The is an annual science fiction convention held in Japan. Each of these conventions is officially the , but they are more popularly known by the official nicknames given to them based on their locations, e.g. TOKON (when it is held in Tokyo) or DAICON (when it is held in Osaka).
Each year the Nihon SF Taikai attracts between 1,000 and 1,500 science fiction fans. Events at the convention include panel discussions, lectures, readings, screenings, parties, games, concerts, and a dealing room for the sale of rare books, magazines, and other items related to science fiction.
A number of prizes are awarded at the convention, most notably the Seiun Award for the best science fiction of the year as voted by attendees of the convention.
Outside Japan, the Nihon SF Taikai is most famous for the animation for the opening ceremonies of Daicon III and IV Opening Animations, which was produced by the animators that later became Gainax. The DAICON IV opening video features a girl in a Playboy Bunny suit with cameos from many science fiction films and stories.
List of Taikai locations 1962 – Tokyo – MEG-CON 1963 – Tokyo – TOKON 1964 – Osaka – DAICON 1965 – Tokyo – TOKON 2 1966 – Nagoya – MEICON 1967 – Tokyo – TOKON 3 1968 – Tokyo – TOKON 4 1969 – Kumamoto-ken – KYUKON 1970 – Tokyo – TOKON 5 1971 – Osaka – DAICON 2 1972 – Nagoya – MEICON 2 1973 – Hokkaidō – EZOCON 1974 – Kyoto – MIYACON 1975 – Kobe – SHINCON 1976 – Tokyo – TOKON 6 1977 – Yokohama – HINCON 1978 – Kanagawa-ken – ASHINOCON 1979 – Nagoya – MEICON 3 1980 – Tokyo – TOKON 7 1981 – Osaka – DAICON 3 1982 – Tokyo – TOKON 8 1983 – Osaka – DAICON 4 1984 – Hokkaidō – EZOCON 2 1985 – Niigata-ken – GATACON Special Summer Fest 1986 – Osaka – DAICON 5 1987 – Ishikawa-ken – URACON '87 1988 – Gunma-ken – MiG-CON 1989 – Nagoya – DAINA CON EX 1990 – Tokyo – TOKON 9 1991 – Kanazawa – i-CON 1992 – Yokohama – HAMACON 1993 – Osaka – DAICON 6 1994 – Okinawa – RYUCON 1995 – Shizuoka (Hamamatsu) – はまなこん (Hamanacon) 1996 – Kitakyushu – コクラノミコン (Kokuranomicon) 1997 – Hiroshima – あきこん (Akicon) 1998 – Nagoya (Mars) – CAPRICON 1 1999 – Nagano-ken – やねこん (Yanecon) 2000 – Yokohama – Zero-CON 2001 – Makuhari Messe, Chiba – SF2001 2002 – Tamayu, Shimane – ゆ～こん (Yūcon) 2003 – Shiobara, Tochigi – T-con 2003 2004 – Gifu – G-CON 2005 – Yokohama – HAMACON 2 2006 – Matsushima – みちのくSF祭ずんこん (Michinoku SF Matsuri Zuncon) 2007 – Yokohama – Nippon2007 65th World Science Fiction Convention 2008 – Osaka – DAICON 7 2009 – Shiobara, Tochigi – T-con 2009 2010 – Edogawa, Tokyo – TOKON 10 2011 – Shizuoka – DONBURACON-L 2012 – Yūbari, Hokkaidō – VARICON 2013 – Hiroshima – KOICON 2014 – Tsukuba, Ibaraki – NUTS-CON 2015 – Yonago, Tottori – COMECON 2016 – Toba, Mie – ISESHIMACON 2017 – Shizuoka – DONBURACON-LL 2018 – Minakami – JURACON 2019 – Saitama – Sci-con 2020 – Kōriyama, Fukushima – F-CON (postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) 2021 – Takamatsu, Kagawa – SF60 2023 – Saitama – Sci-con 2023 2024 – Chino, Nagano – やねこんR (Yanecon R)
External links Official Nihon SF Taikai homepage in Japanese