Hiroshima Groups Use Kamishibai To Tell Fukushima Victim’s Story

In a recent article published on the Asahi Shinbun website, Miki Morimoto reports on how two Hiroshima-based groups are cooperating in the use of  kamishibai to tell the stories of some of the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster of March 2011.What is Kamishibai?

Kamishibai is a traditional Japanese form of storytelling that originated in Japanese Buddhist temples in the 12th century. Monks used picture scrolls to tell stories with moral lessons. Kamishibai revived in the nineteen twenties to help unemployed men make a living as travelling storytellers during the depression.

After the Second World War, kamishibai declined in popularity with the advent of television, but has been revived in recent years as a way of educating and entertaining children in elementary schools and public libraries.

In a performance that was held in Hiroshima recently, the group used a series of picture boards to depict the story of 83 year old Yasuko Sasaki, who was evacuated from the Fukushima area in the wake of the nuclear disaster.

Read the full story on the ajw.asahi.com website.