Promoting Japanese Culture at Ottawa Comiccon

From September 9 to 11, the Embassy of Japan, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation Toronto and Manga Montréal (Montreal-based Japanese Manga School), participated in Ottawa Comiccon, the largest pop culture event in the Ottawa area, to promote Japan as a tourism destination and to introduce Japanese culture. At the booth, the Embassy provided information about tourism in Japan, screened videos about Japanese pop culture, offered calligraphy activities, origami paper, games such as kendama, and introduced “Comic Iwate” which promotes Japan’s Iwate Prefecture to the world. It was a good opportunity for the participants of Ottawa Comiccon to be exposed to and experience Japanese culture.
 
During the event, two Japan-related panels were held: “Introduction to Manga drawing and Japanese culture” by Manga Montréal on September 10^th, and the language crash course “Japanese: From Anime to Reality” by the Japan Foundation Toronto on September 11^th. Both panels attracted over 100 people each. During their panel, the presenters from Manga Montréal provided tips on how to start drawing digital manga. The panel by Japan Foundation Toronto introduced ways to start learning Japanese by adapting the Japanese language used in anime into real-life conversation. The Embassy of Japan’s booth was very popular and over 700 people received their names written in the Japanese calligraphy.