A Fine and Caring Kamishibai Teller, Shiozakisan

I listened to so many people tell with kamishibai, all over Japan, and was lucky enough to meet older performers like

Shiozaki Genichiro.  He performed kamishibai until a war injury stopped him. But he shared his amazing collection,

of hundreds and hundreds of these wonderful cards that tell so many tales. He rented them out so that they spread

across Japan, and  frequently gave some to places that needed them.   When I visited him years ago in Osaka, he told

me why he shared this art…


“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. We can’t imitate other countries, but have to walk

the way of our own to ask for the truth. 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.”