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A form of propaganda unique to Japan was war themed Kamishibai "paper plays": a street performer uses Emakimono "picture scrolls" to convey the story of the play. Audiences typically included children who would buy candy from the street performer providing his source of income.
- Hira-E: The New Kamishibai
- Published Educational Kamishibai
- Kokusaku (Government Policy) Kamishibai
- Post-War Kamishibai
- The Globalization of Kamishibai
Because of their often sensationalistic content, street performances of all kinds were subject to frequent bans by the authorities, and kamishibai was no exception. In 1929, when tachi-e was undergoing a ban, three street performers in Tokyo (Takahashi Seizō, Gotō Terakura, and Tanaka Jirō) put their heads together to develop a new form of picture-...
In the early 1930s, Japan was suffering from a world-wide depression that sent the unemployed from all walks of life into the streets. With few other options, many became gaitō kamishibai performers. The new hira-estyle of kamishibai did not require extensive training, and almost anyone with a bicycle, a stage, and a voice could set up in the trade...
Without this increase in publishers of educational kamishibai, it is unlikely that Japan’s militaristic government would have called upon kamishibai to play such a pivotal role as a media for propaganda in the build up to World War II. By the beginning of World War II (1941-1945) and middle of the second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), published kam...
The use of kamishibai for propaganda during World War II made it an object of particular scrutiny when the war ended. General Douglas MacArthur and the Allied Powers were anxious to purge Japan of its former Imperialist ambitions, and kamishibai performers after the war had to get their stamp of approval. Nonetheless, people turned once again in dr...
Perhaps the biggest growth in interest in kamishibai as a format is happening outside Japan. Artists and kamishibai practitioners involved in the tezukuri kamishibai movement have actively been transporting kamishibai to countries throughout Asia and the middle-east to encourage local artists to create their own stories. Gaitō street performance ar...
People also ask
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How did Japan use Kamikaze in WW2?
Kamishibai came into existence in 1930, just as Japan was modernizing, militarizing, and preparing for imperialistic wars with nearby Asian nations. Far cheaper to produce than movies, with greater accessibility than radio broadcasts, and targeted at young children, kamishibai became a primary form of propaganda and indoctrination.
Sep 9, 2018 · In 1941, the Japanese Empire attacked Pearl Harbor in a surprise air raid. The intention was to sink much of the American Pacific Fleet which was a threat to growing Japanese imperial ambitions in East Asia.
Nov 11, 2009 · Kamishibai is a form of picture storytelling that evolved in Japan at the beginning of the twentieth century. With the coining of World War II, it became one of the most widely used mediums for propaganda, targeting both children on the homefront and newly colonized nations.
- Emily Horner
- 2009
A submarine of the Empire of Japan is in the middle of the South Pacific. Because of a wireless message it received, the submarine crew is carefully patrolling to detect enemy ships. “Hey Kondo, have you spotted the enemy yet?”
During World War II, the pronunciation kamikaze was used only informally in the Japanese press in relation to suicide attacks, but after the war, this usage gained acceptance worldwide and was re-imported into Japan.
