World Kamishibai Day

Today, and December 7th annually, is World Kamishibai Day. Kamishibai is a form of traditional storytelling using a 'stage'. The stage, pictured, frames a picture to which the narrator creates or reads a story, changing the picture as the story progesses, much like how you turn a page in a book. 

The Kamishibai Culture Association, with its headquarters in Tokyo, established this anniversary to bring together people of all nationalities who love, are interested in, or want to perform kamishibai, a uniquely Japanese way of storytelling. The date commemorates the association's founding on December 7, 2001. 

I got into kamishibai when my children were small. Thankfully, my local library has a huge selection of kamishibai stories. The story is printed on the back of the pictures, but rather than follow them I make up my own version in English. Kids know most of the stories in Japanese so its a great way to engage them in the English language.