Kamishibai
Kamishibai cards, a popular Japanese prop, evolved from Indian storytelling scrolls and visuals, like chitra katha - small painted scenes that helped to tell the epic Ramayana. The concept flourished in Japan in the twentieth century, especially from 1930 – 1950, when thousands of kamishibai storytellers cycled round with candy to sell and tales to tell, calling listeners with their wooden clappers. After a teller sold his snacks, he placed the hand-painted cards in a small wooden stage on the back of his bike, then told tales in an animated style, often stretching stories over many weeks. (See Allen Say's Kamishibai Man for a lovely glimpse of this art.)
Today, teachers and librarians in Japan use published and handmade sets to share legends and folk tales as well as new stories about recycling, the needs of the differently-abled, and more. (To make your own set, see Make a Prop.) In 1994, Shiozaki Genichiro, a former kamishibai teller who began producing the cards after a war injury, told me why he shared kamishibai:
Japan was a defeated country after the war, and to build up the country, we have to be a nation that talks with other countries. I wanted the child to be a person who can see a wide world and think about Japan in the world. To spread love of homeland and develop world friendship, that is my kamishibai philosophy.
In Osaka, although he is gone now, his wife watches their house, so rich in endless stacks of original kamishibai. These hand painted cards, roughly 12" x 14" each, were told in sets of about 10 cards, and were often painted by talented, unemployed artists, especially after the Pacific War. Popular stories went on in series of 30 sets or more ( the most popular, about a comic character: Chon-Chan, had over 5000 sets). Funny stories, tales of samurai, original science fiction, and tales of superheroes like Dr. Glove, with his invincible electric fighting gloves, were crowd pleasers. So were the quizzes:
“What big American city is this?” asked Shiozaki, holding up a card with an eagle and a pig. I shook my head, bewildered. He gave me a clue: “How do you say eagle in Japanese?” I remembered: washi. “And what is one word for pig in Japanese?” My friend, Hatanakasan, helped: ton. “Put them together and get Washi-ton...Washington!” Such quiz cards offered a challenge as well as a candy reward to delighted listeners.
Institutions, like the Osaka International Institute for Children's Literature, preserve hundreds of these important older, painted kamishibai. And there are yet a few men and women today who try to make at least pocket money from gaito kamishibai. An official kamishibai training program in Osaka is still sponsored annually by the government. About 60 people, from schools and libraries, come yearly to learn from oldtime kamishibai players like Shiozakisan and Ippou Sakamoto, who describes his first day in gaito kamishibai:
“August, 1949: I decided to play kamishibai on the street. I borrowed a bicycle and prepared a box with candies, rice crackers, and the wooden kamishibai stage. I rode on the bicycle not knowing where to go, and came to a shrine. I walked around striking clappers. The children there gazed at me and some said, ‘You're new here, aren't you?’
‘ Yes this is my first time.’
‘ All right, play,’ said a conceited boy. ‘If it's fun, I'll buy from you.’ After I finished, the boy said, ‘You're not so different from the others. Come again tomorrow and we'll buy something.’ I went home and practiced, challenged by that boy!"
Kamishibai No Nikki Kansai Jido Bunkash So Sho 4
In Singapore, Twin Kids produces bilingual English/Chinese stories, some translated from Japanese, others created by the owner Victor Quek. Matsui Noriko, a popular Japanese children’s writer, has helped kamishibai production in Vietnam and Laos, on a range of subjects. In the U.S., Kamishibai for Kids (see links) helps spread the word. For information on my kamishibai workshops, see Kamishibai Workshops.
