Explaining Dogeza at Gingham Check Handshake
As fans are recovering from yesterday’s Gingham Check Handshake Festival, they awoke this morning to a pair of viral images on Twitter. The two images show a group of JKT48 fans kneeling and bowing before a wall with life-sized images of “Gingham Check” single senbatsu members. In Japan, this is known as dogeza (土下座).
JANGAN DITIRU WOTA pic.twitter.com/ZotxeQ2nat
— 「NAOMI K3 UNITED」 (@Naomi_K3United) October 5, 2014
While some fans see this as harmless fun (which we believe it is), others are denouncing this group of JKT48 fans for doing such an act. Why is it controversial? Indonesia is still a relatively religious country with many adhering to their faith closely. Its largely Muslim population may not have a good impression of this image as it violates the monotheistic faith. Moreover, it is becoming viral during the holy celebration of Eid al-Adha, which celebrates the hajj pilgrimage.
The most recent wave of dogeza acts originated from a photo at Anime Festival Asia in Singapore in November 2013. In this occasion, fans of the idol anime Love Live! did the same in front an image wall of the group members. It became viral after being posted (NSFW) to the popular 2ch aggregation site Yaraon.
Bunch of crazy SG LoveLivers! pic.twitter.com/v9YiY679jF
— ゲオ@AFLSG? (@Kazearashi) November 8, 2013
It soon spread like wildfire as Love Live! fans in Taiwan (NSFW) and other places did the same. Given that the anime has a large following in Indonesia, it is not surprising that some of its fans would be found among fans of JKT48.
We will post a complete recap of Gingham Check Handshake Festival later this week.
Stupidity at its finest..
Me know too long being a lonely-hearted person can affect your psycholigical condition..
Me did not know it would be this bad..
helpful info..
this is good to clear the controversion..
ive tanslate it to bahasa to be shared on jkt48 fans G+ commu, which ive seen 2 posts abuot this pict today..
https://plus.google.com/114877539143340960762/posts/A2AKQ7xBJyj
frankly speaking, I don’t like that dogeza thing, especially here in Indonesia.
Just like a proverb “Di mana bumi dipijak di situ langit dijunjung”
But yeah everybody have their right to do their own thing.
I really worry about the public reaction into this dogeza thing because this will be affect JKT name in public opinion.. and I don’t want to see “that organization” (pasti pada taulah) doing sweeping in f (X) area because they think JKT is a “gentile product” … in my opinion this is a serious and a sensitive problem for most of Indonesian people. .
You do realize there are many people/mass media that already post the same matter in the net right (considering it’s a national jkt event)?
Most people in indonesia already know how most jkt “fans” behave.. the one above just one of many examples..
And regarding the notorious religion based organisation, don’t worry about that, coz Reino is close with Harry Tan, and Harry Tan is under the wings of the red garuda coalition (whom the coalition leader is the one who form that religion organisation to force some of his agenda and became their donor)..
Besides, this is a good reminder, so other shermheads that want to do the “dogeza” will think many times before they done such idiocy..
Kids this days.. and they always complaining why Indonesia is full throttle backwards..
“Why is it controversial?”
your word really trigger something and you link it to eid al-adha?
better to delete this post and close the issue, not only affect jkt48 but maybe jkt48stuff too
agree with shunusuke
another proverb people should be know
“Lain ladang lain belalang, lain lubuk lain ikannya”
Agreed, what makes something viral in the “net” is the media itself …you know what i mean right!? I hope so its rather difficult to explain it in english bwahaha…
As the article implied, it was just an act of harmless fun which somehow riled up some parts of Indonesian netizens. All that we did is just to clear up the confusion among fans of why this is so controversial.
This “controversy” could’ve happened anywhere else in the world especially those with strong ties with Abrahamic religions as opposed to Japan who doesn’t really have any strong ties with those said religions.
Eid al-Adha is just an example of timing and Islam is just an example of Abrahamic religions the majority of Indonesian believes in.
Oh c’mon people, why are you getting so worked up, this dogeza thing is funny
people tend to make big thing out of the small things .. . . i think this Dogeza is just for fun .. . its just fan showing their delight in their own way .. . but everyone is entitle for their own opinion .. . its a free country afterall
Most of the times, Our people emphasis non critical things and let the critical one ignored.
Most of the times, Our people emphasis the outside image and not from the inside.
We forget that our culture told us to consider a lot about the “inside” of every action and people before we judge something/someone. Even if we want to married, our parents will say “pay close attention to your couple bibit, bebet, and bobot”.
For me, it’s okay for them to do that as long as they still worship their true God, respectively with their religion, and not those members.
There are a lot of people who look nice from the outside, look religious from the the outside, but from the inside they are asshole. I hate them, those are called “munafik” in bahasa. I hate them more than people that look asshole from the outside.
As long as the Dogeza is not harming other people and they are doing it just for fun, it’s okay with me. Just don’t be a “munafik” person, i’ve seen a lot of those people and i really hate that kind of people.
Sorry for my bad words. People nowadays tend to emphasis the non critical things and blow it up.
I think one of eagle eyes has embeded on JKT48 theater. So pleace, JOT must more aware of it. It’s not about religion or just because eid-adha moments, but its about culture also. Seen from picts, looks that they are still a teen-ages boys who doesnt even knows the good polite/ethics. I dont angry, but surely I dont really like to see it…
I don’t blame people at those picts, and I don’t really care about the reason behind the action, is it just for fun or else, because it doesn’t matter. One thing that scared me the most is how people outside the fandom will see it. JKT image would be bad.
i’m just smile seeing that picture. please don’t think too serious, that picture just for fun.
people have their own way to express their feeling, i don’t mind as long as that not harm JKT48 member and other people. i think most of JKT48 fans whatever their religion can accept that picture just for fun because it’s their way to express their happy feeling in funny way. while other who is not JKT48 fans will think that people in that picture are doing negative behaviour. 
I’m sorry but this is just too crazy and abnormal for our culture. People kneel on your own parents, that’s still understable. But kneel on picture of bunch of girls? That’s crazy :/
I like JKT48 but this kind of copying-someone-else-culture need to drawing a wall.