Kamishibai facts for kids
Kami-shibai (Japanese: 紙芝居) is a storytelling performance with picture cards, and is a traditional Japanese entertainment for children. In Japanese "Kami" means paper and "shibai" means drama or enternainment. The performer tells a story and shows pictures from scene to scene. Kami-shibai is a bidirectional media which is comprised of actions and reactions between a performer and audiences. With the spread of television, kami-shibai went out of date.
Contents
History
Kamishibai endured as a storytelling method for centuries, but is perhaps best known for its revival in the 1920s through the 1950s. The gaito kamishibaiya, or kamishibai storyteller, rode from village to village on a bicycle equipped with a small stage. On arrival, the storyteller used two wooden clappers, called hyoshigi, to announce his arrival. Children who bought candy from the storyteller got the best seats in front of the stage. Once an audience assembled, the storyteller told several stories using a set of illustrated boards, inserted into the stage and withdrawn one by one as the story was told. The stories were often serials and new episodes were told on each visit to the village.
The revival of kamishibai can be tied to the global depression of the late 1920s when it offered a means by which an unemployed man could earn a small income.
Kamishibai is considered a precursor to modern manga and anime. They often featured art styles, including a wide-eyed look, similar to what would later characterize manga and anime.
Decline
The popularity of kamishibai declined at the end of the Allied Occupation of Japan and the introduction of television, known originally as denki kamishibai ("electric kamishibai") in 1953.
With television bringing larger access to a variety of entertainment, many kamishibai artists and narrators lost their work.
Images for kids
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Boards for the story "Shimizu Taemon Died at his Post"
See also
In Spanish: Kamishibai para niños
