During the Depression and just before the advent of television, kids in Japan enjoyed a unique form of entertainment: Kamishibai ("paper play"). Traveling storytellers would roll up to a street corner with their bicycle-mounted wooden box theater. They would clack their noise-making sticks to summon the neighborhood kids, who'd gather around to buy penny candy and hear the stories. The wooden box held a stack of colorful illustrated panels, which would be revealed and flipped through by the storyteller. Many believe this was the one of the origins of manga and anime. With the advent of television, the quaint Kamishibai disappeared…
But there is one full time Kamishibai storyteller left in Japan. Tatsuo "Ta-chan" Kawakami travels around Japan to recreate the Kamishibai experience and will be appearing in Seattle for just a few performances this fall at the Seattle Japanese Garden. Don't miss it. (I hope there's candy, too!)