Paper Drama (2012)

Almost everyone knows Japanese anime and its impact on the entertainment industry. Many people are also familiar with manga or Japanese comics and how that art form has affected American comic books and popular culture. However, very few people outside of Japan know that both manga and anime were spawned by the Japanese oral storytelling tradition called kamishibai - a uniquely Japanese art form. The term kamishibai literally translates to "paper drama." In the 1950s as many as 3,000 kamishibai performers roamed the streets of Tokyo performing folktales of morality to young audiences. However, with the advent of mass publishing and television, the art form almost disappeared. There are only a handful of street kamishibai performers today. Kamishibai has evolved into an educational tool for use in the classroom. This film introduces two practitioners of kamishibai, together who have been performing the art for over 70 years and an instructor who currently teaches this dying art form at a community center to aspiring practitioners in Tokyo.