Kamishibai

  Kami means ‘paper’ and shibai means ‘theater. So, kamishibai means ‘paper theater.’ It is a form of storytelling performed on the streets by candy men. It was popular during the 1930s until the 1950s. Those candy men visited from village to village on a bicycle, mounting a small stage attached to candy drawers on the back of the bicycles. They told stories using a set of story cards with an illustration on the front and scripts on the back. The stories were sometimes creative stories, old folk tales, historical episodes and usually in serial form. When candy men arrived at a village, they made sounds with wooden clappers as a call to children. Those who bought his candy took front seats, and those who did not had to stand in the back, but they all enjoyed the candy men’s stories.