Enjoy a 90-year-old Japanese tradition of picture-card storytelling. On behalf of the Yamaguchi Children’s Center, Shizuha and Chise Mukaidani—daughters of Kikue Mukaidani—present some of their late mother’s award-winning Kamishibai collected stories. Presented in English. Suitable for everyone, especially those ages 6 and older.

Kami means paper; shibai means play or theatre. Long ago, Kamishibai storytellers would travel by bicycle throughout Japan’s countryside to entertain children with picture-card tales of adventures and dreams. Nearly a forgotten art form, the late Kikue Mukaidani kept the tradition alive by interviewing and collecting over 100 remembered stories from the elderly. Seventy of the 100 stories were published in an award-winning book. In 1993, Kikue helped create the Yamaguchi Children’s Center to preserve traditional Japanese culture.

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