Knock, knock, knock, Kamishibai, Kamishibai! Stories on Wheels is about to begin!”
This is the opening line Lenard Stanga uses every time.
Stanga is an artist of Kamishibai, a traditional storytelling art originating from Japan.
Kamishibai means “paper drama” in Japanese, but Stanga gave it an English-language name: “Stories on Wheels.”
And he will tell stories “on wheels” at the upcoming Richmond World Festival (see story, page 12).
“Japanese storytellers would ride their bikes, from town to town, or from street corners to street corners, then set up their bicycles and tell stories,” said Stanga. “They used picture cards to tell stories, 10 to 15 cards for a story, each story is about 10 minutes long. They would gather a crowd and sell candies from the back of the bike.”
A bike, a wooden box and a stack of picture cards are everything Stanga needs for his show.
“There are techniques in this storytelling. Sometimes you pull the cards very quickly, sometimes only show half of the next picture, or suddenly raise your voice to raise tensions,” Stanga explained.
He said this type of storytelling was suddenly no longer popular in the 1950s in Japan, as kids could watch television inside. But Stanga has brought it to life in B.C. by performing for the public at events.
“It has been very popular, not only among children, but parents, too,” he said. “Adults don’t hear many stories nowadays and they often find it comforting.”
He also noted that this traditional way of storytelling can exercise people’s imagination because it’s what they rely on to follow the stories.
Stanga believes telling stories in person creates a magic that digital technologies cannot replace.
“We can always entertain ourselves by movies and mass media, but something is missing when you don’t share things in a live experience.
“When I perform, I can really feel the magic, the connections to the audience. It feels like we share something special.”
