Artifact: Kamishibai Storytelling Theater
My mom was a 3rd grade teacher at our DOD elementary school outside of Tokyo, Japan. She utilized her Kamishibai Storytelling often and, of course, as her child, I was fortunate to watch her tell many Japanese tales such as Peach Boy and Momotaro. I remember I illustrated and performed Four Fur Feet by Margaret Wise Brown in front of my 2nd grade class. Wow, I guess that was my first official storytelling gig - ha! Let me tell you briefly what a Kamishibai Storytelling Theater is.
My mom was a 3rd grade teacher at our DOD elementary school outside of Tokyo, Japan. She utilized her Kamishibai Storytelling often and, of course, as her child, I was fortunate to watch her tell many Japanese tales such as Peach Boy and Momotaro. I remember I illustrated and performed Four Fur Feet by Margaret Wise Brown in front of my 2nd grade class. Wow, I guess that was my first official storytelling gig - ha! Let me tell you briefly what a Kamishibai Storytelling Theater is.
(Kah-mee-she-bye) or “paper-theater,” began in the late 1920's in Japan. The wooden stages used in the 1920's were easily transportable by bicycles. Times were hard in the 1920's so the Kamishibai offered folks a way to make a living with minimal money to get started. The kamishibai storyteller would ride his/her bike from village to village calling the kids with wooden clappers, called hyoshigi. Now adays, you would also see them hitting a drum - any kind of noise maker to draw the kids' attention. Candy was offered to these kids which was crutial to the tellers - it was their only money maker. The kids who bought the candy got the best seats in the house. Typically, the Kamishibai wooden theater would sit on the back of the bicycle. There would be approximately 12-16 card board illustrated cards that would move the story forward as the storyteller told the story. On the back of each card was the text for the illustrated card showing toward the children who were sitting. It certainly took some practice to use these cards. I read directly from the cards I created but as you can see from the videos below, the stories were told orally as the illustrations moved.
The kamishibai storytelling cards and theaters are available on line and would be a wonderful vehicle to engage young and older students in storytelling with visuals. The students would need to read and understand the story - vocabulary, conflicts, character traits, etc.. They would need to practice retelling the story without looking at the back side of the cards so their eyes and facial expressions are on the audience. That would take some time but if taught from the beginning through modeling, the end result would be a celebration of success and confidence!
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