we’ll be showcasing different cultural segments from many of our talented friends and industry partners. Some of these cultural segments may be shown on stream, and everything in our list will be available to watch on-demand for the duration of the show! From cooking to karate to ikebana and more, let’s appreciate Japanese culture together!

Art

  • How to Draw Anime with MinoMiyabi
    • MinoMiyabi is a Los Angeles-based illustrator/animator and a comic artist for Poppy’s graphic novel, GENESIS 1. Through his career as an animator, a concept designer at Walt Disney Imagineering, and a comic artist at Z2 Comics, he is focused on creating characters and their stories. In this workshop, MinoMiyabi will demonstrate the fundamentals and essential tips for drawing anime characters to help you create your own!
  • Japanese Calligraphy
    • Come watch Kuni Yoshida introduce kanji from anime, demonstrating the basics and artistic Japanese calligraphy strokes with chisel tip markers.
  • Origami: How to Create a Chopstick Boat
    • Learn how to fold a boat-shaped chopstick holder using only the paper sleeve that comes with disposable chopsticks! This origami craft is quick, useful, and super easy to take with you anywhere you eat.

Fashion

  • Kimono Fashion through Hiinagata Bon
    • Join Tangerine Mountain’s Teri Noto for a deep dive into Hiinagata Bon, the Kimono Fashion Magazine of the Edo and Meiji periods. This video highlights examples of kimono design books, textile design books, color catalogs, and several different types of amazing kimono books that were used in the custom kimono-making process. Perfect for historical costumers, cosplayers, and artists alike, we hope you enjoy seeing these gems of the Tangerine Mountain collection that rarely ever leave our headquarters! For more exciting Japan-centric and kimono-related content, please check out the additional video content created for Anime Expo Lite by Tangerine Mountain, the US’s largest importer of vintage Japanese kimono. To learn more or to purchase your own kimono, please visit us at www.TangerineMountain.com
  • How to Wear Yukata
    • Join Tangerine Mountain’s Cheri Santellano for a quick and easy video tutorial that can get you wearing a yukata in less than 10 minutes!  For more exciting Japan-centric and kimono-related content, please check out the additional video content created for Anime Expo Lite by Tangerine Mountain, the US’s largest importer of vintage Japanese kimono. To learn more or to purchase your own kimono, please visit us at www.TangerineMountain.com
  • Types of Kimono
    • Join Tangerine Mountain’s Teri Noto for a quick look at the different types of kimono and how to identify them! Please note that while traditional gender assignments for the types of garment are discussed in historical context, we encourage everyone to enjoy kimono in the way they feel is best for their identity and situation, because kimono are meant to be enjoyed by all. For more exciting Japan-centric and kimono-related content, please check out the additional video content created for Anime Expo Lite by Tangerine Mountain, the US’s largest importer of vintage Japanese kimono. To learn more or to purchase your own kimono, please visit us at www.TangerineMountain.com

Flower Arrangement

  • Online Floral Workshop with Takeshi Nakamura – “Homefound” Arrangements
    • In this virtual workshop, Takeshi Nakamura from Angeluck Custom Design Florist will draw upon the Japanese reverence for the healing power of plants to add depth to floral designs. He’ll guide viewers to locate common greens ranging from house plants, flowers, and stones easily obtained from personal gardens and neighborhoods, and combining with vessels found within the home, present a template for a creation unique to each individual. By the end of the workshop, participants will come away with not only beautiful arrangements, but also a sense of calm and reconnection to nature.
    • Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
  • Online Floral Workshop with Mitsuko Osuga – Balance: Color, Weight, and Direction
    • In this virtual workshop, Mitsuko Osuga from Mitsuko Floral will introduce the basic concepts of Japanese flower arrangement, such as considering color, balance, perceived weight, and directional flow between elements. She’ll guide viewers in creating their own unique arrangement inspired by spring, and share an insider’s trick: how cellophane tape can transform even a common kitchen bowl into the ideal flower vessel. This tutorial requires some simple materials that can be found around the house, or safely obtained in your local supermarket or gardens. If you happen to have a Japanese-style ceramic in your home, such as a tea bowl, ramen bowl, or other low shallow vessel, she’ll illustrate ways to highlight Japanese aesthetics in the arrangement as a whole, but any type of small vessel is suitable for the workshop.
  • The Basics of Ikebana
    • Instructor Shinsui (Mayumi) Dennis demonstrates the freestyle approach to Ikenobo Ikebana flower arrangement, which has 550-years of history and tradition. In this video, she uses easy-to-find summer flowers and other materials and demonstrates how everyone can enjoy this creative art.

Food

  • Japanese Food Lab | Home Cooking Series – with Tomoko Imade Dyen
    • Sakura Carrot Takikomi
      • In celebration of springtime, JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles is bringing its popular Japanese Food Lab program online with a series of video tutorials on home cooking. Led by culinary curator Tomoko Imade Dyen, this episode guides viewers in creating a special springtime meal in your very own kitchen: a sakura (cherry blossom) inspired version of takikomi gohan.
      • Takikomi gohan refers to rice steamed with vegetables and meat or fish, and is a beloved comfort food easily prepared at home. It can be enjoyed fresh off the stove, or also cold after being refrigerated on a hot day (it often appears in bento lunch boxes). In this simple tutorial, viewers will be guided in cooking along at home to create takikomi gohan with a new springtime twist – sakura-shaped carrots as garnish.
    • Tofu Sando
      • For this Home Cooking recipe, culinary curator Tomoko Imade Dyen will share how to make a tofu sando in your own kitchen. Pairing lightly fried tofu with crisp, fresh vegetables, this sandwich is incredibly simple yet rich in flavor, and perfect for a hot summer day. This recipe calls for momen or firm tofu that can be more easily cooked without crumbling – as opposed to kinugoshi or silken/soft tofu, which is more suitable for enjoying cold with toppings and soy sauce (hiyayakko), in soups, pureed and even in desserts.
      • If your work-from-home lunches have gotten a bit repetitive, or you’re looking for a snack to take on an afternoon outing, shake things up with a light and tasty tofu sando!
    • Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
  •  Japanese Cooking Made Easy:
    • Inari Sushi
      • You might recognize Inari Sushi as those rice-stuffed little tofu pouches. Learn how to make them at home so you can take them on the go!
    • Tuna Takikomi Gohan
      • Tuna Takikomi Gohan is Japanese rice cooked with can tuna, vegetables and a seasoned soy sauce mixture. All you need are the ingredients and a rice cooker!
    • Yaki Udon Noodles
      • If you’re looking for a tasty dish, stir-fried Yaki Udon Noodles is the way to go! Get ready to enjoy this yummy meal!
  •  Yuka’s Tiny Kitchen
    • Yuka’s channel is devoted to cooking tiny food in her miniature kitchen! Check out her YouTube channel to see all of the tiny, tasty  creations!

History

  • The History of Japanese Visual Pop Culture: Exclusive Preview of Repro Japan
    • Learn about the origins and antecedents of anime, manga, and cosplay from three specialists in the history of Japanese visual popular culture. Christopher Bolton (professor of comparative and Japanese literature at Williams College), Eron Rauch (artist, critic, and instructor at Cal Arts), and Maggie Wei Wu (Ph.D. student in art history at UC San Diego) will give you a sneak peak at their current collaboration, Repro Japan–a museum exhibition of Japanese popular culture that spans two centuries and a dozen different media. These range from 18th-century woodblock prints and kimono fashion through 19th-century tourist photography, down to contemporary anime and manga, cosplay and cosplay photography, and Lolita fashion. The panel will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the exhibition (scheduled for summer and fall 2021 at the Williams College Museum of Art), and deepen your understanding of these media by making some surprising comparisons between them.
  • Authentic Samurai Armor from the Edo Period
    • Join Tangerine Mountain’s Teri Noto for an in-depth look at a set of authentic Samurai Armor from the Edo Period, a highlight of the business’ collection. This video will explain all the parts of this complete armor set, which comes from the Higuchi Family, who served under the Sanada Clan. This educational content is perfect for Japanese culture enthusiasts, historical costumers, and artists alike! For more exciting Japan-centric and kimono-related content, please check out the additional video content created for Anime Expo Lite by Tangerine Mountain, the US’s largest importer of vintage Japanese kimono. To learn more or to purchase your own kimono, please visit us at www.TangerineMountain.com

Language

  • Learning Japanese Through Anime & Anime Songs
    • Fuji School is a Japanese language school located in Los Angeles. Utilizing anime as a learning tool, they’ll be providing a speicial Japanese lesson just for Anime Expo Lite! You will learn useful expressions from Naruto and One Punch Man, and will also learn the Japanese lyrics of “Gurenge”, the opening song from Demon Slayer. Let’s sing together! Fuji School also has special giveaways for you, so be sure not to miss it!

Movement

Karate
  • Walter Nishinaka is a 3rd degree black belt in Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu, a traditional style of karate based in Okinawa and has been training for 18+years. Walter is the senior student of the Matsubayashi Ryu Dojo of Little Tokyo. For Anime Expo Lite, Walter will be leading everyone through basics in blocking, punching and kicking. Walter will also be teaching the very first Kata (form) in his system – Fukyugata 1.
    • Basic Karate – Blocking
    • Basic Karate – Punching and Kicking
    • Fukyugata 1
 Dance
  • Japanese Classical Dance, Bandō Ryū: Kyō no Kai
    • Come join us as we present “Samba Otemoyan”, a playful infusion of Samba beats with a beloved Japanese folk song, “Otemoyan.” This dance is often performed during the summer months in the streets of Kumamoto. Kyō no Kai will introduce to you the basic steps and movements that distinguish Japanese dance from its Western counterpart, ballet. Then we will teach you the movements behind “Samba Otemoyan” so you can join in on the fun!
  • Plus Ultra Dance Workshop with The Corps Dance Crew
    • Take a virtual dance class with the members of The Corps, and learn a piece from their Plus Ultra performance!  Celebrate Boku no Hero Academia cosplay with urban choreography by suiting up with our co-founders, Kayla and Sonali.  Take our love of the art and the nerd in our heart further, beyond!  PLUS ULTRA!

 

For more information, and to keep up-to-date on Anime Expo Lite announcements, be sure to RSVP for updates!

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Check out the Schedule to see what’s coming to Anime Expo Lite!

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