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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.
- A Brief History of Kamishibai
- Paper Play
- Modern Storytellers
From the 1920s to the early 1950s, Japanese sweet sellers and storytellers travelled by bicycle from town to town, village to village, drawing large, young audiences. Kamishibai men would secure their butai – a wooden structure, half picture frame, half theatre stage – to the back of their bicycle, and would use wooden clappers (hyoshigi) to beckon...
Kamishibai performances and workshops are popular in France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Germany, South America and the US. The storyboards can introduce audiences to folktales from Japan – such as the Hats for the Jizos. Or for European audiences, they might focus on tales from closer to home, such as The legend of the fir treefrom Alsace – a cultural ...
Kamishibai is an extremely versatile and entertaining tool, which explains why schools in many countries have adopted it in the classroom. It offers an integrated approach not only to learning or revising, but also to drama and visual art. So it’s not really surprising then that more and more kamishibai stories are available in several languages– a...
After war in China escalated in the late 1930s, the number of men pulled into the military or labor force depleted the number of street kamishibai performers. Almost as soon as Japan surrendered in 1945, however, newly out of work men once again turned to street kamishibai for income.
By 1933, she had organized a troupe of performers called the “Kamishibai Missionaries” (kamishibai dendō dan) and had co-founded the Kamishibai Publishing Company (kamishibai kankō kai). Imai made several significant innovations to the kamishibai format.
From the 1930s until the 1950s, kamishibai was the most popular form of entertainment for children, so much so that when television came to Japan in the 1950s, it was referred to as “ denki kamishibai ” (electric kamishibai).
During the 1930s, Ogon Batto ( The Golden Bat) enjoyed phenomenal popularity. Resembling a caped Phantom of the Opera with a grimacing skeleton head and holding aloft a gold sword, the Golden Bat fought for peace and justice. His superhuman powers included the ability to fly through the air.
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Why is kamishibai so popular today?
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Kamishibai may be best known today as one of the direct precursors of postwar manga and anime, 3 but over its forty-year heyday it enjoyed enormous popularity, at times eclipsing rival entertainment media for children such as movies or radio (in the 1930s and early 1940s) and manga (in the 1950s).
