Kamishibai
Kamishibai (紙芝居, "paper play") is a form of Japanese street theater and storytelling that was popular during the Great Depression of the 1930s and the postwar period in Japan until the advent of television during the mid-20th century.
[3] It is believed, however, that kamishibai has deep roots in Japan's etoki ("pictorial storytelling") art history, which can be traced back to the 12th-century emaki scrolls, such as the Chōjū giga ("Frolicking Critters"), attributed to the priest Toba Sōjō (1053–1140).
[4] The scroll depicts anthropomorphised animal caricatures that satirise society during this period but has no text, making it a pictorial aid to a story.
Kamishibai, cartoons, and comics became substantially popular during the Great Depression of the 1930s and after the Japanese surrender to the Allied Forces in August 1945 at the end of the Second World War.
[10] The Depression years were the most prosperous and vibrant for kamishibai: with 1.5 million unemployed in Tokyo in 1930, it provided a great job opportunity for many people.
[3] The gaito kamishibaiya ("street-corner kamishibai storyteller") parked their bicycle at a familiar intersection and banged their hyōshigi ("clapping sticks") together to announce their presence and create anticipation for the show.
[17] There were a variety of popular stories and themes in kamishibai, which are now seen in contemporary manga and anime, including one of the first illustrated costume superheroes in the world, Ōgon Bat ("Golden Bat") in 1931, superheroes with secret identities like Prince Ganma (whose alter ego was a street urchin) and the popular genre of gekiga or "drama pictures".
[21] Although this Japanese art form has largely disappeared, its significance and contributions have allowed kamishibai to be attributed as an origin for manga.
Maki Saji (a Buddhist nun) created a kamishibai based on the story of one of the many children, Sadako Sasaki, who suffered as a result of the atomic bomb raid on Hiroshima in 1945.
[25] Additionally, some older works that would later become popular manga or anime, such as GeGeGe no Kitaro, originally started as kamishibai programs.
