Ljubljana, 2018

UMETNOST KAMIŠIBAJA. Zbornik prispevkov, Mednarodni simpozij Umetnost
kamišibaja: Beseda podobe in podoba besede, 10. do 12. maj 2018, Ljubljana,
Slovenija

THE ART OF KAMISHIBAI. Proceedings, International Symposium The Art ofKamishibai: The Word of the Image and the Image of the Word, 10–12 May 2018,
Ljubljana, Slovenia

Organizatorji mednarodnega simpozija / Organisers of the international symposium: Slovenski gledališki
inštitut / Slovenian Theatre Institute, Mestni trg 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija; Društvo Zapik / Zapik
Association, Kozarišče 52, 1386 Stari trg pri Ložu, Slovenija; Društvo kamišibaj Slovenije / Kamishibai
Association of Slovenia, Obzidna ulica 14, 6330 Piran, Slovenija, v sodelovanju z ustanovami / In cooperation
with Pedagoška fakulteta Univerze na Primorskem / Faculty of Education, University of Primorska,
Cankarjeva 5, 6000 Koper, Slovenija; Akademija za gledališče, radio, film in televizijo Univerze v Ljubljani /Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television, University of Ljubljana, Nazorjeva 3, 1000 Ljubljana,
Slovenija; Filozofska fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani / Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Oddelek za
azijske študije / Department of Asian Studies, Aškerčeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija; Veleposlaništvo
Japonske v Sloveniji / Embassy of Japan in Slovenia, Trg Republike 3, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija

Izdajatelj / Published by: Slovenski gledališki inštitut (zanj Mojca Jan Zoran) / Slovenian Theatre
Institute (represented by Mojca Jan Zoran)
Ljubljana, 2018
Urednik / Editor: Mihael Čepeljnik
Uredništvo povzetkov v slovenščini / Editing of Abstracts in Slovenian Language: Ksenija
Kaučič, Tea Rogelj
Prevod v slovenščino / Translation to Slovenian: Kaja Bucik Vavpetič, Urška Zajec
Oblikovanje / Graphic Design: Mihael Čepeljnik
Oblikovanje naslovnice / Cover Graphic Design, Andrej Ovsec
Publikacija je izšla zgolj v javno dostopni spletni izdaji in je dostopna na spletnih straneh Slovenskega
gledališkega inštituta in na platformi ISSUU / The publication was only published in the publicly accessible online
version and is accessible on the Slovenian Theatre Institute web page and on ISSUU Platform. Video posnetki
simpozija so javno dostopni na Arnesovem video portalu. / Videos of the symposium are publicly accessible atArnes Video Portal.
Prispevki so objavljeni v angleščini, delovnem jeziku simpozija, in vsebinsko ter formalno kot so jih posredovali
avtorji – v prejetem obsegu, vsebini, navedbi slikovnega gradiva, prevodu, lekturi in korekturi avtorja oziroma
njihovi zagotovitvi prevoda besedila. / Contributions are published in English – the working language of theinternational symposium – as received from the authors, regarding the extent, substance, formal arrangements,
references to images included, translation, and proofreading provided by the author.
Mednarodni simpozij in publikacijo je finančno podprlo Ministrstvo za kulturo Republike Slovenije. / International
Symposium and the publication were supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.

Kataložni zapis o publikaciji (CIP) pripravili v Narodni in univerzitetni knjižnici v Ljubljani
COBISS.SI-ID=297744640
ISBN 978-961-6860-25-3 (pdf)Kazalo / Contents

Uvodnik......................................................................................................................... 9
Preface ....................................................................................................................... 11
Program simpozija ...................................................................................................... 13
Programme of the Symposium .................................................................................... 16
Prispevki po abcednem vrstem redu priimkov avtorjev
Contributions in the Alphabetical Order of the Authors' Surnames .............................. 19
Aldama Jiménez Carmen
Delavnica kamišibaja. Magija ustvarjanja in pripovedovanja zgodb s kamišibajem .. 20
Kamishibai Workshop. The Magic of Creating and Telling Stories with Kamishibai . 21
Cvetko Igor
Kamišibaj v luči kulturne antropologije ..................................................................... 33
Kamishibai in the Light of Cultural Anthropology ..................................................... 34
Eisenstadt Robert
Kamišibaj v Ameriki ................................................................................................. 36
Kamishibai in America ............................................................................................. 37
Gerster Julia“Pod nevidnim oblakom”: Kamišibaj po 3.11. Med preprečevanjem tveganja za
katastrofe in spominskim obeležjem ........................................................................ 40“Beneath the Invisible Cloud”: Kamishibai After 3.11. Between Disaster Risk
Reduction and Memorialization ............................................................................... 41
Giovannini Umberto
Mešanje jezikov: ilustracija in kamišibaj................................................................... 42
Merging Languages: Illustration and Kamishibai ..................................................... 43

Glavan Rok
Kamišibaj in stara otroška knjiga ............................................................................. 48
Kamishibai and Antique Children’s Books ............................................................... 49
Grbac Fulvia
Uporaba in predstavitev Glasserjeve teorije izbire in njene uporabnosti v šolah spomočjo kamišibaja (»Kokoš po izbiri«: Glasserjeva teorija v kamišibaju) ............... 63
How to Use and Present Glasser’s Choice Theory and its Application in Schools with
the Aid of Kamishibai (Chicken By Choice: Glasser Theory In Kamishibai) ............. 64
Ivon Hicela in/and Zavoreo Rakić Emanuela
Razvoj empatije med predstavo gledališča kamišibaj .............................................. 67
The Development of Empathy during Performance of Kamishibai ........................... 68
Jäger Gerhard
Kamišibaj in njegov transformativni duh .................................................................. 75
Kamishibai and its Spirit of Transformation ............................................................. 76
Karim Silva
Likovno formalni pristopi ter tehnike pri oblikovanju ilustracij za kamišibaj ............... 78
Artistic Formal Aspects, Styles and Techniques in Designing Kamishibai
Illustrations .............................................................................................................. 79
Karpenko Jevgenija/ Yevgeniya
Umetnost kamišibaja kot izobraževalna kognitivna tehnologija pri poučevanju tujih
jezikov v osnovni šoli v Ukrajini ............................................................................... 85
The Art of Kamishibai as an Educational Cognitive Technology in FLT in Primary
School in Ukraine .................................................................................................... 86
Kermauner Aksinja, Cvetko Jerca in/and Engelsberger Jure
Kamišibaj kot sredstvo izražanja za ljudi z motnjami v duševnem razvoju ............... 98
Kamishibai and the Development of Expressive Competences in Persons withIntellectual Disability .............................................................................................. 100

Konc Lorenzutti Nataša
Ko besede vzletijo iz kletke ................................................................................... 114
When Words Take Off from the Cage.................................................................... 115
Likar Igor
Sliko-zgodbe kamišibaja – pripoved, ki u-gleda, in podoba, ki u-sliši, – soigra čutnih
predstav na odru domišljije .................................................................................... 131
Kamishibai – The Stage for Imagination - Looking and Seeing with Voices andDrawings ............................................................................................................... 133
McGowan Tara M
Potovanje v času s kamišibajem: raziskovanje svetovne privlačnosti magičnega
gibljivega medija .................................................................................................... 140
Time Travels with Kamishibai: Exploring the Global Appeal of a Magical Moving
Medium ................................................................................................................. 142
Miki Yosuke
Kamišibaj in dialekt: poskus dedovanja dialekta iz Hachijojime, ki mu grozi
izumrtje ................................................................................................................. 144
Kamishibai in Dialect: Aiming to Inherit the Hachijojima Dialect Endangered byExtinction .............................................................................................................. 145
Moritoki Nagisa
Kamišibaj na Japonskem in v tujini: zgodovina, tranzicija in perspektiva
prihodnosti ............................................................................................................ 147
Kamishibai in Japan and Abroad: History, Transition and Future Perspective ....... 148
Nakaya Sommet Maki in/and Sommet Moritz
Priredba kamišibaja v izobraževalno orodje za reprodukcijsko zdravje v Indiji ....... 150
An Adaptation of Kamishibai as an Educational Kit for Reproductive Health inIndia ...................................................................................................................... 151

Nozaka Etsuko
Razvoj združenja IKAJA: kamišibaj za mirno družbo ............................................. 162
The Development of IKAJA: Kamishibai for a Peaceful Society ............................. 163
Orbaugh Sharalyn
Uprizarjanje propagande. Kamišibaj v japonski petnajstletni vojni ......................... 171
Performing Propaganda: Kamishibai in Japan’s Fifteen-Year War ........................ 172
Rupnik Hladnik Tatjana
Kamišibaj – pot v svet tujih jezikov ........................................................................ 174
Kamishibai – a Way into the World of Foreign Languages..................................... 175
Sakai Kyoko
Kamišibaj, njegove glavne značilnosti in privlačnosti ............................................. 182
Kamishibai – its Key Features and Appeal ............................................................ 184
Sever Vid
Interaktivni kamišibaj ............................................................................................. 191
An Interactive Kamishibai ...................................................................................... 192
Sitar Cvetko Jelena
Preseganje meja v zamejenem prostoru: dramaturški pogled na umetnost kamišibaj
gledališča .............................................................................................................. 197
Beyond Borders in Confined Space: Dramaturgical Perspective on the Art ofKamishibai Theatre ............................................................................................... 198
Tsuno Yuiko
Kako kamišibaj sprejema francoska popularna kultura? Kulturna primerjava
francoskega in japonskega kamišibaja .................................................................. 203
How is the Kamishibai Accepted in French Popular Culture? Cultural Comparison of
French Kamishibai and Japanese Kamishibai ....................................................... 204

Ulić Jovanka
Kamišibaj in možnosti za celostni pristop k razvoju veščin pri predšolskih otrocih . 215
Creativity of Kamishibai and its Possibilites in Integrative Approach to theDevelopment of Skills in Preschool Children ......................................................... 216
Vidović Schreiber Tea-Tereza
Kamišibaj – novi narativni kontekst ustnega izročila pri delu s predšolskimi otroki . 225
Kamishibai – a New Narrative Context of Oral Literature in Working with Children of
Preschool Age ....................................................................................................... 226

Uvodnik

Mednarodni simpozij Umetnost kamišibaja: Beseda podobe in podoba besede, ki je potekal
med 10. in 12. majem 2018 v Slovenskem gledališkem inštitutu (SLOGI), smo pripravili
SLOGI, Društvo Zapik in Društvo kamišibaj Slovenije v sodelovanju s Pedagoško fakulteto
Univerze na Primorskem, Akademijo za gledališče, radio, film in televizijo Univerze v
Ljubljani, Oddelkom za azijske študije Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani inveleposlaništvom Japonske v Sloveniji.
Na simpoziju smo se posvetili fenomenu kamišibaj gledališča, ki v času digitalizacije inglobalizacije omogoča avtentično komunikacijo in uresničenje umetniške svobode v
neposrednem soočenju z gledalcem. V sodobnem, globaliziranem in digitaliziranem svetu
kamišibaj ponuja možnost zanimive analogne, kreativne, umetniške in medosebne
komunikacije. Kot izvorna japonska umetniška forma dobiva kamišibaj v različnih kulturah
različne vsebinske in oblikovne interpretacije. Njegova minimalistična in sinkretična forma pa
zastavlja tudi številna vprašanja – ne le ustvarjalcem, temveč tudi strokovnjakom inraziskovalcem z različnih področij.
Glede na povezovanje različnih tematskih področij, povezanih s kamišibajem, je bil simpozij
razdeljen v štiri vsebinske sklope: Sklop I – Umetnost kamišibaja, Sklop II – Kamišibaj innjegove možnosti pri osebni rasti, v pedagogiki, socialni intervenciji in v terapiji, Sklop III –Kamišibaj kot komunikacija in njegove aplikacije in Sklop IV – Kamišibaj kot srečanje kultur.
Simpozij je vključeval sedemindvajset prispevkov. Aktivno, s predstavitvijo, je na simpoziju
sodelovalo šestindvajset udeležencev (žensk in moških), nekateri prispevki so bili pripravljeni
v soavtorstvu. Od tega je bilo dvanajst aktivnih udeležencev iz Slovenije in štirinajst iz tujine(šest iz Japonske, dva iz ZDA in po eden iz Belgije, Italije, Kanade, Nemčije, Srbije inŠpanije), dva sta sodelovala pri predstavitvi (po eden iz Japonske in Španije), eden zgolj pri
pripravi prispevka brez predstavitve (Švica), štirje udeleženci iz tujine pa so sodelovali brezpredstavitve, zgolj s poslanimi prispevki – zunanje sodelovanje (trije iz Hrvaške in eden iz
Ukrajine). Z obiskom je simpozij počastila tudi ugledna enajstčlanska japonska delegacija
mednarodne zveze kamišibaja na Japonskem IKAJA.
V večernem programu simpozija je za širšo javnost potekalo tudi pestro kamišibaj dogajanje:
Mednarodna kamišibaj revija (International Kamishibai Open), kamišibaj predstave za otrokein nočno dogajanje s kamišibaj predstavami za odrasle. Udeleženci simpozija so kamišibaj
predstave odigrali tudi v Piranu, Hrastovljah, Škocjanu, Kranju in na Bledu. Dan predzačetkom mednarodnega simpozija je potekal tudi vseslovenski maraton kamišibaja Zaigraj
kamišibaj! Celotno dogajanje je bilo praznik kamišibaja v Sloveniji, ki se je leta 2018 pridružil
vedno bolj priljubljeni praksi kamišibaj gledališča in že uveljavljenemu vsakoletnemu
festivalskemu kamišibaj dogajanju. Z vzpostavljanjem dialoga med različnimi kulturami ininterpretacijami kulturne dediščine pa je bil simpozij umeščen tudi med obeležja Evropskega
leta kulturne dediščine 2018. Hkrati je mednarodni simpozij združil kamišibajkarje ne zgolj iz
različnih držav in celin, temveč tudi različnih profilov (akademiki, učitelji, vizualni umetniki,
pedagogi, dramaturgi …). Tako je simpozij predstavil različne prakse, poglede in možnosti
uporabe kamišibaja.

-9-Prejete prispevke smo zbrali in jih predstavljamo v tem zborniku. Spremljajo jih prejeti
povzetki in biografije, ki so zaradi določil nacionalnega Zakona o javni rabi slovenščine
objavljeni tudi v slovenskem jeziku. Prispevki so objavljeni v angleščini, delovnem jeziku
simpozija, in vsebinsko ter formalno takšni, kot so jih posredovali avtorji – v prejetem obsegu,
vsebini, navedbi slikovnega gradiva, prevodu, lekturi in korekturi avtorja oziroma njegovi
zagotovitvi prevoda. Izjemoma zbornik vključuje en prispevek, ki je bil posredovan zgolj vhrvaškem jeziku, ne vključuje pa neposredovanih prispevkov ter prispevkov, ki so bili izbraniza objavo v znanstveni Reviji za teorijo scenskih umetnosti Amfiteater – revija je vključena v
MLA International Bibliography (Directory of Periodicals). Prispevki v zborniku so razvrščeni
po abecednem vrstnem redu priimkov avtorjev.
S spletno izdajo tega zbornika in z že objavljenimi video posnetki želimo zbrana dognanja
mednarodnega simpozija predati čim širšemu krogu tako za gradnjo kot morda tudi za
poznejšo nadgradnjo znanja vseh, ki jih povezuje kamišibaj gledališče. Zbornik bo, kot žeomenjeno zgoraj, sredi leta 2019 nadgradila tudi posebna tematska izdaja Revije za teorijo
scenskih umetnosti Amfiteater z izbranimi znanstvenimi prispevki.
Lepo vabljeni k branju!

- 10 -

Preface

The International Symposium The Art of Kamishibai: The Word of the Image and the Imageof the Word took place between 10 and 12 May at the Slovenian Theatre Institute and wasorganized by the Slovenian Theatre Institute, Zapik Association, and Kamishibai Associationof Slovenia in cooperation with the Faculty of Education of University of Primorska, theAcademy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television of University of Ljubljana, the Department of
Asian Studies at the Faculty of Arts of University of Ljubljana and the Embassy of Japan.
In the course of the international symposium The Art of Kamishibai: The Word of the Imageand the Image of the Word we dedicated ourselves to the phenomenon of kamishibai
theatre, which enables authentic communication and the possibility of realizing artistic
freedom in direct confrontation with the spectator in the time of digitalization andglobalization. In this contemporary, world, kamishibai – the telling of stories alongside images
on a small wooden stage – offers the possibility for compelling analogue, creative, artistic,
and interpersonal communication. As an original Japanese artistic form, kamishibai gains
various content and formal interpretations in different cultural contexts. Its minimalistic andsyncretic form also poses a number of questions – not only for creators, but also forprofessionals and researchers from a variety of fields.
The international symposium consisted of four substantive sections, according to theintersection of various thematic fields connected to kamishibai: Section I – The Art ofKamishibai, Section II – Kamishibai and its Possibilities for Personal Growth in Education,
Social Intervention and Therapy, Section III – Kamishibai as Communication and its
Applications, and Section IV – Kamishibai as Cross-Cultural Encounter. The symposiumincluded twenty-seven contributions. Twenty-six speakers actively participated at the
symposium with a contribution – some of the contributions were also prepared with a coauthor. Twelve speakers were local (Slovenian) and fourteen were international (six fromJapan or of Japanese origin, two from the USA, and one from Belgium, Italy, Canada,
Germany, Serbia, and Spain each). Additionally, two participants cooperated at twopresentations (one from Japan and one from Spain) and one co-author participated at the
preparation of one presentation (from Switzerland). Four international participants
cooperated at the symposium with a contribution without a presentation – external
participation (three from Croatia and one from Ukraine). The symposium was also honoredby the attendance of an eminent eleven-member delegation from IKAJA, the International
Kamishibai Association of Japan.
For the general audience, varied kamishibai events were organized alongside and within theinternational symposium: International Kamishibai Open with kamishibai performances forkids and an evening program with kamishibai performances for adults. The participants of thesymposium also presented performances in other Slovenian towns: Piran, Hrastovlje,Škocijan, Kranj, and Bled. A nation-wide Slovenian marathon of kamishibai called Play
Kamishibai! (Zaigraj kamišibaj!) was organized the day before the symposium. All the eventswere a celebration of kamishibai in Slovenia, accompanying the increasingly popular practiceof kamishibai theatre and the already established annual summer kamishibai festival events.

- 11 -

The aspect of establishing a dialogue between different cultures and interpretations ofcultural heritage also included the international symposium in the set of anniversaries
marking the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018. Simultaneously the international
symposium also united kamishibai practitioners not only from various countries andcontinents, but also from various profiles (academics, teachers, visual artists, pedagogues,
dramaturges …). Accordingly, the symposium presented different practice, approaches, andoptions for the application of kamishibai.
We collected the received contributions in the present proceedings. The contributions areaccompanied with abstracts and biographies also published in Slovenian following theprovisions of the Public Use of the Slovene Language Act. The contributions are published in
English – the working language of the international symposium – as received from theauthors, regarding the extent, substance, formal arrangements, references to images
included, translation, and proofreading provided by the author. The only exception is one
contribution provided in Croatian only. The articles collected in the proceedings do notinclude contributions that the authors did not provide or the contributions selected to be
published in Amfiteater, the scientific Journal of Performing Arts Theory, included in MLA
International Bibliography (Directory of Periodicals). The contributions are arranged in thepresent proceedings in the alphabetical order of the authors’ surnames.
With the online edition of these proceedings and the already published videos of thesymposium, we wish to disseminate the collected findings of the international symposium as
broadly as possible, both to build the foundations and to upgrade the knowledge of everyone
working with kamishibai. As mentioned above, the proceedings will also be complemented in
mid-2019 with selected scientific articles in a special thematic number of the Amfiteater
journal.
Enjoy your reading!

- 12 -

Program simpozijačetrtek, 10. maj 2018
13.00–13.30 Uradna otvoritev – Mojca Jan Zoran, direktorica Slovenskega gledališkega
inštituta, Keiko Furuta, namestnica veleposlanika Japonske v Sloveniji, in Igor Teršar,
generalni direktor Direktorata za ustvarjalnost na Ministrstvu za kulturo13.30–14.00 Uvodno predavanje – Kyoko Sakai, predstavnica Mednarodne zveze kamišibaja
na Japonskem – IKAJA (v sodelovanju s Hino Nagase): Kamišibaj, njegove glavne
značilnosti in privlačnosti
14.00–14.20 Odmor za kavo
Sklop I.: Umetnost kamišibaja
moderatorka: Tara M. McGowan
14.20–14.50 Uvodno predavanje sklopa: Jelena Sitar Cvetko: Preseganje meja v zamejenem
prostoru: Dramaturški pogled na umetnost kamišibaj gledališča
14.50–15.10 Gerhard Jäger: Kamišibaj in njegov transformativni duh
15.10–15.30 Silva Karim: Likovno formalni pristopi ter tehnike pri oblikovanju ilustracij za
kamišibaj
15.30–16.00 Razprava

petek, 11. maj 2018
Sklop II.: Kamišibaj in njegove možnosti pri osebni rasti, v pedagogiki, socialni intervenciji inv terapiji
moderatorka: Jelena Sitar Cvetko
9.00–9.30 Uvodno predavanje sklopa: Etsuko Nozaka: Razvoj združenja IKAJA: kamišibaj za
mirno družbo
9.30–9.50 Robert Eisenstadt: Kamišibaj v Ameriki
9.50–10.10 Vid Sever: Interaktivni kamišibaj
10.10–10.40 Odmor za kavo
10.40–11.00 Maki Nakaya Sommet (in Moritz Sommet): Priredba kamišibaja v izobraževalno
orodje za reprodukcijsko zdravje v Indiji- 13 -

11.00–11.20 Nataša Konc Lorenzutti: Ko besede vzletijo iz kletke
11.20–11.40 Aksinja Kermauner, Jerca Cvetko in Jure Engelsberger: Kamišibaj kot sredstvo
izražanja za ljudi z motnjami v duševnem razvoju
11.40–11.55 Vmesna razprava
11.55–14.00 Odmor za kosilo
Sklop II.: Kamišibaj in njegove možnosti pri osebni rasti, v pedagogiki, socialni intervenciji inv terapiji (nadaljevanje)
moderatorka: Etsuko Nozaka
14.00–14.20 Carmen Aldama Jiménez: Delavnica kamišibaja. Magija ustvarjanja inpripovedovanja zgodb s kamišibajem
14.20–14.40 Jovanka Ulić: Kamišibaj in možnosti za celostni pristop k razvoju veščin pri
predšolskih otrocih
14.40–15.00 Tatjana Rupnik Hladnik: Kamišibaj – pot v svet tujih jezikov
15.00–15.30 Razprava
19.30 Mednarodna kamišibaj revija
22.00 Nočni program – kamišibaj za odrasle

sobota, 12. maj 2018
Sklop III.: Kamišibaj kot komunikacija in njegove aplikacije
moderator: Umberto Giovannini
9.00–9.30 Uvodno predavanje sklopa: Umberto Giovannini: Mešanje jezikov: ilustracija inkamišibaj
9.30–9.50 Fulvia Grbac: Uporaba in predstavitev Glasserjeve teorije izbire in njene
uporabnosti v šolah s pomočjo kamišibaja (»Kokoš po izbiri«: Glasserjeva teorija vkamišibaju)
9.50–10.10 Igor Likar: Sliko-zgodbe kamišibaja – pripoved, ki u-gleda, in podoba, ki u-sliši, –soigra čutnih predstav na odru domišljije
10.10–10.40 Odmor za kavo
10.40–11.00 Rok Glavan: Kamišibaj in stara otroška knjiga- 14 -

11.00–11.20 Yosuke Miki: Kamišibaj v dialektu: poskus dedovanja dialekta iz Hachijojime, ki
mu grozi izumrtje
11.20–11.40 Julia Gerster: »Pod nevidnim oblakom«: kamišibaj
preprečevanjem tveganja za katastrofe in spominskim obeležjem

po

3.11.

Med

11.40–12.10 Razprava
12.10–14.00 Odmor za kosilo
Sklop IV.: Kamišibaj kot srečanje kultur
moderator: Igor Cvetko
14.00–14.30 Uvodno predavanje sklopa: Tara M. McGowan: Potovanje v času skamišibajem: raziskovanje svetovne privlačnosti magičnega gibljivega medija
14.30–14.50 Igor Cvetko: Kamišibaj v luči kulturne antropologije
14.50–15.10 Yuiko Tsuno: Kako kamišibaj sprejema francoska popularna kultura? Kulturna
primerjava francoskega in japonskega kamišibaja
15.10–15.25 Kratek odmor za kavo
15.25–15.45 Sharalyn Orbaugh: Uprizarjanje propagande. Kamišibaj v japonski petnajstletni
vojni
15.45–16.05 Nagisa Moritoki: Kamišibaj na Japonskem in v tujini:zgodovina, tranzicija inperspektiva prihodnosti
16.05–16.35 Razprava
16.35–16.45 Kratek odmor za kavo
16.45–17.15 Zaključna razprava
19.30 Kamišibaj predstave

Zunanje sodelovanje:
Hicela Ivon in Emanuela Zavoreo Rakić: Razvoj empatije med predstavo gledališča
kamišibaj
Tea-Tereza Vidović Schreiber: Kamišibaj – novi narativni kontekst ustnega izročila pri delu spredšolskimi otroki
Jevgenija Karpenko: Umetnost kamišibaja kot izobraževalna kognitivna tehnologija pri
poučevanju tujih jezikov v osnovni šoli v Ukrajini- 15 -

Programme of the Symposium

Thursday, 10 May 2018
13.00–13.30 Official Opening: Mojca Jan Zoran, Director of the Slovenian Theatre Institute,
Keiko Furuta, Counsellor at the Embassy of Japan in Slovenia, and Igor Teršar, DirectorGeneral of the Creativity Directorate at the Ministry of Culture of Republic of Slovenia
13.30–14.00 Introductory Lecture: Kamishibai – its Key Features and Appeal by Kyoko
Sakai, representative of the International Kamishibai Association of Japan – IKAJA (incooperation with Hina Nagase)
14.00–14.20 Coffee BreakSection I: The Art of Kamishibaimoderated by Tara M. McGowan
14.20–14.50 Introductory Lecture of the Section: Beyond Borders in Confined Space:
Dramaturgical Perspective on the Art of Kamishibai Theatre by Jelena Sitar Cvetko
14.50–15.10 Kamishibai and its Spirit of Transformation by Gerhard Jäger
15.10–15.30 Artistic Formal Aspects, Styles and Techniques in Designing Kamishibai
Illustrations by Silva Karim
15.30–16.00 Discussion

Friday, 11 May 2018
Section II: Kamishibai and its Possibilities for Personal Growth, in Education, Social
Intervention and Therapy
moderated by Jelena Sitar Cvetko
09.00–9.30 Introductory Lecture of the Section: The Development of IKAJA: Kamishibai for a
Peaceful Society by Etsuko Nozaka
09.30–9.50 Kamishibai in America by Robert Eisenstadt
09.50–10.10 An Interactive Kamishibai by Vid Sever
10.10–10.40 Coffee Break
10.40–11.00 An Adaptation of Kamishibai as an Educational Kit for Reproductive Health inIndia by Maki Nakaya Sommet (and Moritz Sommet)- 16 -

11.00–11.20 When Words Take Off from the Cage by Nataša Konc Lorenzutti
11.20–11.40 Kamishibai and the Development of Expressive Competences in Persons withIntellectual Disability by Aksinja Kermauner, Jerca Cvetko and Jure Engelsberger
11.40–11.55 Interim Discussion
11.55–14.00 Lunch BreakSection II: Kamishibai and its Possibilities for Personal Growth, in Education, Social
Intervention and Therapy (continued)
moderated by Etsuko Nozaka
14.00–14.20 Kamishibai Workshop. The Magic of Creating and Telling Stories with
Kamishibai by Carmen Aldama Jiménez
14.20–14.40 Creativity of Kamishibai and its Possibilites in Integrative Approach to theDevelopment of Skills in Preschool Children by Jovanka Ulić
14.40–15.00 Kamishibai – a Way into the World of Foreign Languages by Tatjana Rupnik
Hladnik
15.00–15.30 Discussion
19.30 International Kamishibai Open22.00 Night Show – Kamishibai for Adults

Saturay, 12 May 2018
Section III: Kamishibai as Communication and its Applications
moderated by Umberto Giovannini
9.00–9.30 Introductory Lecture of the Section: Merging Languages: Illustration andKamishibai by Umberto Giovannini
9.30–9.50 How to Use and Present Glasser’s Choice Theory and its Application in Schools
with the Aid of Kamishibai (Chicken By Choice: Glasser Theory In Kamishibai) by Fulvia
Grbac
9.50–10.10 Kamishibai – The Stage for Imagination - Looking and Seeing with Voices andDrawings by Igor Likar
10.10–10.40 Coffee Break
10.40–11.00 Kamishibai and Antique Children’s Books by Rok Glavan- 17 -

11.00–11.20 Kamishibai in Dialect: Aiming to Inherit the Hachijojima Dialect Endangered byExtinction by Yosuke Miki
11.20–11.40 “Beneath the Invisible Cloud”: Kamishibai After 3.11. Between Disaster Risk
Reduction and Memorialization by Julia Gerster
11.40–12.10 Discussion
12.10–14.00 Lunch BreakSection IV: Kamishibai as Cross-Cultural Encountermoderated by Igor Cvetko
14.00–14.30 Introductory Lecture of the Section: Time Travels with Kamishibai: Exploring the
Global Appeal of a Magical Moving Medium by Tara M. McGowan
14.30–14.50 Kamishibai in the Light of Cultural Anthropology by Igor Cvetko
14.50–15.10 How is the Kamishibai Accepted in French Popular Culture? Cultural
Comparison of French Kamishibai and Japanese Kamishibai by Yuiko Tsuno
15.10–15.25 Short Coffee Break
15.25–15.45 Performing Propaganda. Kamishibai in Japan’s Fifteen-Year War by Sharalyn
Orbaugh15.45–16.05 Kamishibai in Japan and Abroad: History, Transition and Future Perspective by
Nagisa Moritoki
16.05–16.35 Discussion
16.35–16.45 Short Coffee Break
16.45–17.15 Final Discussion
19.30 Kamishibai Performances

External Participation:
The Development of Empathy during a Performance of Kamishibai Theatre by Hicela Ivon
and Emanuela Zavoreo Rakić
Kamishibai - a New Narrative Context of Oral Literature in Working with Children of
Preschool Age by Tea-Tereza Vidović Schreiber
The Art of Kamishibai as an Educational Cognitive Technology in FLT in Primary School in
Ukraine by Yevgeniya Karpenko- 18 -

Prispevki po abcednem vrstem redu priimkov avtorjev /Contributions in the Alphabetical Order of the Authors' Surnames- 19 -

Delavnica kamišibaja. Magija ustvarjanja in pripovedovanja zgodb skamišibajem

Aldama Jiménez Carmen
predstavitev: Adela Fernández Tuñón

Naše delo s kamišibajem odlikuje poseben pristop k delavnici kamišibaja. Na delavnici sodelujoči postanejo
ustvarjalci in nastopajoči.
Ker je kamišibaj tehnika,ki pripoveduje zgodbe preko besedil in podob, in ker morata besedilo in slika ob istemčasu izražati isto zgodbo, morata pri vsakem listu zrcaliti enake ideje. Naš načrt nam omogoča, da didaktično
integriramo besedila in slike. Obenem trdno podpiramo zamisel, da je treba kamišibaj opredeliti kot samostojen
narativni žanr.
Teoretični okvir našega dela je Language Project Working (Delovanje z jezikovnimi projekti). Cilj delavnice, torej
izdelava kamišibaja in učenje nastopanja, osmisli vse načrtovane aktivnosti, ki so potrebne za pridobitev veščin,ki pripeljejo do končnega izdelka. Učenje ves čas produkcijskega procesa poteka interaktivno – s pomočjo
kolaborativnega učenja.
Na delavnici se razvijejo vse veščine, povezane s sposobnostmi sporazumevanja: aktivno poslušanje in javno
nastopanje, branje zgodb in nastopanje s kamišibajem, pisanje besedil za kamišibaje, razumevanje insporazumevanje s podobami, komunikacija z gibom itd. Posebej poudarjamo delo s podobami, ki je dandanes v
šolskih učnih načrtih le redko izpostavljeno.
Drugi omembe vredni elementi, ki jih spodbuja delavnica, so: povečanje ustvarjalnosti pri ustvarjanju besedil inslik, sodelovanje in udeleževanje v kulturnem okolju, spodbujanje odgovornosti do obveznosti, vloženi trud za
dobro opravljeno delo itd.
Ta izkušnja omogoča vključevanje številnih znanj in razvoj ključnih veščin, brez katerih je v današnjem svetu
težko delovati.
Sprva smo se spopadali s številnimi izzivi in težavami. S podporo združenja IKAJA smo lahko že od samega
začetka delovali intenzivno in tudi napredovali. Danes je naš načrt delavnice kamišibaja razširjen po osnovnih insrednjih šolah tako med učenci kot med učitelji – ne le v Navarri, temveč po vsej Španiji in celo v drugih špansko
govorečih državah. V zadnjih treh letih smo delavnico izvajali celo na navarski javni univerzi UPNA.
***
Camen Aldama Jiménez je osnovnošolska učiteljica z diplomo iz pedagogike. Ima obširne izkušnje z delom vučiteljskem okolju: delala je z učenci, starimi od pet do petnajst let, pa tudi kot šolska svetovalka in dolgoletna
učna svetovalka za osnovnošolske učitelje. S kamišibajem se je začela ukvarjati leta 2002, ko je na šoli San Juande la Cadena v Pamploni (Španija) začela izvajati delavnico kamišibaja.
Njeno delo se posveča preučevanju možnosti za uporabo kamišibaja v pedagoškem procesu, ki ga osvetljuje
njena izobraževalna delavnica kamišibaja. Delavnico je razvila s pomočjo osnovnošolskih in srednješolskih
učencev ter učiteljev preko seminarjev, ki jih je izvajala v centrih za izobraževanje učiteljev ter v knjižnicah po
različnih španskih avtonomnih skupnostih. Delavnica se ji zdi popolno okolje za razvoj ključnih kompetenc, ki sonujne v današnjem svetu.
Leta 2006 je prejela nagrado First Innovation, ki jo podeljuje vladni oddelek za izobraževanje v Navarri (Španija).
Objavila je štiri kamišibaje, ki so nastali v okviru delavnice, in dobila licenco za raziskovanje vzgojnih uporab
kamišibaja v šolskem letu 2008–2009.
Leta 2015 sta izšli njeni knjigi Kamišibaj in Delavnica kamišibaja. Zasnovala je tudi spletni tečaj »Kamišibaj kot
tehnika za spodbujanje branja«. Objavila je več strokovnih člankov in kamišibajev. Strokovni izobraževalničasopisi in revije o njenem delu objavljajo obširna poročila. Za njeno delo s kamišibajem je zelo pomemben njen
blog: http://kamishibai.educacion.navarra.es.

- 20 -

Kamishibai Workshop. The Magic of Creating and Telling Stories
with Kamishibai

Aldama Jiménez Carmen
Presented by: Adela Fernández Tuñón

The distinctiveness of this work is the special approach to the Kamishibai Workshop in which
attendants become kamishibai creators and performers.
The characteristics of the kamishibai are used to work didactically text and image, in an integrated
way. The theoretical frame in which our proposal develops is: Language Project Working. The aim of
the workshop –create and/or learn to perform kamishibais- gives sense to all the activities planned.
Learning takes place during the whole production process in interactive situations– collaborative
learning.
In the workshop, everything related to the development of communication competences is worked on,
oral, written and postural; we particularly highlight the work with the image. Other aspects also worked
in the workshop are: creativity, participation and collaboration with the cultural environment,
encouraging their responsibility towards the commitments undertaken, the effort for a job well done…
This experience facilitates the integration of multiple learnings and the development of key
competences essential to function in today´s world.
This didactic proposal has spread through Seminars in Teachers' Centers and also at Navarra´s
Public University. At this moment, our "Kamishibai Workshop" proposal is widely experienced andextended at Primary and Secondary levels, not only in Navarra, but also throughout Spain.

Keywords: Kamishibai, Language Project Working, Communication competences, Collaborative
learning, Communication through the image, Key competences

Carmen Aldama Jiménez is a Primary School teacher with a degree in Educational Science. She has
wide experience as a teacher, school counselor and continuous learning counselor for teachers.
She began her involvement with kamishibai in 2002. Her work focuses on studying the didactic
applications of kamishibai, highlighting her didactic proposal "The Kamishibai Workshop". She hastaught and directed Seminars in Teacher Centers throughout Spain. She has numerous publications
on this subject.
Carmen Aldama Jiménez, Pedro I, nº 3, sc. Izq., 3º B , CP. 31007 PAMPLONA, Spain
caldama@ono.com***- 21 -

The differential aspect of our work with the kamishibai is the approach, the approach we give to the KamishibaiWorkshop that we present, in which the participants become kamishibai creators and performers.
The approach of this work is mainly didactic.
In: ALDAMA, C. (2015) Taller de kamishibai. Editorial Leer-e

We discovered the kamishibai at school in 2002 and we were all fascinated by it. We started
to use it and we continue using it, as an oral narrative technique which makes us enjoy
greatly. We take advantage of the strength that the kamishibai has to attract the attention ofspectators and it facilitates the development among listeners of an ideal climate to sharefeelings, "kyokan"1. With this we also work on emotional intelligence and it allows
strengthening the idea of belonging to the group - class.
It is a technique with which, in addition to working on oral language, the imagination andtaste for reading and writing are encouraged, helps students in the sequencing of stories andthe writing of narrative texts. We cannot forget the contribution that the kamishibai can havein the recovery of the magic of telling stories.
We soon discovered that the kamishibai format facilitated us to achieve educational anddidactic objectives that are very much in accordance with the latest European guidelines andwhich are the ones we set ourselves to achieve in the Workshop.
We consider the Kamishibai Workshop we propose as an ideal environment for thedevelopment of skills and key competences essential to function in today's world.
The Kamishibai Workshop is aimed at students, from 8-9 years old, of Compulsory Primaryand Secondary Education. A similar approach is followed in the Kamishibai Workshop
Seminars with teachers in which they are expected to experiment with the process and thenapply it in their classrooms. Adaptations can be easily made for younger students.
The purpose of the Kamishibai Workshop is: to learn to perform and to create kamishibais.
Participants, generally commit themselves to make public kamishibai performances and/or tocreate a kamishibai that will remain in the library of the center, whether schools or teachers‘centers, in order to be used by other people. This commitment has a very favorable impact
on the workshop´s achievements. These commitments especially motivate participants toovercome times of particular effort or difficulty and induce them to continuous reviews topresent a work well done.
Objectives of the "Kamishibai Workshop"2- Grow an interest for searching and reading traditional narratives from other cultures.
Know and develop strategies to:- tell and perform kamishibais- write stories creatively- illustrate stories.
- Study the kamishibai as a narrative genre in itself, differentiating it from others.
IKAJA, Asociación Internacional de Kamishibai de Japón, nos 1-8 de Kamishibai, Newsletter. Japan.
ALDAMA JIMÉNEZ, Carmen (2015): El kamishibai. Editorial: Leer-e. Pamplona
2
ALDAMA, C. (2009) “Taller de Kamishibai. Desarrollo de las Competencias Básicas”, en Biribilka, Revista de los Centros deApoyo al Profesorado de Navarra, nº 7 (diciembre), (pp. 5)
1- 22 -

-

Incorporate imagination, fantasy and originality in their textual and plastic
productions.
Develop strategies of teamwork and collaboration.
Encourage joyful and responsible participation in the community.
Develop responsibility with the commitments acquired.
Increase the taste for a work well done.

We present our Kamishibai Workshop didactic proposal in an open and flexible way. The
ideal is to dedicate the Workshop to learning both to perform and to create kamishibais.
However, it is also possible to dedicate it only to learn to perform or just to createkamishibais that at the same time can be original personal creations or adaptations of stories
or even of well-known tales. In this last case, the starting point can be a given text orillustrations. The work can be done in group - class, in teams or individually.
TO LEARN TO PERFORM KAMISHIBAI
Original creations
Adaptations
TO CREATEKAMISHIBAIFrom given texts
From given
illustrations

Done ingroups-classDone in teams
Do individually

Purposes of the Kamishibai Workshop

Depending on the purpose of the workshop and the age of the participants, different
sequences, working aspects, steps to follow and approximate time needed to be dedicatedare offered.
Kamishibai, a narrative genre in itself
As kamishibai is a technique that narrates through texts and images that must convey thesame story at the same time - in each slide both have to communicate the same ideas; in our
proposal, we take advantage of the opportunity it offers to work didactically both aspects, text
and image, in an integrated manner. We firmly defend the need to consider the kamishibai as
a textual narrative genre in itself.
BAJTIN3, main reference in all linguistic studies on discursive genres, conceives the genres
as a series of stable statements of language that "are grouped because they have certain
similarities in terms of their thematic content, their verbal style and their composition" and"...are determined by the specificity of a given sphere of communication. "3

BAJTIN, M.M. (1995, 6ª edicón en español) “El problema de los géneros discursivos” en Estética de la creación verbal.
Madrid, México. Siglo XXI- 23 -

According to him, we consider that kamishibai meets the characteristics that Bajtin considers
necessary:- The communication situation. Kamishibais are created to be performed before an
audience with a specific staging: the butai focuses attention, the performer who
follows a ritual.
- The specific structure that all kamishibais should have.
- The linguistic characteristics: simple and direct language, plenty of action verbs anddialogues, use of spatial and temporal connectors, the importance of iconic language
highlighting the use of different levels, the use of expressive resources so viewers
can fix and maintain their attention...
Accepted the kamishibai as its own narrative genre, we take advantage to study the narrative
genres differentiating among them, the kamishibai; as well as - it was already expressed - towork in an integrated way communication both through images and texts.
Kamishibai Workshop. Language Project Based Working
Our work is developed within the theoretical framework: Project Based Working and more
specifically in Language Project Based Working developed by Ana Camps (2003).4 In these
Language Projects two types of objectives are aimed: produce a text and at the same timelearn something about the language and its use.
These two objectives are fulfilled in our Workshop: we create a kamishibai with its own
characteristics, and we learn many things about the language and its use.5. Among others,
we deepen in the knowledge of the narrative texts and differentiate the characteristics ofeach one of them; we learn to communicate, read and express ourselves, through images
and also taking care of body language...
On the basis of this theoretical framework, our Kamishibai Workshop presents the following
characteristics:- The purpose of the Kamishibai Workshop – to create a kamishibai and / or tolearn to perform it - gives meaning to all the activities that are planned to achieve
the necessary skills that will lead to accomplish those results.
- A global activity is proposed that requires the integration of multiple learnings.
- Therefore learning takes place throughout the entire production process ininteractive situations -Vigonsky ´s Socio-constructivism-. Without disregarding thefinal result, we put our attention on everything they can learn throughout the entire
experience.
- The final work is done as a team, ideally in pairs. There are many decisions thathave to be taken as a group throughout the whole process; decisions that willaffect to those that are subsequently taken and to the final result.
- The teacher assumes the role of leader and guide of the whole process. Givessuggestions, shows examples, presents different models...

CAMPS, Anna comp): 2003 Secuencias didácticas para aprender a escribir. Didáctica de la lengua y de la literatura, 187.
Graó. Barcelona.
5
ALDAMA j. Carmen (2015): Taller de Kamishibai. La magia de crear y contar historias. Editorial: Leer-e. Pamplona4- 24 -

--A continuous review of the works to improve them is done; formative evaluation.
As already mentioned before, participants show great interest in improving theirkamishibais and in making the best possible performances.
In this approach there is room for attention to diversity of interests and abilities.
At the end of the process a text in kamishibai format is produced after having
worked on the development of many skills mainly related to the field ofcommunication.

Competential approach of the Kamishibai Workshop, preparing for life.
In recent decades, many social, economic, technological and cultural changes have takenplace, and this trend is expected to increase. It is necessary to be prepared for permanentand strategic learning appropriate to each situation. Current educational debate is centeredin defining the profile of the educated person that society needs and the key competences
necessary to achieve it.
In 1996, the Delors report, promoted by UNESCO, established the basic pillars of apermanent education for the 21st century. The European Union, since the 1990s, haspromoted research and programs to define these key competences in order to be thebenchmark for the education systems of the Member States.
"The Kamishibai Workshop is an ideal environment for the development of many of thecompetences contemplated in the curricula for students aged 8 to 16 years." 6Among them we want to highlight the development of the Communicative Competences.
In the Workshop, everything related to this is worked on:- Public listening and speaking,- Telling stories and performing kamishibais, writing kamishibai´s texts,- Understanding / reading images and communicating through them,- Gestural communication is also worked, the use of voice...
In 2006, Navarra´s Education Department granted us the First Prize of Innovation in the Areaof Linguistic Competence. In compensation several kamishibais related to the Workshop
were published.
We also want to highlight some of the contents we work on.
Learn to perform
Performing a kamishibai cannot be limited to a simple reading; we must adapt the intonationand the rhythm to the different story situations and to the feelings that, in every moment, thekamishibai author wishes to transmit.
The Kamishibai Workshop is an excellent opportunity to work on oral language and to learn
to make performances in front of an audience. Devoting the Kamishibai Workshop only tolearning to perform can make sense on many occasions. Public performances are one of themost valued aspects of our Workshop.
ALDAMA J. C. (2009) “Taller de Kamishibai. Desarrollo de las Competencias Básicas”, en Biribilka, Revista de los Centros deApoyo al Profesorado de Navarra, nº 7 (diciembre) (pp. 5-7)
(2015): Taller de Kamishibai. La magia de crear y contar historias. Editorial: Leer-e. Pamplona (pp.119-125)6- 25 -

Out of respect for the audience, we give great importance to the fact that the performances
must have a minimum of quality, dedicating the necessary time to the rehearsals.
Our performances are aimed at all types of audiences and with performers of all ages. We
follow the approach of MATSUI, Noriko (2008): How to perform Kamishibai. Ed. Doshinsha.
Work with the image
Although we live in a world dominated by the image, we still do not include it in a serious way
in the compulsory education curricula.
One of the purposes of the Kamsihibai Workshop is to develop kamishibais, in order toaccomplish a good output, images must narrate, transmitting the same stories, ideas andfeelings as the text. To achieve this, it is necessary that the participants know how to read
images and express themselves through them. We take advantage of the opportunity
provided by the Workshop to work in two dimensions:- First, to perceive, observe, understand and interpret critically the images of theirnatural and cultural environment, being sensitive to their artistic and functional
qualities in order to become citizens capable of deciphering contents in thisnetworked society.

- 26 -

-

Secondly, the use of plastic language to represent emotions and feelings,
experiences and ideas, contributing to communication and critical reflection.

Different ways of expressing theidea: "a person stumbles and falls".

A 5-year-old child clearly distinguishes with the color a sad character from a happy one.

- 27 -

In many cases, we take advantage of the image analysis activities to connect them with otherlearnings; in this case to become acquainted with the characteristics of the kamishibai
format, introducing to the sketches that will be presented later.
Other aspects to work
- Interculturalism. As in kamishibai, texts and illustrations are given; not only do we tell
the stories from different cultures but we also transmit through them.
- Creativity both in the texts and in the illustrations,- The responsibility with the commitments acquired, the effort for the work well done,(both encouraged by the initial commitment),- Thoroughness in the information treatment; consulting and citing sources,- Facilitates participation and collaboration with the cultural environment...
Sequence followed when creating a kamishibai.
– To know the kamishibai, to acquire knowledge of what the kamishibai is.
– Writing-schema of the argument.
– Decision of the number of slides.
– Elaboration of the sketch.
– Characters´ characterization.
– Drawing of each slide.
– Writing the final text.
Finally, to perform.

Elaboration of the sketch
We give great importance to the realization of the sketch, the anticipation and planningbefore doing the kamishibai, deciding the number of slides that it will have, the main idea tobe transmitted with each of them, making an outline of each illustration deciding the different
elements what will contain and its location in space, the type of plane to use...
It is this part that demands more concentration and greater cognitive effort. We consider thesketch like an approximation to the Storyboard used in the audiovisual media that seems tobecome the most used means to transfer information in the near future.

This sketch was made by a 10-years-old student, in 30
minutes after reading a short story.

- 28 -

What is really important in the sketch is not the qualityof the images but rather to define the different elements
to be drawn on the slide and their location in space.

Characterization of the characters
Another aspect that we want to highlight is our approach to the characterization of thecharacters and elements that will come out in the kamishibai. This is more necessary whenworking in groups.

Each member of the group characterizes as he wishes eachof the kamishibai characters, in this case, the cat. As a groupthey decide which model they will use in their kamishibai.

Once chosen, they draw it in the different positions that will
come out in the kamishibai.

A kamishibai about stars; they feel the needto characterize the different stars

They also characterize the elements that are
repeated in the different slides.

In some cases they have difficulties when characterizing the characters. Example of theevolution they had in the characterization of some characters, based on our advice.

- 29 -

Acceptance and disclosure of the “Kamishibai Workshop"
At this moment, our "Kamishibai Workshop" proposal is widely experienced and extended,with Primary and Secondary students, not only in Navarra, but also throughout Spain andeven in South American, Spanish-speaking countries. Many teachers are interested in thesubject; many of them through our blog and / or trained in the several seminars given. Since
2015 through the books published that year7.
The second of these is exclusively dedicated to presenting and facilitating theimplementation of this didactic proposal that we have just presented.
There are many training activities directed generally to teachers and in some cases tolibrarians. Some of them for presenting the kamishibai, other are working groups, also there
are training courses and out of them we specially highlight the Seminars of “KamishibaiWorkshop”. About 20 seminars have been done in which 30 to 40 training hours werecertified to the participants; they were carried out in Teachers´Centers of different Spanish
Communities, with the participation of approximately 500 teachers of Pre-Primary, Primaryand Secondary Education. For the activity´s certification it was mandatory to have developed
a kamishibai. During the last three school-years we have implemented the Workshop at the
UPNA, Navarra´s Public University.
Other data regarding its acceptance are:- Published articles
7

ALDAMA j. Carmen (2015): Taller de Kamishibai. La magia de crear y contar historias. Editorial: Leer-e. Pamplona- 30 -

-

Reports in the media
Visits to get to know our experience
Kamishibais published by official agencies:- By the Education Department, 4, in 2006
- Campaign against childhood obesity, 3, in 2012
- Visit to the Eretas Introductory activity to the visit to a Site and Museum of theIron Age, The Eretas- Las Navas de Tolosa, Presents the possible origin of the coat of arms ofNavarra, Spain- Camino de Santiago (St James' Way) for children aged 6/12 years, inprocess.

Acknowledgments
To Reiko with whom I discovered the kamishibai
To IKAJA. At the beginning we had many difficulties but thanks to the support received
through Etsuko Nozaka, we began our work with force and we have been able to continue
advancing.
To Donna Tamaki, from whom we learned how to organize the texts through the English
versions of Doshinsha for Kamishibai for Kids. We also took from them the idea of attachingsome minimal tips on how to perform in the kamishibai folders – it was important as being anovel technique –.
Navarra´s Education Department has facilitated its diffusion. Innovation Award in 2006, 4
kamishibais published, it has sponsored many diffusion and training activities related tokamishibai, gave a license to research during one school year the educational applications ofkamishibai, blog hosted on their server ...
To the entire education community of my school, San Juan de la Cadena of Pamplona.
including the families.
Many thanks to “Amigos del Kamishibai” (“Friends of Kamishibai”)
Many thanks to all the people with whom we have shared experiences. Their reflections havenurtured our didactic proposal "The Kamishibai Workshop"

List of works cited in the paper:
ALDAMA JIMÉNEZ, Carmen (2008): “Cómo elaborar un kamishibai”, en Mi Biblioteca, nº 15 (otoño),
pp. 48-52(2009): “Taller de Kamishibai. Desarrollo de las Competencias Básicas”, en Biribilka, Revista
de los Centros de Apoyo al Profesorado de Navarra, nº 7 (diciembre)(2012): “Kamishibai en Spain (2): Kamishibai in an Educational Experience”, en IKAJA
Kamishibai Newsletter vol.8, pp. 20-23. Tokyo. Japón(2015): Taller de Kamishibai. La magia de crear y contar historias. Editorial: Leer-e. Pamplona(2015): “El kamishibai, excusa y necesidad, para trabajar la imágen” en Taller de Kamishibai.
La magia de crear y contar historias.pp. 75-87 Editorial: Leer-e. Pamplona- 31 -

CAMPS (comp): (2003): “Trabajos por Proyectos de Lengua” en: Secuencias didácticas para aprendera escribir. Didáctica de la lengua y de la literatura, 187. Graó. Barcelona.
BAJTIN, M.M. (1995, 6ª edicón en español) “El problema de los géneros discursivos” en Estética de lacreación verbal. Madrid, México. Siglo XXI
BURSET B. Silvia (2011): “¿Cómo ayuda la educación visual y plástica a desarrollar las competencias
básicas? Una disertación sobre la hibridación de competencias. En AULA, nº 201, pág. 33-36.
Barcelona. GRAÓDURAN,Teresa (Com.) (1998): “La ilustración: primera lectura y educación artística”, en: CLIJ.
Cuadernos de literatura infantil y juvenil, Vol.102, http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra/clijcuadernos-de-literatura-infantil-y-juvenil-95/
EURYDICE (2002): Competencias clave en Europa. Bruselas.
http://www.eurydice.org/publications
IKAJA, Asociación Internacional de Kamishibai de Japón, (2004-2012) Vol. 1-8 de Kamishibai
Newsletter. Japan.
JARAUTA, B. y IMBERMÓN, F. (Coords.) (2012) Pensando en el futuro de la educación. Una nueva
escuela para el siglo XXII. Crítica y fundamentos, nº 39. Barcelona. GRAÓMATSUI, Noriko (2008): How to perform Kamishibai, (Traducido a inglés por Etsuko Nozaka y Kara
Yamaguchi) Doshinsha, Japón, ISBN: 978-4-494-02242-7
Mc GOWAN, Tara (2010): The Kamishibai Classroom. Engaging Multiple Literacies Through the Art of«Paper Theater» Libraries Unlimited, Santa Bárbara, California
VALLE, Javier y MANSO, Jesús (2014) Competencias clave como tendencia de la política educativa
supranacional de la Unión Europea. Revista de Educación, Extraordinario 2013, pp. 12-33
http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=4480956- 32 -

Kamišibaj v luči kulturne antropologije

Cvetko Igor

Prispevek se ukvarja s fenomenom rasti in razvoja gledališča kamišibaj pri nas od pomladi leta 2013, ko se je v
programu pripovedovalskega festivala Pravljice danes v Ljubljani kamišibaj prvič javno prikazal na slovenskih tleh.
Pojav bom poskušal osvetliti z orodji in metodologijo sociokulturne antropologije, ki poudarja pomen terenskih
raziskav (in vivo) kultur ali subkultur določenih urbanih in/ali neurbanih skupin (družb), njihovega jezika, socialnihvzorcev, načinov povezovanja in organiziranosti ter njihovih vsakdanjih praks. Očitno je slovenski zgled
kamišibajskega gibanja (Igor Cvetko) prerasel okvire enodnevne »modne muhe« in se v marsičem že približal
pojmu kamišibajske kulture (Tara McGowan). Ta ugotovitev me je pritegnila, da sem si ob fenomenu »brstenja«
kamišibaja na Slovenskem začel zastavljati naslednja vprašanja: Na čem temelji fenomen slovenskega
kamišibajskega gibanja? Kje tiči vzrok, da si je ta mala, »uvožena« gledališka oblika v nekaj letih pri nas pridobila
zanimivo »domovinsko pravico«? Kako je mogoče, da je priljubljenost gledališča kamišibaj pri nas v tako kratkemčasu dosegla okvir nacionalne razsežnosti? Kaj kamišibaj dela našega ter kateri so bili (potrebni in zadostni)
notranji razlogi in vzvodi, da je do takega »gibanja« sploh prišlo? Pojav slovenskega kamišibaja bom poskušal
razčleniti in osvetliti skozi prizmo posameznih zanimivih pogledov nekaterih pronicljivih sociokulturnih teoretikov
zadnjih desetletij 20. stoletja pa do danes. B. Street je določena kulturna gibanja pomembno opredelil kot»aktivna« (culture is a verb). M. Sahlins in S. Eisenstadt sta razvijala antropološki model multiplih modernosti inopozorila na dejstvo, da konkretna družba vsakokratno modernost oblikuje »na sebi lasten način«. E. E. Hagen in
Harrison sta opozorila na »vrednote«, ki so pomembne za (določen) kulturni in socialni razvoj družbe, McClelland
pa je poudaril, da je glavni dejavnik vsakršnega kulturnega razvoja t. i. motivacija za dosežek. Ta je pravzaprav
osnova in gonilo kulturnih dogodkov in gibanj, ob njej se v svojem prispevku zadržujem najdlje. Skupni
imenovalec mojih razmišljanj ob zgoraj navedenem pa sta jasno poudarjeno mesto in pomen lokalnih kontekstov,
lokalne etnologije in tradicije. V tej odvisnosti vidim tudi rast in razvoj ter celo vzrok za popularnost in priljubljenost
gledališča kamišibaj pri nas. Študija, ki se mi je ob brstenju kamišibaja v moji neposredni okolici ponudila in ki
sem ji bil priča na relativno omejenem geografskem prostoru (etnično ozemlje Slovenije) in v razmeroma kratkemčasovnem obdobju (pet let), pa v celoti pritrjuje najnovejšim ugotovitvam C. M. Hanna o pomenu in nujnosti 11
antropoloških terenskih mikroštudij, ki bistveno izrisujejo mozaik kulturnega razvoja neke družbe.
***Mag. Igor Cvetko je etnomuzikolog in lutkar. V svojem dolgem raziskovalnem obdobju (15 let sodelavec
Glasbenonarodopisnega inštituta ZRC SAZ v Ljubljani) je bil tudi 10 let predavatelj etnomuzikologije na Filozofski
fakulteti v Ljubljani in na Pedagoški fakulteti v Mariboru ter vrsto let kustos za duhovno kulturo v Slovenskem
etnografskem muzeju v Ljubljani. Zbrano otroško narodopisno gradivo je izdal v številnih odmevnih (strokovnih in
popularnih) knjigah, med njimi: Slovenske otroške prstne igre. Didakta, 1996. Najmanjše igre na Slovenskem.
Didakta, 2000. Aja, tutaja. Slovenske ljudske uspavanke. DZS, 2005. Trara, pesem pelja. Otroška ljudska glasbila
na Slovenskem. MK, 2006. Veliko malo prstno gledališče. Didakta, 2010. Slovenske otroške igre od A do Ž.
Celjska Mohorjeva družba, 2017. Kot lutkar je Igor Cvetko skupaj z Jeleno Sitar so-ustanovitelj Lutkovnega
gledališča Zapik, v slovenskem prostoru znanega predvsem po svojstveni in zanimivi estetiki in principu
kontaktnih predstav za najmlajše gledalce. V teh predstavah je Igor Cvetko podpisan predvsem kot izvajalec,likovnik in glasbenik, režija pa je največkrat skupno delo Igorja Cvetka in Jelene Sitar. Skupaj sta Cvetko in
Sitarjeva izdala tudi priročnik za senčno gledališče Primeri detektiva Karla Loota ali Zgodba o senčnih lutkah,
večkrat nagrajene knjige doma in v tujini. Igor Cvetko se ves čas udejstvuje tudi kot ilustrator otroških knjig.

- 33 -

Kamishibai in the Light of Cultural Anthropology

Cvetko Igor

The presentation revolves around the phenomenon of growth and development of kamishibai theatre
in Slovenia since the spring of 2013, when kamishibai first made an appearance on Slovenian groundas a part of the storytelling festival “Stories Today” (“Pravljice danes”) in Ljubljana. I will try toilluminate the issue with the tools and methodology of socio-cultural anthropology, which emphasizes
the importance of field research (in vivo) of the culture or subculture of certain urban and/or non-urbangroups of people (societies), their language, social patterns, connections, organisations, and everyday
practices. The Slovenian example of the kamishibai movement (Igor Cvetko) clearly outgrew the limitsof a passing fancy and rather grew closer to the idea of kamishibai culture (Tara McGowan). This
realisation made me ask certain questions when considering the blooming of the Sloveniankamishibai: What are the pillars of the Slovenian kamishibai movement? How did this small, imported
form of theatre gain its interesting “patriotic right” in a matter of years? How did kamishibai theatre gain
popularity on the national level so quickly? What quality of kamishibai makes it “ours”? What were the(required and sufficient) inner reasons and mechanisms that allowed such a movement to exist? I willattempt to analyse and illuminate the phenomenon of the Slovenian kamishibai through the prism ofcertain interesting views of several insightful socio-cultural theoreticians from the last decades of the20th century to the present. B. Street made an important contribution when he defined certain cultural
movements as “active” (culture is a verb). M. Sahlins and S. Eisenstadt developed the anthropologicalmodel of “multiple modernities” and pointed out that a specific society moulds modernity in its own
way. E. E. Hagen and Harrison addressed the values that are important for a certain cultural andsocial development of the society, while McClelland emphasized that the main factor of every culturaldevelopment must be the socalled “motivation for achievement.” This is actually the basis and thedriving force of cultural events and movements, which is why I spend a large part of my presentation
talking about it. The common denominator of the above is the clear emphasis and importance of local
contexts, local ethnology and tradition. This dependence seems to be reason behind the growth, thedevelopment and the popularity of kamishibai theatre in Slovenia. I witnessed this phenomenon in a
relatively limited geographical space (the ethnic territory of Slovenia) and a comparatively short timespan (five years). This study offered itself to me through the blooming of kamishibai in my environment
and perfectly follows the newest findings of C. M. Hann on the importance and necessity ofanthropological field micro studies that outline the mosaic of the cultural development of a certain
society.

Keywords: Socio-Cultural Antrophology, Contemporary Anthropological Theories, Kamishibai Culture,
Values, Motivation for Achievement, Local Cultural Context

Igor Cvetko, MA, is an ethnomusicologist and puppeteer. In his professional career he worked as a
research fellow of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts for 15 years, as a lecturer of
ethnomusicology at the University of Ljubljana, and as a curator of the Slovene Ethnographic Museumin Ljubljana. In 2015 Igor Cvetko received the very prestigious Karel Štrekelj award “for his great
contributions in ethnology, especially for his extensive research and popularisation of the children’s
tradition”. His collected material of Slovenian children’s tradition has been published in several books:
Slovenske otroške prstne igre (Didakta, Radovljica, 1996), Najmanjše igre na Slovenskem (Didakta,- 34 -

Radovljica, 2000), Aja, tutaja: Slovenske ljudske uspavanke (DZS, Ljubljana, 2005), Trara, pesem
pelja, otroška ljudska glasbila na Slovenskem (MK, Ljubljana, 2006), Veliko malo prstno gledališče(Didakta, Radovljica, 2010), Slovenske otroške igre od A do Ž (Celjska mohorjeva, Celje, 2017). He
has also illustrated many books for children. As a puppeteer, Igor Cvetko co-founded Zapik theatrewith Jelena Sitar. Zapik has been recognized in Slovenia for its unique approach to the youngest
public and its interesting aesthetics. In Zapik’s performances, Igor Cvetko is signed as the author ofmusic, a puppet designer and a co-director. Since 2013, Igor Cvetko and Jelena Sitar and their Zapik
theatre have been promoters, researchers and the driving force of the kamishibai movement inSlovenia.

***
Article will be published in Amfiteater, Journal of Performing Arts Theory (ISSN 18554539 (printed edition), 1855-850X (online edition)), Volume 7, Number 1 in July 2019.

- 35 -

Kamišibaj v Ameriki

Eisenstadt Robert

Z Margaret sva pozno poleti 1969 prispela v Tokio na Japonskem. Toda najin cilj je ležal daleč na severu, na
Hokaidu, v najsevernejšem japonskem mestu Wakkanai. Tam sem delal v zračni bazi ameriškega vojnega
letalstva (USAF/JASDF), Margaret pa je bila vzgojiteljica otrok v bazi, poučevala je tako jutranje kot popoldanske
izmene. Tam je prvič »odkrila« kamišibaj in številne čudovite japonske pravljice za otroke. Začela jih je zbirati, saj
je vedela, da se bodo zdele čudovite tudi otrokom v New Yorku, ki jih bo poučevala, ko se bova vrnila domov.
Imela je prav – otroci v New Yorku so bili navdušeni nad njimi! Radi so poslušali kamišibaje, se pogovarjali o njihin izdelovali svoje. Prav tako so radi prepisovali japonske besede in spraševali po njihovem pomenu. Starši so bili
navdušeni, saj so se njihovi otroci učili o drugih delih sveta. Tudi drugi učitelji so začeli povpraševati pokamišibaju. Z Margaret in Donno Tamaki, japonsko-ameriško prijateljico s podiplomskega študija na pedagoškem
kolidžu Univerze Columbia, smo si približno dvajset let pozneje, leta 1993, začeli resneje prizadevati za širšo
dostopnost kamišibaja. Ustanovili smo organizacijo Kamišibaj za otroke (Kamishibai for Kids) in s pomočjo gospe
Sakai, ki je delala za založbo Doshinsha Publishing, pridobili precej širok nabor zgodb kamišibaja. Vsak kamišibaj
spremlja priročnik za učitelje, ki razloži kulturni kontekst zgodbe in predlaga vprašanja, ki jih lahko učitelji zastavijo
otrokom. Z Margaret sva se udeleževala in sodelovala na nacionalnih in regionalnih konferencah za učitelje inknjižničarje po Združenih državah, da bi kamišibaj razširila po Ameriki. Kamišibaji so bili med učitelji in učenci
vedno lepo sprejeti. Organizacija Kamišibaj za otroke je kamišibaj širila v vseh petdeset zveznih držav in Kanado.
Na svoji spletni strani ponuja tudi tradicionalni oder za kamišibaj, hyoshigi (lesen pripomoček za ploskanje) ter
zgoščenko oziroma pesmarico japonskih otroških pesmi. Toda s tem smo komaj začeli gibanje, ki bi lahko močno
razširilo uporabo in vpliv kamišibaja v Severni Ameriki. Tega simpozija sem se med drugim udeležil zato, da bi segospe Sakai zahvalil za spodbudo ob začetku našega truda za širjenje kamišibaja po Združenih državah in da bi
se od vseh vas naučil, kako lahko še bolje širimo znanje in novice o čudovitem izobraževalnem in kulturnovzgojnem potencialu teh slikovnih zgodb.
***
Robert (Bob) Eisenstadt je upokojen korporativni/regulativni odvetnik in živi New Yorku. Poročen je z Margaret
G. Eisenstadt, ki je lastnica organizacije Kamishibai for Kids (Kamišibaj za otroke). Rodil se je leta 1941 v
Stamfordu (Connecticut, ZDA). Obiskoval je srednjo šolo v Stamfordu, Univerzo Princeton (kjer je diplomiral cum
laude iz filozofije) ter pravno fakulteto 4 Columbia. Štiri leta je deloval kot pravni častnik (Judge Advocate) v
ameriškem vojnem letalstvu (United States Air Force) – dve leti v Laredu v Teksasu (na meji z Mehiko) in dve letiv Wakkanaiu (Hokaido, Japonska), kjer je bil predstavnik ameriškega vojnega letalstva v tamkajšnji japonski
skupnosti. Po vojaški službi se je vrnil v New York in deloval kot odvetnik. Posvetil se je predvsem pogodbenemu
pravu in dokumentaciji zapletenih, finančno strukturiranih prenosov za zavarovanja. Upokojil se je leta 2002. Od
nekdaj aktivno podpira ameriške organizacije, katerih poslanstvo so državljanske pravice in varovanje okolja.
Pogosto je igral košarko in tenis, pretekel je devet maratonov, danes pa prehodi tri milje na dan. Trenutno je
razredni zastopnik diplomantov Princetona iz leta 1963 in je dobil več nagrad za delo na področju zbiranja
sredstev za Princeton. Z ženo Margaret sta poročena že več kot 50 let, živita na Upper East Side v Manhattnu v
New Yorku in sta vesela, da sta lahko del skupnosti kamišibaja.
- 36 -

Kamishibai in America

Eisenstadt Robert

Margaret and I arrived in Tokyo, Japan, in late summer of 1969. Our destination however, was much
farther north, in Hokkaido and the northernmost city of Japan, Wakkanai. I would be there working aspart of the USAF/JASDF Air Station; Margaret was the Air Station’s kindergarten teacher, with both amorning and an afternoon class. It was there that she first “discovered” kamishibai and the many
wonderful Japanese folktales for children. She began to collect them, knowing that they would be
wonderful as well for the New York City children she would be teaching when it was time for us toreturn to New York City. She was right – the children in NYC were fascinated by them! They loved
both listening to kamishibai, discussing them and making their own. They also loved copying down
Japanese words, then asking what they said. The parents were thrilled that the children were learning
about a different part of the world. Other teachers began asking about kamishibai. Margaret, Donna
Tamaki, a JapaneseAmerican friend from graduate school at Teacher’s College, Columbia University,and I began working on making kamishibai more available about twenty years later, in 1993.
Kamishibai for Kids was formed and, with the help of Sakai-san at Doshinsha Publishing, we obtained
a much wider age-range of kamishibai stories. Each kamishibai is accompanied by a Teacher’s Guide
which both explains the cultural context of the story and suggests questions for teachers to ask thechildren about the story. To promote kamishibai in America, Margaret and I have attended and talked
at national and regional conferences for teachers and librarians throughout the United States.
Kamishibai have received a warm reception from teachers and children everywhere they have beenused. Kamishibai for Kids has distributed kamishibai in all 50 states and Canada. The traditional
kamishibai stage, hyoshigi, and a Japanese children’s CD/songbook are also available to those whochoose. But we have just scratched the surface of what could be a major expansion in the use andinfluence of kamishibai in North America. One reason I am attending this Symposium is to thankSakai-san for getting us started to spread the knowledge and joy of kamishibai in the United States
and to learn from all of you how we can do an even better job of spreading the word about themarvellous educational and cultural education potential of these picturecard stories.
Keywords: Creativity (by making your own kamishibai), Learning (about a new art form and culture),
Exploring (the ideas and values of other cultures), Growing (intellectually and morally), Empathy (withother peoples' customs and habits)

Robert (Bob) Eisenstadt is a retired corporate/regulatory lawyer living in New York City. His wife is
Margaret G. Eisenstadt, the Sole Proprietor of Kamishibai for Kids. Bob was born in 1941 in Stamford,
Connecticut, USA. He is a graduate of Stamford High School, Princeton University (cum laude in
Philosophy) and Columbia Law School. He served four years as a legal officer (Judge Advocate) in the
United States Air Force - two years in Laredo, Texas (on the Mexican border) and two years in
Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan, where he was the Air Force liaison officer to the local Japanesecommunity. Following his military service, Bob returned to New York City to practice law. His legal
specialty was contracts law, focusing on the documentation of complex, financially structured
insurance and reinsurance transactions. He retired in 2002. Bob has been an active supporter of civilrights and environmental policy organizations in the United States. He has played a lot of basketballand tennis, run nine marathons and currently walks three miles a day. Bob is currently the Class Agentfor the Princeton Class of 1963 and has won several awards for his fundraising efforts on behalf of- 37 -

Princeton. He and his wife Margaret have been married for over 50 years, live on the Upper West Sideof Manhattan in New York City and are pleased to be a part of the kamishibai community.

***
The story of Kamishibai in America begins in, where else, Japan. Not in Tokyo or Kyoto, but
in Wakkanai, Hokkaido. A young American schoolteacher, Margaret Eisenstadt, had
accompanied her husband, a US Air Force attorney, to his assignment at a remote air stationon the northern tip of the island. The air station was big enough to support a school for thechildren of the military families there. Margaret became the kindergarten teacher.
In the course of her education at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City,
Margaret had become interested in the educational and social development values of cultural
exchange programs. Early in her first year of teaching on the air station, she arranged forher kindergarten class to visit the local Japanese kindergarten in Wakkanai City. The
Japanese children performed dances, sang songs and made origami for their guests. The
visit was a big success!
In few weeks later, Margaret invited the Japanese kindergarten to visit her class on the air
station. Among the items the Japanese teachers brought with them was something Margaret
and the American children had never seen before – picture cards used to tell a story –Kamishibai! Though the stories were performed in Japanese, they immediately focused theattention of the American 5-year olds and were a memorable part of the visit. Later, theWakkanai City kindergarten teachers made elementary translations of the stories to enable
Margaret to read them in English to her students. For the rest of the school year, “kamishibaitime” was a much anticipated part of each kindergarten school day.
After her husband Bob’s military service in Japan ended in 1971, Margaret brought theKamishibai back to America. She continued her career as a kindergarten teacher in New
York City and performed kamishibai for 5-year olds at both day care centers andindependent school classrooms there. She was still using the elementary translations from
Wakkanai and her own interpretations of the stories with the New York City children, but thechildren loved them. Margaret also taught the children how to make their own Kamishibai.
Over the years, Margaret came to realize the power of kamishibai as a learning tool forintercultural education. In 1993, she decided to undertake a personal project to makekamishibai available to teachers, librarians and parents throughout the United States. She
and Bob organized a business, Kamishibai for Kids, and with the help of Doshinsha
Publishing in Tokyo, obtained a new edition of five kamishibai stories with dual Japanese –English text. She also started using a Japanese kamishibai stage (“butai”) to perform thestories. Her Japanese-American friend from Teachers College, Columbia University actively
participated in the project to make sure each kamishibai was accurately translated withsensitivity to the cultural context of the story. The five stories published were traditional
Japanese folk tales, which were packaged together as Tales of Japan.

- 38 -

Margaret created a website, incorporating historical, cultural and visual materials to explain
kamishibai to Americans and to give them an easy way to obtain them for home, school orlibrary use. Kamishibai for Kids now offers the stage, traditional kamishibai wooden clappers(“hyoshigi”) and other kamishibai-related educational content and materials to its customers.
Since substantially all Americans have no knowledge of Japanese culture and traditions,
Margaret wrote and includes with each kamishibai, a “Teacher’s Guide” which explains thethemes and cultural elements found in the stories. Each guide also suggests questions forteachers to ask the children about what happened in the story and what lessons it taughtthem.
In following years Margaret acquired and translated over 20 additional Kamishibai stories,
appealing to a wide range of age groups and interests.
To promote awareness and use of kamishibai in America, Margaret and Bob have attended
national and regional conferences of both teachers and librarians throughout the UnitedStates. The kamishibai have received a warm reception from teachers, librarians, parents
and children wherever they have been used. As of today, Kamishibai for Kids has distributed
kamishibai in all 50 of the United States and in Canada, but has just scratched the surface ofwhat has the potential to be a major expansion in the use of kamishibai in North America.
Kamishibai for Kids is encouraged see that kamishibai have been “discovered” and are
rapidly growing in use as an educational tool in many additional countries outside Japan. A
next phase of development for kamishibai in America is to become part of this multi-national
movement and to interact with it to learn what others are doing. Kamishibai for Kids can help
lead the way for this in America by continuing to promote awareness of kamishibai andJapanese culture on its website and its newly opened Facebook page.
We all learn from each other, such that international interaction of a growing community ofkamishibai practitioners will enhance the appeal of kamishibai as a force for both educationand cooperation to what has become an increasingly multi-cultural population in America andother parts of the world.

- 39 -

“Pod nevidnim oblakom”: Kamišibaj po 3.11. Med preprečevanjem
tveganja za katastrofe in spominskim obeležjem

Gerster Julia

Japonsko papirnato gledališče kamišibaj običajno delimo na gaito kamishibai, ulično gledališče, ki je oblika
zabave, in kyoiku kamishibai, izobraževalno gledališče. Ker je Japonska močno izpostavljena katastrofam, ni
presenetljivo, da se kamišibaj v zadnjem času uporablja v polju izobraževanja o tveganju za katastrofe. Preživeli
osebne izkušnje pogosto pretvorijo v gledališke predstave; zgodbo preberejo občinstvu in pri tem menjavajo
ročno naslikane ilustracije. Kamišibaji, ki govorijo o potresu in cunamiju iz leta 2011, vsebujejo praktične
informacije, kot je napotek, da je ob močnejšem potresu potrebna takojšnja evakuacija na višje ležeča območja;
spominjajo na tradicijo izobraževalnega kamišibaja, njihove zgodbe pa so pogosto spomini pripovedovalcev. Zato
cunamski kamišibaj temelji na dveh žanrih. Pokazala pa bom, da je v primeru jedrske nesreče v Fukušimi glavni
namen kamišibaja drugačen. Brez uradnega števila smrtnih žrtev ali jasne vidne grožnje, ki bi za seboj pustila
fizično uničenje kot cunami, žrtve jedrske nesreče nimajo spominskih obeležij ali uradnih krajev, kjer bi se lahko
zatekle k praksam žalovanja. Zato je podobno kot pri napadih na Nagasaki in Hirošimo kamišibaj postal nekakšna
memorializacijska praksa, ki žrtvam pomaga predelovati izkušnje in izraziti spomine. Na primeru kamišibajske
skupine iz mesta Namie v fukušimski prefekturi bom analizirala načine, na katere se kamišibaj po 3. 11. uporablja
za posredovanje naučenega, premagovanje travm ter zapolnjevanje vrzeli v memorializacijskih praksah. Sklepi sonastali na podlagi terenskega dela v mestu Tohoku na Japonskem, intervjujev s kamishibaya in analize
papirnatega gledališča, ki se ukvarja s cunamijem in jedrsko nesrečo.
***
Julia Gerster je doktorandka na oddelku za japonske študije in kulturno antropologijo na fakulteti za podiplomskištudij Graduate School of East Asian Studies (GEAS) Svobodne univerze v Berlinu. Delovni naslov njene
disertacije je »Kizuna: dinamika družbenih vezi na Japonskem po katastrofi. Vplivi velikega potresa, cunamija insevanja na vzhodu Japonske leta 2011«. Pri raziskovanju se posveča študijem katastrof, obnovi, oblikovanju
skupnosti in identitete, pridobivanju prostora in kulturnim vidikom strategij obvladovanja težav po katastrofah. Med
terensko raziskavo leta 2017 na območjih, ki so jih prizadele katastrofe, je Julia spoznala več skupin, ki so seukvarjale s kamišibajem. Zato je pričela raziskovati njegovo vlogo pri zmanjševanju tveganja za katastrofe in pri
okrevanju posameznikov.

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“Beneath the Invisible Cloud”: Kamishibai After 3.11. Between
Disaster Risk Reduction and Memorialization

Gerster Julia

The Japanese Paper theater kamishibai is usually divided into Gaito kamishibai, street corner paper
theater mainly told for entertainment, and Kyoiku kamishibai, educational paper theater. Since Japanis a very disaster-prone country, it is not surprising that kamishibai has recently been used within thefield of Disaster Risk Education. It is often the survivors themselves who turn their personal
experiences into theater plays and read their story to the audience while turning the hand painted
pictures. In the case of kamishibai centered around the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, practicalinformation, like the advice to immediately evacuate to higher ground in case of a strong earthquake,
reminds of the tradition of educational kamishibai, while the stories themselves are often memories ofthe story tellers. Therefore, tsunami kamishibai came to enclose the two genres. In the case of the
Fukushima nuclear disaster, however, I argue that the main purpose of kamishibai is different. Without
an official death toll resulting from the accident, or a clear visible threat which leaves physicaldestruction like a tsunami, the victims of the nuclear disaster have no memorials or official places toturn to for mourning practices. Thus, similar to the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings, kamishibai
becomes a sort of memorialization practice which helps the victims to process their experiences andpass on the memories. Taking a kamishibai group from Namie Town in Fukushima prefecture and thekamishibai dealing with the 2011 tsunami as examples, I analyze how post 3.11. kamishibai is used topass on lessons learned, deal with trauma and fill a gap in memorialization practices. The conclusions
are drawn from field work experience in Tohoku, Japan, interviews with Kamishibaya and analysis of
paper theater dealing with the tsunami and the nuclear accident.
Keywords: Kamishibai Paper Theater, Memorialization, 3.11 Earthquake and Tsunami Disasters,
Disaster Risk Reduction, Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Julia Gerster is a PhD candidate in Japanese Studies and Cultural Anthropology at the Graduate
School of East Asian Studies (GEAS), FU Berlin. The preliminary title of her dissertation is “Kizuna:
The dynamics of social ties in post-disaster Japan. Impacts of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake,tsunami and radiation.” Her research interests include disaster studies, recovery, community andidentity building, place-making, and cultural aspects within coping strategies after disasters. Julia met
several Kamishibai groups in the disaster-stricken areas during her field research in 2017, which led
her to the exploration of the role of Kamishibai within disaster risk reduction and individual recovery.

***
Article will be published in Amfiteater, Journal of Performing Arts Theory (ISSN 18554539 (printed edition), 1855-850X (online edition)), Volume 7, Number 1 in July 2019.

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Mešanje jezikov: ilustracija in kamišibaj

Giovannini Umberto
uvodno predavanje sklopa III.:
Kamišibaj kot komunikacija in njegove aplikacije

Kaj se zgodi, ko se srečata jezik ilustracije in uprizarjanju zapisana duša kamišibaja? Umberto Giovannini jeraziskal širok spekter možnosti v eksperimentalnem projektu, zasnovanem za skupino umetnikov in študentov v
rezidenci mednarodnega grafičnega centra Opificio della Rosa v Italiji. V pričujočem predavanju opisuje tri
poglavitne izkušnje. Prva izhaja iz leta 2015. Šlo je za sodelovanje z lutkarjem in režiserjem Luco Rongo, ki je sskupino desetih vizualnih umetnikov in lutkarjev pet do deset dni ustvarjal gledališče kamišibaj z »osnovnimi
grafičnimi tehnikami«. Naslednje leto se je podobna izkušnja prevedla v pet- do desetdnevno delo z desetimištudenti grafike in grafičnega oblikovanja s kolidža Central Saint Martins univerze University of Arts London in
Rimske univerze za likovne umetnosti (RUFA), s katerimi je sodelovala pedagoginja in grafičarka Maria Pina
Bentivenga. Tretja izkušnja izhaja iz projekta, ki je nastal na podlagi sodelovanja s pedagoginjo in ilustratorko
Ignacio Ruiz za program grafika in ilustracija enoletnega pripravljalnega študija oblikovanja grafične komunikacije
na kolidžu Central Saint Martins. Projekt je bil izveden januarja in februarja 2018. Trideset mednarodnih študentov
je za material uporabilo ljudske pripovedke iz dežel, od koder prihajajo. Zgodbe so z osnovnimi grafičnimi
tehnikami prevedli v ilustracije. Rezultat so bile serije ilustracij za kamišibaje in vrsta kratkih videov. Pri
uprizarjanju kamišibaja soobstaja več vzporednih jezikov: besedilo, ilustracije, glas in govorica telesa. Na podlagi
navedenih izkušenj bodo v predavanju prikazane možnosti, kodeksi, poti, pristopi in izidi, ki so jih odkrile
omenjene skupine, pa tudi najrazličnejši načini, kako bi bogastvo ilustrativnega jezika lahko uporabili za
ustvarjanje novih možnosti. Pri navedenih izkušnjah je bil dinamični jezik kamišibaja izhodišče za drugačen
pristop v svetu ilustracij.
***
Umberto Giovannini je bil rojen leta 1969 v kraju Morciano di Romagna (Italija). Je grafik in izredni predavatelj
na kolidžu Central Saint Martins univerze University of the Arts London. Po diplomi iz oblikovanja grafične
komunikacije je magistriral iz umetnostne zgodovine (DAMS, Bologna) ter začel delati kot grafični oblikovalec in
grafik. Njegove grafike in knjige umetnika so izšle v različnih v mednarodnih zbirkah. Kot grafični zgodovinar jeorganiziral različne razstave in oblikoval zbirko knjig na temo grafike in ilustracije, ki jih je uredila VACA,
umetniška skupina in založba, katere ustanovni član je tudi sam (vaca.it). Je podpornik kulture grafike in knjige
umetnika. Leta 2009 je ustanovil Opificio della Rosa, grafični center z majhnim vplivom na okolje, ki vsako letoomogoča rezidence mednarodnim umetnikom (opificiodellarosa.org). Je predsednik mednarodne grafične
fundacije Renate Herold Czaschka (fondazioneczaschka.org). Svojo prakso dopolnjuje s poučevanjem na
dodiplomskem študiju. Trenutno je izredni predavatelj na kolidžu Central Saint Martins univerze University of theArts London ter gostujoči profesor na RUFA – Rimski univerzi za likovne umetnosti.

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Merging Languages: Illustration and Kamishibai

Giovannini Umberto
Introductory Lecture of the Section III:
Kamishibai as Communication and its Applications

What happens when the language of illustration meets the performing soul of kamishibai? Umberto
Giovannini has investigated a wide range of possibilities through an experimental project designed fora group of artists and students in residency at the International Printmaking Centre Opificio della Rosa
in Italy. In this presentation, he elaborates on three key experiences. The first collaboration took placein 2015, when he cooperated with puppeteer and director Luca Ronga to work with a group of ten
visual artists and puppeteers for five to ten days, creating kamishibai theatres with the techniques of“basic printmaking”. The following year, a similar experience was translated into five to ten work days
with ten students of printmaking and graphic design from Central Saint Martins – University of the Arts
London – and RUFA, Rome University of Fine Arts in collaboration with tutor and printmaker Maria
Pina Bentivenga. The third experience is a project designed in collaboration with tutor and illustrator
Ignacia Ruiz for the Printmaking and Illustration pathway of Central Saint Martins’ Foundation Course
in Graphic Communication Design. The project was realized in January and February 2018. Thirtyinternational students worked on folk stories collected from the tradition of their home countries. Thosestories were translated in illustrations through the techniques of basic printmaking. The final outcome
were both sequences of illustrations for kamishibai and a series of short videos. Several parallellanguages coexist in a kamishibai performance: text, illustration, voice and body language. Startingfrom those experiences this talk displays the possibilities, codex, pathways, approaches and outcomesthat the groups have found and all the different ways the richness of the illustration language could be
used to create new possibilities. In those experiences the dynamic language of kamishibai was thestarting point for a different approach to the world of illustration.
Keywords: Illustration, Printmaking, Communication, Folk, Narrative

Umberto Giovannini was born in Morciano di Romagna, Italy, in 1969. He is a printmaker and an
Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. After his degree in Graphic
Communication Design, he completed an MA in Art History (DAMS, Bologna) and started to work as agraphic designer and printmaker. His prints and artists’ books can be found in international collections.
As a printmaking historian, he has been called upon to organize various exhibitions and has designed
a collection of books dedicated to printmaking and illustration, edited by VACA, the artistic group andpublisher of which Umberto was a founding member (vaca.it) He is a promoter of the printmaking
culture and artists’ books. In 2009 Umberto founded the low environmental impact printmaking centre
Opificio della Rosa, which hosts international artists every year (opificiodellarosa.org). He is presidentof the Renate Herold Czaschka Foundation dedicated to printmaking (fondazioneczaschka.org). He
complements his practise by teaching BA courses. He is currently an Associate Lecturer at Central
Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, and a Visiting Professor at the Rome University of Fine
Arts.

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***In this presentation we will use some key words in a particular way, I’d love to explain briefly.
Illustration, Kamishibai, Basic printmaking.
Illustration
I’m talking about image making in the field of communication design, where the illustration isstrictly related to a message: an interpretation or visual explanation of a text, a concept or aprocess.
Kamishibai
In Japanese it means paper play, it is a form of Japanese street theatre and storytelling
made popular in the last Century. Kamishibai was told by a kamishibaiya (kamishibai
narrator) who travelled to street corners with sets of illustrated boards that he or she placedin a miniature stage-like device and narrated the story by changing each image. Kamishibai
has its earliest origins in Japanese Buddhist temples where Buddhist monks from the eighth
century onward used emakimono (“picture scrolls”) as pictorial aids for recounting the historyof the monasteries, an early combination of picture and text to convey a story.
Basic printmaking
We are not talking about a technique but about a particular approach to printmaking. The
idea is to realise the matrix in the most simple way, usually collecting material could be used
as a plate, to be inked and printed in the classical ways. Sometimes the artist intervention isvery little or completely absent, focusing only in a sort of observational research and creating
the plates like a collage. The collected objects used as matrix bring their own story, emotionand energy that will be transferred on the prints. A source of inspiration could be found in themagical poetry of Giotaku, the Japanese printmaking technique using actual fish as a matrix.
What happens when the language of illustration meets the performing soul of kamishibai?
In the last three years I investigated a wide range of possibilities through experimental
projects designed for groups of artists and students in residency at the International
Printmaking Centre Opificio della Rosa in Italy and at Central Saint Martins, University of theArts London.
My references for this presentation are three key experiences.
The first collaboration in 2015 with puppeteer and director Luca Ronga, working with a groupof 10 visual artists and puppeteers for 15 days creating kamishibai theatres with thetechniques of “basic printmaking”.
The following year, a similar experience was translated in 15 days of work with 10 students
of printmaking and graphic design from Central Saint Martins – University of the Arts London– and RUFA, Rome University of Fine Arts in collaboration with tutor and printmaker Maria
Pina Bentivenga.
The third experience is a project designed in collaboration with tutor and illustrator Ignacia
Ruiz, for the Printmaking and Illustration pathway of Central Saint Martins’ Foundation
Course in Graphic Communication Design. Thirty international students worked on folk
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stories collected from the tradition of their countries of origin. The final outcomes are bothsequences of illustrations for kamishibais and a series of short videos.
Several parallel languages coexist in a kamishibai performance: text, illustrations, voice,body language.
What are the illustrated narrative reference points in the western culture and what are thesources that create its historical, iconographic and perceptive base that can be inserted,currently, in the kamishibai narrative?
We can say that the transmission of knowledge, in the oral western tradition, had one of its
interest in the religious theatrical representations of the Middle Ages. A series of stages were
set-up and the audience was following the story moving from one spot to the next.
The created iconography, of every single stage, was perceived in a so called “field”: it is aframe, a sort of window on a world: this world exists because of its own internal rules.
The fundamental aspects of medieval theatre are the didactic component and thedevelopment of a dramatic form. The public moves from one “painting” to the other and inevery "picture" a salient moment of the liturgy is represented visually with a voice ofcomment. If priests are the narrators at the beginning, these are gradually replaced by thejesters. The jester, an emblematic figure of medieval theatre, which is a professional actor.
The possibilities of reaching a wider public arrived in the fifteenth century with woodcut,
which is the first printmaking technique that give the possibility of producing multiples of thesame image. The reproduction of the Bible’s crucial descriptions with some text carved inwood and printed in many copies, become very popular, before the invention of typography.
This kind of technique is called chiroxylography, where images and text are cut on a single
wood and printed. It became a kind of portable theatre where the priest could use the images
as iconographic help in his didactic telling, also called “Biblia pauperum”, which in latinmeans Bible for poor people, who at that time were mostly illiterate.
The conception of field was embraced by the Renaissance iconography and it become thebase of visual perception of western culture.
On the other hand if we could identify the origin of Japanese storytelling with images in theemakimono, the concept of kamishibai we could hypothesise was born following the westernidea of field.
Using the kamishibai energy to develop in a western contemporary way the illustration
language and return to the “magic box”, was the idea that moved me to design thekamishibai projects.
The first 2 projects I mentioned above were designed for a group of 10 artists andpuppeteers with theatre director Luca Ronga in August 2015 and for 10 students of Central
Saint Martins and RUFA with tutor Maria Pina Bentivenga in July 2016. We worked fully- 45 -

immersed in residency for 15 days in the International Printmaking Centre Opificio della Rosa
in Italy.
The venue was an important choice because the studio is located in a Medieval castle, in a
200 person village in the middle of a forest. There were no distractions, and it was possible
to collect several materials to be used for the project within walking distance of the studio.
The aim of the project was, for each student, to realise their own kamishibai.
We structured the work in this way:
Participants bring their own story to realise: from fairy tales to thrillers, from oral narratives todaily life stories. We gave them a lot of freedom.
The starting point was a one day collaborative project.
We used as example an Italian folk story“The magic feather of the Bird Grifone”
The group made the analysis of the story and a synopsis, one of the group narrated in frontof the class in two minutes. Critical session and feedback at the end.
Collaborative analytical division of the story in 25 parts, each part was summarised in one
single sentence.
1. A king gets sick and is about to lose his sight.
2. The best doctors arrive at court but only one doctor finds the cure.
3. Only the magic feather of Bird Grifone will save the king.
4. The King calls his three sons asking to find the magic feather.
5. Whoever finds the pen will have the kingdom.
6. The children start galloping in search of the feather.
7. Once in the wood they decide to take different paths.
8. The younger brother meets an elder in the wood.
9. The elder knows how to find the Grifone Bird's feather.
10. The boy follows the advice of the elderly.
11. The boy finds the feather.
12. He takes his horse and returns to the kingdom.
13. He decides to hide his feather for fear of being robbed.
14. The boy meets his brothers.
15. The brothers understand that he is hiding something.
16. They kill him and steal his feather.
17. The brothers return to the palace with the feather.
18. The pen is rubbed on the king's eyes, which heals immediately.
19. The King no longer sees his little son back.
20. The King sad, spends his days at the window waiting for his son to arrive.
21. One day passes a shepherd, who plays a bone flute from which comes the voice ofthe young child.
22. The King invites him to court.
23. The King plays, the voice of the little son speaks to him and he understands what has
happened.
24. The King calls his sons and forces them to play the flute, unmasking them.
25. The King decides to condemn them to the same fate as their brother.

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An important consideration they had to have was thinking about two parallel pathway of thenarrative: the plain explanation of the story (we can use the latin world “Fabula”), and theemotional approach to the story: the evocative direction.
A first step was the realisation of an neutral-narrative storyboard of the story, drawn in 10/12
pictures taken from the analytical division. This part was crucial for the process and theremaining sentences became part of the action: storytelling, sounds, gestures, etc.
A first step was to act the story, using the drawing as iconographic guide in order to decide
the final series illustrations. The decision was taken after a collective discussion.
Making an evocative storyboard: how to make the illustrations researching an iconographythat combines the whole series. The sequence of images considered the coherence of theseries and the elements of rupture.
We spent 15 minutes collecting material around the studio and the group decided to use asplates a bunch of leaves of oleander because the shape remember the feathers.
The group gave the following restriction:- using only the leaves as plates- print with primary colours with a relief press- use both white and black paper
Are showed and commented the sequence of “Bird Grifone” illustrations.
The personal works made by the participants was made following the same directions.
Are showed and commented some illustrations by participants during the workshop. Are
explained some possibilities of an evocative iconographic approach of basic printmaking
illustrations.

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Kamišibaj in stara otroška knjiga

Glavan Rok

Antikvariat je trgovina z nostalgijo. Ko ugledamo knjigo iz svojega otroštva, se nam odpre spominski kanal inzajadramo po časovnem morju. Vrtiljak spominov zajame misli, ko obrnemo nekaj listov v stari knjigi pravljic.
Marsikateri od vaših papirnatih spominov, ob katerih bi vam spet zazvenel glas očeta, matere, babice in dedka, seje izgubil v vihri življenja. Že davno ste opustili upanje, da jih boste še kdaj držali v rokah, morda pa jih še vedno
iščete v antikvariatih. Kaj pa je pomenila knjiga otrokom in mladini v času tablic, krede in peresnikov v lesenih
puščicah, v obdobju brez hitrih, migetajočih in bučnih sodobnih medijev? Bila je prvo okno v svet domačih in divjih
ter eksotičnih živali, v svet daljnih dežel z drugačnimi zgodbami, bila je edina zakladnica narodnega izročila v sliki,
pripovedi in verzu. Knjiga je vzgajala družbeno in moralno, spodbujala k razmišljanju in zabavala v prostem času.
Lažje si jo je morda privoščil meščanski sloj, a tudi manj premožni kmečki ljudje so, željni slovenske pisane
besede, našli pot do branja. Lastniki redkih starih otroških knjig, nekoč otroci, so danes odrasli, vendar te redkeknjižne zaklade, nekatere bogate s starim izrazjem, prebirajo z očmi esteta, ljubitelja knjig, bralca, poznavalca inzbiralca. Stare otroške knjige s svojim estetskim in literarno visokim standardom presegajo današnjo produkcijo
otroških knjig. Njihova redkost na trgu žal ne omogoča širše predstavitve današnji mladeži. To vrzel z lahkoto
premaguje kamišibaj. Kot izrazno sredstvo omogoča nedigitalizirano pojavljanje slik in ob tem glas
pripovedovalca. Kot bi nam prebirali slikanico. Mlajši uživajo v na novo spoznani poetiki in likovni izraznosti,
starejši pa potujejo v času. Projekt, ki so ga skupaj izpeljali Društvo Zapik, Hiša otrok in umetnosti ter Antikvariat
Glavan, je dokazal, da smo na pravi poti. Predstava z naslovom Biseri med platnicami je bil edinstven primer, kjer
smo spoznali in dokazali ujemanje stare otroške knjige in kamišibaja. Nastala je predstava, v kateri so uživali
otroci in odrasli. Kakšna pa bo usoda starih otroških knjig v prihodnje, »ne pove nobena prat'ka«, kot bi rekel
France Prešeren. Mi se bomo trudili, da bo, tudi s pomočjo kamišibaja, njihova starost žlahtna, spoštovana in
lepa!
***
Rok Glavan je diplomirani kulturolog, antikvar, lastnik Antikvariata Glavan, predsednik Društva Kamišibaj
Slovenije. Čeprav je rojen v letu, ko je človek stopil na Luno, si ni želel biti vesoljec, ampak mornar. V družini jepoleg varnosti in vzgoje dobil še ljubezen do gledališča, knjig in govorjene besede. Z gledališčem se je spoznal že
pri sedmih letih, z lutkami pa pri desetih. Po končanih šolah je začel delati kot antikvar in v tem poklicu vztraja že
26 let. Rad raziskuje zgodovino slovenskega založništva in tiska. Ob tem se srečuje z redkimi in zanimivimi
otroškimi knjigami. Vseskozi ga je vznemirjalo vprašanje, kako večjemu številu ljudi predstaviti eno samo, redko
knjigo. Najprej je pripravil bibliofilsko razstavo Papirnati vrtiljak, a so njeni obiskovalci le gledali naslovnice,vsebina pa je ostala skrita. Odgovor je prinesel kamišibaj. Z njim se je srečal leta 2014, leto kasneje pa je prevzel
vodenje sveže ustanovljenega društva. S pomočjo originalnih ilustracij predstavlja neznane ali znane zgodbe iz
redkih starih otroških knjig. Leta 2016 je skupaj z Jeleno Sitar Cvetko zasnoval in režiral predstavo Biseri med
platnicami ter sodeloval pri njeni izvedbi. Pri kamišibaju ga navdušujejo otroška razigranost, odrasla učenost in
prijetno druženje s kolegi.
- 48 -

Kamishibai and Antique Children’s Books

Glavan Rok

A used bookstore is a store that sells nostalgia. When we see a book from our childhood, a memory
channel opens up, allowing us to sail the seas of time. A roundabout of memories spins our thoughts
when we turn the pages of an old book of fairy tales. Many of your paper memories that would havemade your father’s, mother’s, or grandparents’ voices sound in your mind were lost in the tempest oflife. You have long since given up hope that you would ever hold them again, or maybe you are stillsearching for them through used bookstores. What did books mean to children and youth in the time ofslates, chalk, and nib pens stored in wooden pencil cases, in the era without fast, flickering, noisy
modern media? It was the first window into the world of domestic, wild, or exotic animals, the world of
faraway lands with different stories. It was the sole treasury of folklore in images, narrative, and verse.
Books educated readers on society and morals, encouraged thinking, and entertained during leisuretime. They were perhaps more accessible to the bourgeois society, but even the less affluent country
folk found their way to reading though their craving for Slovenian written word. The owners of rarechildren’s books who were once children are now adults, but they read these rare literary treasures,
often rich in old vocabulary, with the eyes of aesthetes, book lovers, readers, connoisseurs, andcollectors. Old children’s books surpass the modern production of children’s books with their highaesthetic and literary standards. They are sadly too rare to be widely available to children today. Thisis a gap that is easily bridged by kamishibai theatre. As a means of expression, it enables an analoguepresentation of images accompanied by the narrator’s voice. It is as if a picture book was being readout loud. Young viewers enjoy a new-found poetics and artistic expression while older viewers travel intime. The project that Društvo Zapik, Hiša otrok in umetnosti, and Antikvariat Glavan carried out
together proved that we were on the right path. The performance called “Pearls between pages”(“Biseri med platnicami”) was a unique example through which we realized and proved the agreement
between old children’s books and kamishibai. The resulting performance was a treat for both children
and adults. The fate of old children’s books is unknown, such as no almanac can predict, as Slovenianpoet France Prešeren would say. We will try to ensure – through kamishibai or otherwise – that theirold age will be noble, esteemed, and beautiful.
Keywords: Old Children's Books, Kamishibai

Rok Glavan holds a BA in Cultural Studies, is an antiquarian at Antiquariat Glavan in Ljubljana, andthe president of the Slovenian Kamishibai Association. Although he was born in the year when man
firs stepped onto the moon, he didn’t want to be an astronaut but a sailor. Apart from safety and goodeducation, his family gave him the love of theatre, books and the spoken word. When he was only
seven years old, he began he was already involved in theatre, and at ten years old he started learning
puppetry. After he finished schooling, he started working as an antiquarian – a career he is still loyal toafter 26 years. He is fascinated by the history of Slovenian publishing and print. Because of the natureof his work, he frequently handles rare and interesting children’s books. The problem he often
encounters is how to present a single copy of a rare and delicate book to a large audience. He first
tried to solve this by organizing a bibliophilistic exhibition “Paper carousel”. But this only offered thefront book pages and no actual story content. Kamishibai came to the rescue. His first encounter withthe form happened in 2014, and only a year later he became the president of the newly founded
association. He now performs known and unknown stories from rare and old children’s books with the- 49 -

help of the original illustrations. In 2016 he devised, directed (with Jelena Sitar Cvetko) andparticipated in the performance “Pearls between covers”. To him, kamishibai brings childlike
playfulness, grown-up worldliness, and pleasant time spent with friends.

***
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, friends, kamishibai lovers and kamishibai performers! My
lecture today will present the project that has combined old children's books with kamishibai.
I am an antiquarian by profession and in my line of work I’ve come to realize that an antiquebook shop is actually a trade with nostalgia. As a rare-book hunter I have come across a
special field of antiquarian material – old children's books. Those are particularly rare
because only a small amount of children's books survived their era. Sibling quarrels,
scissors, pencils and intense thumbing through the books are the most typical attackers. To
find books that are several decades old and in good or impeccable condition is very rare.
When I do stumble across on such a copy, it is because either the parents were very strict,either the book did not seem interesting in the moment, or they owned a duplicate that lived aworse fate.
Old children's books are rare. Thus there is quite a number of people who zealously collectthem and hide them from the quizzical eye of present-day children. The stories carry various
different messages and the content is engaging and educational even today. But they tend tocatch a bit of dust because language is somewhat old-fashioned. Albeit it is their dustinessthat makes us feel warm, just like the stories told by our grandmother did.

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Old children books (photo: Antikvariat Glavan)

The books have always been illustrated by the best illustrators. Illustrations helped the childto get to know the world and themselves. In the past, children did not have the access to anumber of TV programs, data bases and uncle Google. The elephant that they knew, wasthe one from their books. Their perception of the unknown world was thus limited toillustrations, yet at the same time they were liberated with limitless imagination, enabled bylistening and reading.
The book was a window to the world of faraway places and exotic adventures. It was the only
folklore treasury in the form of picture, narration and verse. It encouraged social and moral
growth, inspired thinking and entertained in free time. Though it was more accessible toupper class, it was also quite attainable to lower, peasant-class individuals, who were thirsty
for knowledge.
The authors of the books were excellent as well. There was no undermining a child's mind as
it commonly happens nowadays. A well-known Slovenian poet, Oton Župančič, said that themost difficult and responsible work is to create for children.
As a son of an antiquarian book seller I was also enchanted by the old children's books,
which were brought to me by my father to read. But only later on, when I started to grow acollection of old books as an antiquarian myself, and when I made my first children's book
exhibitions, have I become aware of the magical powers of old children's books. Like an
excited child I told my customers about them and animated them for collecting, too. At thesame time I realised that these books need to be presented to other publics as well. I
prepared an exhibition for Slovenian Book Fair in 2009 that encompassed a number ofSlovenian children's books from 1830s to 1970s. I knew then that I have to present thosebooks to younger generations, because it will be the only way for their content to live on andfor their illustrations to come back to life.

- 51 -

Catalogue of old children books exhibition (photo: Antikvariat Glavan)

I got the first chance to do so in 2010, when Ljubljana became the World Book Capital. I met
my old puppet mentor, Jelena Sitar Cvetko, who was an artistic director in Ljubljana Puppet
Theatre at the time. We came to a conclusion that we could present old children's books
alongside puppet performances.
We developed a project, where children would attend the puppet show and visit an exhibition
after that. The exhibition would include first editions of the books, which were the inspiration
for the show or for one of the characters in the show. This would give books their third
dimension and the puppets would get their history.
The City Municipality unfortunately did not accept the project, but we did not forget about it.
After a few years I came to know kamishibai and immediately saw a unique opportunity topresent old children's books anew. With summaries of original illustrations and with the tellingof the original story in front of the audience, the picture book would come alive.
For my first kamishibai show I chose a picture book called Gospod Kozamurnik (Mister
Kozamurnik) by the author Gerrit Theodoor Rotman.

The book Gospod Kozamurnik

Gerrit Theodoor Rotman is one of Holland's biggest comics pioneers, best known for his
newspaper comics.
- 52 -

My then seven year old son Oskar helped in the performance with some sound effects.

The author and his son preforming Gospod Kozamurnik (photo: Tjaša Obrulek)

The structure of this picture book is very similar to a kamishibai scheme – under each picture
there is a description in a few sentences and it has a dramatic structure. For this particularshow I chose certain picture sequences and adjusted the text, so that I was able to get aninteresting and dramatically balanced plot. The size of the text made me divide the book into
four parts, which were also suitable to be performed on their own with a short introduction.

Scenes from the Gospod Kozamurnik

The show gained a lot of success within the older and the younger generation. Many adults
came to thank me after the show as they were able to reminisce their youth through their
beloved story and at the same time show it to their grandchildren as the book was notavailable for sale in any of the antique book shops anymore.

- 53 -

Preforming Gospod Kozamurnik in authors antique books shop

The show was upgraded in 2015, when I made a booklet with blank pages and printed
original illustrations on some stickers. After the show, each attendee was able to put the
stickers on blank pages in random order and create their own Kozamurnik.

Booklet upgrading kamishibai

At the time I was creating other kamishibai shows as well, but I always returned to those fromold children's books.
I also abbreviated a picture book by the author Maša Halamova, called Tika-taka, tika-taka(Tic-toc, tic-toc), which is about completing different tasks in a day and helps children learn
how to tell the time.

- 54 -

The book Tika taka

Later on I decided to pick up newer children's books. I summarised the book Mali šef (The
Boss Baby) by the author Marli Frazee before there even was a cartoon made about it.
Kamishibai The Boss Baby - relatable to all parents whose baby bosses dictate their day was therefore well-liked among children and their parents.

The book Mali šef

At the end of 2015 Jelena Sitar paid me a visit and suggested that the time for intended
project had come. The only difference would be to add kamishibai shows, which would makethe books even more alive. The show Biseri med platnicami (Pearls among the Covers) was
created in co-production of organisation Hiša otrok in umetnosti (House of Children and Art),
Društvo Zapik (Zapik Society) with Antikvariat Glavan. Authors of the project were Jelena
Sitar, Igor Cvetko and Rok Glavan.

The team of authors and preformers of Biseri med platnicami(photo Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)- 55 -

The show was narrated by Igor Cvetko/Urška Cvetko, Rok Glavan, Jerca Cvetko/Jelena
Sitar, Irena Rajh Kunaver, Rok Glavan, Anže Virant.
Marjan Kunaver and curator Katarina Batagelj helped with the show as well.
The concept of Biseri med platnicami (Pearls among the Covers) was a theatrical kamishibaishow and the main theme were Books.
Each book has its story and history, it is a being. Some books we have read along the way,
have always stayed with us. And our longest companions are the ones from our childhood.
They are always full of interesting words and pictures, so for the project we chose the stories
that have made an impact on our childhood. This is why we wished to show those stories asprecious treasures to present-day children as well.

The venue of the show Biseri med platnicami(photo Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)

The venue of the show was changed to look like a reading salon from the past. The children
were sat on a big soft rug in the middle of the room. On each of the four sides of the rug wepositioned a small setting that corresponded to the story of each narrator. Each of thenarrators chose a story from their own childhood to present. There were also three discretely
lit book showcases in the room.

First showcase(photo Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)- 56 -

The first showcase included the oldest and the most well-known children's books,

Second showcase(photo Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)

the second had different editions of books corresponding to each of the kamishibai shows,Third showcase (photo Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)

and the third was an open showcase that enabled children to browse different kinds of books
after the show.

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We chose four different children's books for the show:
The Witch Who Lost Her Broom.

Jerca Cvetko(photo Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)

Narrated by Jerca Cvetko, whose favourite book growing up was this.
Winnie-the-PoohIgor Cvetko (foto. Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)

The story was summarised and narrated by Igor Cvetko. This was the book, which he read tohis daughter countless times.

- 58 -

The Story about the Lions and a Lion Cub.

Anže Virant (foto. Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)

Narrated by Anže Virant. This was his beloved childhood book. There was also a copy of thisbook in the showcase with the author's signature to Anže when he visited him.
My Umbrella Can Turn Into a Balloon.

Irena Rajh (photo Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)

Narrated by Irena Rajh. The story is one of her favourites.
Every performer prepared their kamishibai with original illustrations. The three of them took
illustrations from one book only, except for Irena Rajh, who took illustrations from different
illustrators and showed the whole spectre of pictures in different editions of the book - from1955 to 2014. In our fairy-tale time-machine kamishibai project was thus another timemachine in Irena Rajh’s show; as the different styles of illustrating presented different spiritsof the times in which individual editions were made.

- 59 -

Antiquarian explanation (foto. Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)

An antiquarian took children around the salon and in between the bookcases to show themdifferent book rarities. He announced each show and asked each of the kamishibai narrators
why they chose to present this particular book. He engaged the public with questions as well.
After the last kamishibai show, children were then invited to a “hat land”, a place from the last
story presented: My Umbrella Can Turn Into a Balloon.

Waiting to enter into the hat land
(foto. Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)Children got to “hat land” through an old closet in a shape of a house, which is also a
trademark for House of Children and Art organisation (Hiša otrok in umetnosti). In this land
they could try on different hats and clothes. This made the show even more interactive, likean experiential labyrinth.

- 60 -

Childrens in the costumes (foto. Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)

While some of the children were trying on clothes, some were getting to know the origins ofkamishibai, how to play it and what its rules are, and some got to read the books or play withtoys that decorated bookcases and the venue.

Getting into the secrets of kamishibai(foto. Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)

The show lasted 60 minutes and was appropriated for children of 4 years and older.
It was very well received among the older and younger generation. The location – an oldvilla, which used to be a youth library – The Pioneer Library, evoked a special effect. It felt as
if the books came alive and started their magic dance.
The show also performed several times at Slovenian Book Fair in 2016 and was wellreceived among the public as well as professionals.
Old children's books were the main focus of the show but the chosen stories did not seem
dusty or old-fashioned. Quite the opposite! Despite the older translation of the book Winniethe-Pooh (translated by Majda Stanovnik in 1957), young spectators were able to follow theshow very well and even repeated some old sentences and phrases after the show.

- 61 -

The books in the venue and on the bookcases were not only meant for reading or looking
through them, but they also became alive on kamishibai stage. The purpose of this project
was to draw children, who are growing up in a digital world, closer to books, their scent, their
physical character and to present the books as a medium that holds the stories and makes
them alive.

The joy of reading (foto. Urška Boljkovac, production Hiša otrok in umetnosti, Društvo Zapik and Antikvariat Glavan)

In today's digital era children are estranged from books. As a warrior for the books, which arealso my bread-winners, I've always thought that the books offer something more. They do notglare into our faces, but they still have our attention. Reading broadens our imagination, theway we think and the way we construct ideas. I have thus recognized kamishibai as a
medium that enables to present the whole book to a crowd of spectators.
As an antiquarian I've been dedicating a lot of time to presenting what the book really is.
Some time ago a small family came to my shop. The parents were browsing through thepostcards and they sat their daughter in front of a book in the meantime. They said sheshould take a look of the book. The child slid with her finger across the cover a few times andsaid that it is broken.
The show Pearl Among the Covers confirmed the fact that we sometimes need to consult thepast for a development to happen – and that does not mean a lesser development. Just the
opposite. The kamishibai shows with children’s (or adult) books are opening new possibilities
of reading and making people like reading the classic analogue books. This was evident after
the show, when children were absorbed by old books, which were printed decades before
they were even born.
I think that it is possible to travel through time and space with kamishibai and open up
different worlds with the force of a book. This is why as an antiquarian I like to say: May thebook be with you!
At the end I would like to thank you for your attention and announce my new saying: May thebook and kamishibai be with you!

- 62 -

Uporaba in predstavitev Glasserjeve teorije izbire in njene
uporabnosti v šolah s pomočjo kamišibaja (»Kokoš po izbiri«:
Glasserjeva teorija v kamišibaju)

Grbac Fulvia

Pri delu s kamišibajem je korak, s katerim sem ga uvedla v učne programe, prišel povsem sam od sebe, saj je tostorilo že mnogo učiteljev. Kot učiteljica umetnosti sem omenjeno obliko figurativne ustvarjalnosti in dramatizacijezačela uporabljati v procesu umetnostne vzgoje. Poleg predstavitve svojih zgodb za kamišibaj učence vodim tudi
pri ustvarjanju lastnih kamišibajev, ilustracij in zgodb. V kakovost ilustracij vložimo veliko truda, da se povežejo zzgodbo in njeno dramatizacijo. Da bi proces še izboljšali, sodelujemo tudi s kolegi, ki poučujejo književnost.
Navedena metoda se dotika številnih disciplin in mi kot učiteljici prinaša veliko zadovoljstva, predvsem pa mojim
učencem. Poučujem tudi prihodnje pedagoge predšolskih otrok in jih usposabljam za uporabo metode kamišibaj
pri prihodnjem delu. Zanimalo me je, ali bi metodo lahko uporabili tudi pri psiholoških težavah. Primer: otrokom bi
lahko pomagali pri premagovanju težav s pripovedovanjem zgodb. Na primer zgodba Nenadna tema govori ootroku, ki se boji teme, vendar strah premaga tako, da prevzame nadzor in postane odgovoren. Zgodbo jenavdihnila Glasserjeva teorija izbire, s katero si kot učiteljica že nekaj let pomagam pri ustvarjanju
kakovostnejšega odnosa z učenci. Z njeno pomočjo ostajam aktivnejša na delovnem mestu in učinkovitejša pri
pedagoških nalogah. Teorijo lahko zvedem na številne vidike svojega življenja, zlasti na poučevanje. Proces
seveda ni bil vedno preprost in brez ovinkov, saj je še vedno predmet preučevanja. Celotni proces sem
predstavila v obliki preproste, komične ilustrirane knjige Kokoš po izbiri. Zamislila sem si, da bi svoje izkušnje
predstavila z metodo kamišibaj. Ker je v knjigi veliko prizorov, bi jih lahko uprizorili pred občinstvom, morda predpoklicnimi ali prihodnjimi učitelji, ki se soočajo s kompleksnim, izzivov polnim in čudovitim svetom šole. To bi
lahko bila zanimiva izkušnja za učitelje, ki iščejo alternativne metodologije za to, kako v šolskem okolju postatiučinkovitejši in mirnejši. Predstavitev zgodbe Kokoš po izbiri s tehniko kamišibaj bi učiteljem razložila vedênje
otrok in njihovo lastno vedênje ter jim pomagala izbrati ustrezen odziv in graditi odnos s svojimi učenci.
Preostanek dela in odgovornost sta prepuščena občinstvu, ki se bo odločilo poiskati pomoč pri teoriji izbire
Williama Glasserja. Zgodba Kokoš po izbiri zelo preprosto pojasnjuje človeško vedenje s psihologijo teorije izbire.
Vidimo, da lahko učitelj, ki teorijo razume in se zaveda, kaj je v njegovi moči, lažje usmerja učence v učnem
procesu in skrbi za dobro počutje tako učencev kot samega sebe.
***
Fulvia Grbac se je rodila leta 1968 v Kopru. Diplomirala je na Akademiji za likovno umetnost v Benetkah leta
1991. Od tedaj poučuje umetniške predmete v osnovnih in srednjih šolah na Slovenskem primorju. Udeležila se ještevilnih seminarjev in delavnic za izpopolnjevanje na pedagoškem in umetniškem področju v Italiji, Veliki Britaniji
in Sloveniji. Razstavljala je grafike v Sloveniji, Italiji, Avstriji in na Hrvaškem ter objavila več ilustracij in umetniškihdel. Knjiga Kokoš po izbiri, ki jo je napisala in ilustrirala, je bila objavljena leta 2001. Obravnava osnove teorije
izbire Williama Glasserja in možnosti njene uporabe v šolah. Fulvia Grbac je nosilka certifikata »Choice Theory /Reality Therapy & Leading Management Certification«, ki ga podeljuje Inštitut Williama Glasserja v Sloveniji.
Poleg poučevanja v šolah veliko časa posveča tudi umetniškim delavnicam za odrasle, študente in otroke. V
zadnjih dveh letih se ukvarja tudi s kamišibajem. Za zgodbo Nenadna tema, ki jo je napisala, ilustrirala in izvedlasama, je prejela nagrado na 4. slovenskem festivalu gledališča kamišibaj v Piranu. Za isto delo je nedavno
osvojila prvo nagrado na tekmovanju za umetnost in kulturo Istria Nobilissima.

- 63 -

How to Use and Present Glasser’s Choice Theory and its
Application in Schools with the Aid of Kamishibai (Chicken By
Choice: Glasser Theory In Kamishibai)

Grbac Fulvia

In my dealing with Kamishibai, It was natural to introducing it in the teaching programme in schools,
like many teachers alredy does. As an art teacher I started applying this form of figurative creativity
and dramatisation to the artistic education process. In addition to presenting my own Kamishibaistories to students, being an art teacher, I guide them to realise their own Kamishibai, with theirillustrations and stories. We put a lot of effort in the quality of the illustrations to be linked to the story
and dramatisation of it. We also collaborate with fellow literature teachers in advancing this process.
This method touches a vast amount of disciplines and brings great satisfactions to me as a teacher,but most of all to my students. I also teach future preschool educators and I prepare them to use theKamishibai method in their future work.
I am wondering if the Kamishibai method could also be applied to psychology topics, perhaps dealing
with delicate situations through story telling to help children overcome their difficulties. The story“Sudden Darkness” for example, is about a child who fears the dark, but overcomes his fear by taking
control of it and becoming responsible. This tale is inspired by the Choice Theory by William Glasser,a theory that has been helping me for several years in my teaching work, especially to create a betterand quality relationship with my students.
It helps me to be more active in the workplace and more efficient in my teaching duties. This theory
has obviously been applied to many aspects of my life, expecially at my teaching work. The process
however has not always been straight forward and easy as it is still under study.
All this process is presented in creating the simple and comical illustrated book “Chicken by Choice”.
It might be an idea or a starting point, to present my experience through the Kamishibai. Being there a
lot of scenes in the book, it would be easily dramatised in front of an audience, perhaps an audienceof teachers or future teachers who are facing the complex, challenging and wonderful school world.
This would be an interesting experience for teachers who are looking for alternative methodologies of
how to be more efficient and serene in the school environment.
The Kamishibai presentation of the story “Chicken By Choice” would help teachers explain thechildren’s and their own behaviour, and would assist in the choice of an appropriate behaviour andrelationship with the students. The remaining part of the work and the responsibility is left for theaudience who will decide to look for help in William Glasser’s Choice Theory.
The story “Chicken By Choice” in very simple terms explains human behaviour through Choice Theory
psychology and how a teacher who understands it and knows what is in their power can make it easier
to guide students through the learning process and takes care of their own well-being alongside thestudents.
Keywords: Chicken by Choice, Glasser Theory, Helping teacher at work, Kamishibai Choice Theory
tales

Fulvia Grbac was born in Capodistria in 1968 and graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice in1991. Since then she has taught art subjects in elementary and high schools on the Slovenian coast.
She has attended numerous seminars and workshops in Italy, Great Britain and Slovenia to improve- 64 -

her work as a teacher and as an artist. She has exhibited her printmaking art in Slovenia, Italy, Austria
and Croatia. She published several illustrations and art works. The book “Chicken By Choice”, written
and illustrated by her, was published in 2001. It explains William Glasser's Choice Theory in a basic
way and presents how it can be applied in schools. Fulvia Grbac has been accredited with the “Choice
Theory/Reality Therapy and Leading Management Certification” by the William Glasser Institute in
Slovenia. 4 In addition to teaching in schools, she devotes much of her time to art workshops for
adults, students and children. Over the past two years, she has also been involved in kamishibai. For
her story “Sudden Darkness”, which she wrote, illustrated, and acted out by herself, she was awardeda prize at the 4th Festival of Kamishibai in Piran, Slovenia. The same work has also recently secured
her the first prize at the Art and Culture Competition Istria Nobilissima. Her favorite branch of art is
printmaking. At the atelier of the Folart Art Club in Isola, she prints and exhibits her prints. She works
with printing through various perspectives: ateliers, exhibitions, workshops, and artist residencies.

***
Some illustrations Chicken By Choice Glasser in Kamishibai- 65 -

Sources:
GRBAC, Fulvia. Gallina per scelta- Kokoš po izbiri / Chicken By Choice, 2001
GLASSER, William. Choice Theory, 1998
GLASSER, William. The Quality School, 1990
GLASSER, William. The Quality School Teacher, 1990
GOSSEN D., J. Anderson. Creating the conditions: Leadership for Quality Schools, 1995
PATERSON, Kathy. Help! Survival strategies for teachers, 1993
BLUM, Paul. Surviving and Succeeding in Difficult Classrooms, 1998
GLASSER, William. Reality Therapy in Action, 2000
GOOD, E.Perry. Helping Kids Help Themselves, 1992
GOOD, E.Perry. In Pursuit of Happiness, 1991
SULLO, Robert A. Teach them to be Happy, 1989

- 66 -

Razvoj empatije med predstavo gledališča kamišibaj

Ivon Hicela in Zavoreo Rakić Emanuela
zunanje sodelovanje

Prispevek se posveča teoretičnim in empiričnim razlagam vpliva umetnosti kamišibaja na čustveno empatijo indomišljijo otrok in odraslih. Čustvena empatija nakazuje na splošno ljubečo empatijo, ki se odraža v dojemanjučustvenih izkušenj drugih ljudi. Čustvena domišljija pa je nagnjenje k uživanju v domišljiji, čustvih in aktivnostih
izmišljenih likov iz zgodb, romanov in filmov. Kamišibaj je umetnostni kontekst za otrokovo naravno učenje ovrednosti empatije: kako naj sočustvuje in kako se empatično sporazumeva, kar sta osnovna pogoja za to, da se
otrok razvije v osebo, ki se je sposobna sporazumevati tako s sabo kot z drugimi. Posledično se otrok skoziužitek, ki ga občuti ob čustvenih stanjih likov (preko slikovnih in besednih simbolov), nauči vrednosti
sočustvovanja, altruizma in pomoči ter vrednosti (uporabnosti) prosocialnega vedenja. Vizualni in besedni simboli,
ki se dopolnjujejo in izmenjujejo med predstavo kamišibaja, otrokom ne dopuščajo zgolj uživanja ob domišljiji,
občutkih in aktivnostih likov v zgodbi, temveč tudi boljše razumevanje videnega in slišanega. To pomeni
preobrazbo izkušenj in prehod k bolj poglobljenemu (čustvenemu) razumevanju, kar pomeni, da razvijajo vse
globljo empatijo. Drugače povedano, med procesom doživljanja in učenja med predstavo kamišibaja se otrok
osvobodi kognitivnega in čustvenega egocentrizma (ki je značilen za predoperativno stopnjo razvoja mišljenja).
To mu omogoča razumevanje višjih čustev drugih ljudi in razvoj lastnih višjih čustev (npr. sočutja). Čustvena
stanja, ki jih otroci izražajo med in po predstavi kamišibaja, so ocenjena v opisih otrokovega čustvenega užitka in
se odražajo kot sporazumevanje, sodelovanje, pomoč in umetniško izražanje otrok. Odrasli se znajo dobro
empatično sporazumevati z otroki preko predstav kamišibaja, saj hitreje sprejmejo čustva, razmišljajo o otrocih in
jih razumejo, prav tako pa so večinoma odprti za nove izzive in težave predšolske vzgoje. Predstava kamišibaja
lahko uspe samo takrat, kadar je odrasli pripovedovalec navdušen nad zgodbo, ki jo pripoveduje, in postane delnje – če je scenarij igre postal del njegovega miselnega zaklada. Samo tako lahko zgodbo učinkovito prenese
otrokom.
***
Izr. prof. dr. Hicela Ivon se je rodila in odraščala v Splitu, kjer je končala osnovno in srednjo šolo pa tudipedagoški študij biologije in kemije. Študij je nadaljevala s skupino pedagoških predmetov na Filozofski fakulteti v
Sarajevu in dokončala magisterij iz didaktike z naslovom »Skupinsko delo – skupinsko učenje« na Filozofski
fakulteti v Zagrebu. Ima doktorat iz socialne pedagogike na temo »Vpliv lutk na socialno vedenje in igro
predšolskih otrok« s Pedagoške fakultete v Ljubljani. Delovala je kot novinarka na televiziji, šolska pedagoginja,
profesorica predšolske vzgoje in kot profesorica na oddelkih za predšolsko vzgojo na univerzah v Zadru in Splitu.
Objavlja znanstvene in strokovne članke v revijah, knjigah in zbirkah z mednarodnih in domačih znanstvenih instrokovnih konferenc. Izdala je več knjig in kot urednica sodelovala pri izdelavi več kot šestdesetih zbirk člankov
ter znanstvenih in strokovnih monografij. Sodelovala je pri številnih strokovno-znanstvenih projektih z
mednarodno udeležbo. V okviru Evropskega inštituta za razvoj potenciala vseh otrok (IEDPE, Pariz) je že od leta
1989 aktivna kot raziskovalka pri strokovno-znanstvenih projektih, osnovanih na interaktivni pedagogiki in njeni
metodologiji. Dolga leta je bila glavna in odgovorna urednica Školskega vjesnika, revije za pedagoško teorijo inprakso, ki jo danes izdaja Filozofska fakulteta v Splitu, zdaj pa je pomočnica urednika. Zasedala je številne
strokovne in družbene funkcije. Leta 2013 je prejela nagrado Ivana Filipovića za življenjsko delo.
Emanuela Zavoreo Rakić je bila rojena leta 1980 v Splitu, kjer je končala osnovno in srednjo šolo. Po dveh letihna Visokem učiteljišču je vpisala smer Predšolska vzgoja na Filozofski fakulteti Vseučilišča v Splitu, kjer je leta
2008 z zagovorom zaključnega dela Lutka v vzgojno-izobraževalnem procesu končala prvo stopnjo
univerzitetnega študija (baccalaureus) predšolske vzgoje. Posebej jo zanima uporaba lutke kot medija za
spodbujanje celovitega razvoja otrok v vzgojno-izobraževalnem procesu. V sodelovanju z dr. sc. Hicelo Ivon
(Oddelek za predšolsko vzgojo Filozofske fakultete Vseučilišča v Splitu) je leta 2011 objavila pregledni članek»Lastnosti razvojnih možnosti otroške lutkovne igre« v Školskem vjesniku (Hrvaški pedagoško-književni zbor,
Split, in Filozofska fakulteta Vseučilišča v Splitu). Je članica Evropskega inštituta za razvoj potenciala vseh otrok(IEDPE, Pariz), v okviru katerega kot aktivna raziskovalka sodeluje pri strokovno-znanstvenih projektih, temelječih
na interaktivni pedagogiki in njeni metodologiji. Prav raziskovalno delo v sodelovanju z akademskimi znanstvenimi
raziskovalci ji predstavlja izziv za profesionalni razvoj ter za nadgradnjo raziskovalnih in refleksivnih znanj. Od leta
2009 dela v DV Radost – Split kot vzgojiteljica predšolskih otrok.
- 67 -

The Development of Empathy during Performance of Kamishibai

Ivon Hicela and Zavoreo Rakić Emanuela
External Participation

The article deals with theoretical and empirical explanations of the influence of the art of kamishibai on
emotional empathy and the imagination of children and adults. Emotional empathy implies a global
affectionate empathy that is reflected in the perception of emotional experience of other people, while
emotional imagination is a tendency to enjoy imagination, feelings and activities of imagined
characters from stories, novels and movies.
The art of kamishibai is the artistic context for the natural learning of the child about the values of
empathy: how to empathize and how to empathically communicate, which are the necessary
prerequisites to develop in a person ready to dialogue with itself and others. Consequently, enjoying
the emotional states of characters (through pictorial and verbal symbols), a child understands thevalues of compassion, altruism, aiding, and the value (application) of prosocial behavior.
Visual and verbal symbols which are complementary and which alternate during the art of kamishibai
allow children not only for the enjoyment of the imagination, feelings, and activities of the characters inthe story, but a deeper understanding of what it sees and hears, ie transformation of experienced andtransition to a more complex (emotional) understanding which is the process of development towards
ever – increasing empathy.
In other words, during the process of experiencing and learning while looking at the art of kamishibai,
a child is relieved of the cognitive and emotional egocentrism (characteristic of the preoperational
stage in the development of thinking), which allows one to understand other people’s higher emotions
and develop their own higher emotions (eg compassion).
The emotional states that children express during and after the kamishibai performances areevaluated in the descriptions of the child's emotional enjoyment and are reflected in the way ofcommunicating, collaborating, helping and in children's artistic expression.
And adults are perfected in expressing empathic communication with children by performing
kamishibai in terms of their greater readiness to accept feelings, thinking and understanding ofchildren and generally openness to new challenges and problems of pre-school education.
The kamishibai performance can only succeed if the adult likes the story he is telling and if the adulthas become part of it – if the scenario of his play has become his mental treasure. Only in this way hecan successfully transfer it to the children.
Keywords: Kamishibai, Child, Adult, Empathy, Emotional Imagination

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Hicela Ivon was born and lives in Split, where she completed elementary andhigh school education, as well as a teaching study “Biology – Chemistry”. She continued her studies
with a group of pedagogical subjects at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo and completed amaster's degree in didactics with the topic “Teamwork – Team Teaching” at the Faculty of Philosophy
in Zagreb. She has a PhD in social pedagogy with the topic “Influence of puppets on social behaviour
and playful activities of preschool children” at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana. She worked on TV
journalist jobs, as a school pedagogue, as an educator for preschool education, and as a teacher at
the Departments of Preschool Education at Universities in Zadar and Split. She publishes scientificand professional papers in journals, books and collections from international and domestic scientificand professional conferences. She published several books and participated as an editor on over sixty
collection of papers, scientific and professional books. She has participated in several professional- 68 -

scientific projects with international cooperation. Within the European Institute for Development of All
Children Potential (IEDPE, Paris) she has been active since 1989 as a researcher on professionalscientific projects based on interactive pedagogy and its methodology. She is a former long-time editor
in chief, now a deputy, of a journal for pedagogical theory and practice “Školski Vjesnik” (nowpublished by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Split). She has performed numerous
professional and social functions. She was the winner of the lifetime achievement award “Ivan
Filipović” in 2013.
Emanuela Zavoreo Rakić was born in 1980 in Split, Croatia, where she completed elementary andhigh school education. After completing two years at the “Teacher's School” (University of Split), she
signed up for “Pre-school Education” at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of
Split. Her graduation thesis was “Puppets in the Educational Process”, completed in 2008. She isparticularly interested in the use of puppets as a medium to promote the overall development ofchildren in the educational process. In cooperation with Dr. sc. Hicela Ivon (Faculty of Humanities andSocial Sciences, University of Split, Department of Pre-school Education) she published the review
article “Characteristics of Developmental Possibilities of the Puppet Game” in Školski vjesnik in 2011.
She is a member of the European Institution for the Development of All Children Potential (IEDPE,
Paris) where she participates as a preschool teacher and an active researcher on professionalscientific projects based on interactive pedagogy and its methodology. Active participation in researchand co-operation with academic research scientists are challenging for her professional growth; she
strives to develop as many research and reflective skills as possible. She lives and works in Split.
Since 2009, she has been working as a pre-school teacher at “DV Radost–Split.”***
Available in Croatian Language only

1. Uvod
Martha Nussbaum u svojoj knjizi „Ne profitu! Zašto demokracija treba humanistiku?“, obrazlaže da sposobnost
koju je neophodno danas odgajati tijekom odrastanja, pored ostalih, je narativna imaginacija, što znači damoramo biti u stanju pomišljati kako bi moglo biti u koži osobe koja je različita od nas kako bi se postalo
inteligentnim čitateljem njezine životne priče, kako bi se moglo razumjeti emocije, želje i žudnje koje bi netko
mogao imati u njezinoj situaciji. Autorica napominje da kultiviranje suosjećanja kroz povijest je činilo ključan dio
najboljih modernih ideja o demokratskom obrazovanju, kako u zapadnjačkim tako i u ne-zapadnjačkim nacijama.
Središnja važnost u odgojno-obrazovnom kurikulumu na svakom stupnju obrazovanja, napominje spomenuta
autorica, mora se pridati humanistici i umjetnosti, kultivirajući participacijski tip obrazovanja, koji aktivira i
oplemenjuje sposobnost gledanja na svijet očima druge osobe (119 – 20). Značenje humanistike i umjetnosti
svuda se umanjuje, događa se ozbiljna erozija empatije – sposobnosti koja je bitna za međuljudske odnose i za
samu demokraciju (Nussbaum,120). Pored spomenutog, moramo imati na umu i činjenicu da na razvoj empatije
utječe i način na koji djeca i mladi u 21 stoljeću uče, komuniciraju i usvajaju znanja o svijetu i životu. To se bitno
se promijenilo u odnosu na načine na koje su to činili u ranijim epohama. Današnje generacije djece izvanredno
poznaju nove tehnološke medije koje koriste u učenju i međusobnom komuniciranju. Neki teoretičari usmenosti
smatraju da je jezik prelaskom iz usmenog u pisani oblik na tehničkom sredstvu, izgubio na svojoj fluidnosti i
dinamičnosti svojstvenim govorenom jeziku. Suvremene tehnologije(internet) čine nas sve tromijim i neelastičnijim, jer ne potenciraju potrebne sposobnosti za međuljudsku komunikaciju, poput kritičkog mišljenja,
argumentaciju stavova, jezičnu maštovitost i empatiju. A činjenice na koje ukazuju suvremena istraživanja mozga
ukazuju na povećanje čovjekove inteligencije, ali ne u smjeru kognitivne nego u smjeru intuitivne (emocionalne).
Apstraktno, formalno, analitičko i serijsko mišljenje se povlači. Mozak se sve više organizira i usmjeruje na
konkretno - osjetilno, slikovito, prostorno, emocionalno, intuitivno, integralno (sintetizirajuće) mišljenje. Stoga
računala nisu mediji za poticanje mašte i emocionalne inteligencije, jer digitalizirani dječji prostori pogoduju
razvoju racionalne (ne-emocionalne) inteligencije (Bašić 19-37).
Polazeći od iznijetog, opravdanim smatramo raspravljati o mogućnostima razvoja empatije kroz umjetnost
kamishibia, jer slušajući priču koju prati pokretanje slika kod djeteta se aktiviraju osjećaji, obogaćuje emocionalnidoživljaj koje pobuđuje kreativnost i motivaciju djeteta, dva najvažnija „zaloga“ za uspjeh u životu. Uživljavanje u
ono što lik u priči proživljava, osjećaj strepnje i iščekivanja u „klimaksu“ kamishibaia, čuđenje originalnim
rješenjima u priči te radosti sretnog završetka, utječe na čitav niz psihičkih i somatskih funkcija. Sinergiju svega- 69 -

toga u kamishibaiu dijete (i odrasli) doživljava vrlo intenzivno i cjelovito, a to je moćan poticaj razvoju njegove
emocionalne mašte i empatije.
2. Razvoj empatije - od dječje imaginativne igre do (i preko) umjetnosti
Premda su djeca rođena s rudimentarnim sposobnostima za suosjećanje i brigu (empatiju), potrebno je ispuniti
nekoliko uvjeta da bi ono razvilo sposobnost za iskrenu brigu za druge. Prvi je stupanj praktične kompetencije (okojem je već davno govorio Rousseau), a drugi je složeno postignuće koje podrazumijeva sposobnosti
sagledavanja svijeta kao mjesta gdje pojedinac nije sam - mjesta gdje drugi ljudi imaju svoje vlastite živote i
potrebe kao i pravo da teže zadovoljavanju tih potreba. Ovaj drugi uvjet, koji se najprije razvija kroz dječju
imaginativnu igru, osnova je trećem ključnom preduvjetu - razvoju sposobnosti zamišljanja kakvo bi moglo bitituđe iskustvo (Nussbaum 121). Prisutnost drugog, koja može biti veoma zastrašujuća, tijekom igre postajezabavan izvor radoznalosti, a ta radoznalost doprinosi razvoju zdravih stavova u prijateljstvu, u ljubavi, a kasnije iu političkom životu (Nussbaum 124).
Kroz igru djeca stječu neprocjenjivu praksu suosjećanja i uzajamnosti. Igra počinje čarobnim maštanjem u kojima
dijete kontrolira sve što se događa, ali kasnije, kako se u interpersonalnoj igri s roditeljima ili drugom djecom
razvija sigurnost i povjerenje, kontrola popušta i dijete je u stanju eksperimentirati s ranjivošću i čuđenjem nanačine koji bi izvan okvira igre mogli biti mučni ali su zabavni dok ona traje. Kako se igra razvija, razvija se
djetetova sposobnost čuđenja. Jednostavne dječje pjesmice ili priče već nukaju djecu da se stave u poziciju
malene životinje, drugog djeteta, ili čak neživog predmeta. To je ono što djeca u konačnici moraju biti u stanju
primijeniti i na druge ljude. Dječje pjesmice i priče stoga su presudna priprema za brigu u životu (Nussbaum 125).
I Winnicott (u: Nussbaum 126) je teoretski obrazložio kako igra u razvoju djeteta ima snažan i široko
rasprostranjen kulturni utjecaj, jer u njoj djeca eksperimentiraju s idejom „drugosti“ na načine koji su manje
zastrašujući nego što bi često mogao biti u izravnom susretu s drugim. Igra uči ljude da budu sposobni živjeti s
drugima bez kontrole; ona iskustva ranjivosti i iznenađenosti povezuje s onima radoznalosti i čuđenja, umjesto sa
sputavajućom tjeskobom. Nakon što su djeca ostavila za sobom svoj svijet igara, njihovo iskustvo ranjivosti
povezuje se s umjetnosti. Dokazi tomu su da je prvotna funkcija umjetnosti u svim kulturama različitih naroda bila
očuvati i unaprijediti kultivaciju „prostora igre“, a uloga umjetnosti u ljudskom životu je iznad svega u jačanju i
povećanju sposobnosti uživljavanja, drži spomenuti Winniccott (u: Nussbaum, 126).
I prije su pedagozi kao Frobel, Pestalozzi obrazlagali ulogu igre za osnaživanje emocionalnih i imaginativnih
resursa osobnosti koje potiču sposobnosti da razumiju i sebe i druge - najvažnijem doprinosu umjetnosti u životu
nakon škole. Odgojno- obrazovno postignuće je upravo vidjeti dušu u tijelu drugoga, imati 'unutarnje oko', a tom
postignuću potporu pružaju umjetnosti koje od nas traže da se upitamo o unutarnjem svijetu tog lika koji vidimo –a osim toga i da se zapitamo o sebi i našim vlastitim dubinama (Nussbaum 128).
3. Kamishibai - empatično komuniciranje kroz igru
Iz prethodno iznijetog dade se zaključiti da je empatija preduvjet uspješne komunikacije, a kamishibai je igra,
bogata komunikacijom jer se izvođač suočava s publikom kako bi zajedno dijelili radost priče; izvođač možekomunicirati s publikom mijenjajući svoj ton glasa, omogućujući stanku između svake slike u skladu s kretanjem
klizanja i izlaska. Štoviše, interakcija se događa prirodno, budući da publika i izvođač mogu vidjeti međusobne
izraze. Animirajući svojim glasom i dinamikom pričanja koje prati dinamika pokretanja slike, izvođač stvara
prigodu za komunikaciju (koja je uobičajenim načinima teško ostvariva), ulazi u emocionalni svijet djeteta,
posebno u svijet mašte koja je djetetova pokretačka energija. Da priču ne čini sama priča odnosno same njezineriječi, može se potkrijepiti citatima Bettelheima koji ističe „da bi bilo pripovijedanje najdjelotvornije, ono djetetu
mora biti zbivanje između osoba, a njega stvaraju oni što u njemu sudjeluju“ (134). Isto piše i Velički (navodeći
Jollesa) koji tvrdi da su „u pripovijedanju vrlo važne pripovjedačeve riječi, njegov osobni udio, kao i udio slušatelja,
a ne isključivo riječi samoga tog oblika“ (18). Važne su stoga pripovjedačeve riječi, njegov osobni udio, kao i udio
slušateljstva – djece tijekom izvođenja kamishibaia. Takvo akcijsko-reakcijsko komuniciranje (Bratanić 75-102)
tijekom izvođenja kamishibaia između izvođača i publike – djece, daje priliku za dublje uživljavanje u položaj
likova iz priče, što dovodi do više razine interakcijske zavisnosti, a to pak, do nove kvalitete - empatijskog
komuniciranja. Drukčije rečeno, kontekst kamishibaia u kojem su izvođač (odgojitelj) i dijete usmjereni jedno na
drugo i dijele priču, potiče njihovo međusobno povjerenje i prisnost, odnosno empatičko komuniciranje, a to je
najbolji pristup učenju djece u najranijoj dobi. Tek na razini empatijskog komuniciranja možemo govoriti ouspješnom kamishibaiu, jer aktivira i obogaćuje emocionalni doživljaj koji pobuđuje kreativnost i motivaciju
djeteta.
Kamishibai kao zajednička dinamička igra izvođača i publike – djece, u kojoj djeca mogu beskrajno uživati i
svojom namjenom potpuno odgovara dječjem poimanju svijeta, odnosa i emocija - pogotovo onda kad je dijete ikreator slike i pripovjedač. Dobra kamishibai izvedba nadahnjuje dijete na stvaranje vlastite priče koju želi- 70 -

oslikati. To dotiče njegov imaginarni svijet i omogućuje stapanje djetetova poimanja zbilje i fantazije. Poredsvega, daje i temelje estetskom promišljanju i sposobnosti cjelovitog planiranja u kasnijoj dobi.
Dobro izveden kamishibai pomaže da se gledalac (dijete) uživi u položaj junaka o kojima je riječ u priči i daje
mogućnost za dublji uvid djeteta u ono što se događa između osoba u priči. Zbog vidljivog dramaturškog –glumačkog izraza izvođača, mogu se zornije prikazati osjećaji koje likovi u priči doživljavaju, kao tugu, ljutnju,
bijes i sl., ili, pak, određena ponašanja likova koja je teže razumjeti, kao neopreznost, zaslijepljenost, zabrinutost,požrtvovanost i sl. Uživljavajući se u sudbine likova u priči, pomažemo djetetu da razumije i prihvati „perspektivu“
drugog (uključivanje tuđe perspektive i govora usmjerenog drugima). To djetetu omogućuje i da koristi iskustva
drugih ljudi, kao i da razmišlja o vlastitom. Dijete bolje može razumjeti primjerice Pepeljugine nevolje prema kojoj
loše postupaju, može sudjelovati u pobjedama koje nikada ne bi sam mogao postići kao to postiže neki junak u
priči. Uživljavanje u priču obogaćuje možda dramatičnu stvarnost djeteta; priče su jedno od sredstava putem
kojih unosimo smisao u svijet oko sebe. Također, približiti junakovu nevolju (tugu) i ponuditi način kako mu
pomoći izvrsne su prigode za dječje diskusije o vlastitim i tuđim osjećajima koje ih nukaju na izražavanje viđenog i
kroz to, na djelovanje. Djetetovo izvođenje kamishibaia je u nekom smislu „primjena“ – isprobavanje moralnog
djelovanja u određenoj situaciji. To je, pored prethodno rečenog, razlog da kamishibai koji je uvijek igra možeimati važnu ulogu u ranom obrazovanju.
Riječju, kamishibai umjetnost može biti vrlo važna u posredovanju vrijednosnog sustava djetetu. Svojom
poetičnošću kod pričanja, unošenjem humora, likovnošću uči dijete estetici i kulturi ponašanja. Susretom emocije
tijekom i nakon predstave te mogućnošću da dijete samo izvodi kamishibai, događa se u djetetu čarobno tkanje
osjećajnog i maštovitog svijeta, samoostvarenje, posebice vrijedno za djecu koja imaju emocionalne i govornojezične teškoće. Motiv priče i slike koje ju prate, uče dijete ispitivanju, analiziranju, otkrivanju socijalnog okružja,izražavanju istoga i razvijanju stava. Kamishibai pomažu i djetetu koje se negativistički ponaša, koje teško
uspostavlja socijalni kontakt ili ima problem. U tom smislu, kamishibai zaista može imati terapeutski učinak.
4. Kamishibai – kontekst za učenje promatranjem i putem riječiUvažavajući da djeca rane i predškolske dobi, pored ostalih načina, ponajprije uče promatranjem (modela)
aktivnosti drugih ljudi (djeca su po prirodi promatrači i imitatori) i putem riječi koje je netko izravno izgovorio,
ispričao (ili zahvaljujući slikama, knjigama, filmovima), u kontekstu kamishibaia su zastupljena oba načina učenja
djece: promatranjem – djeca odražavaju svojim ponašanjem način kako se ponašaju likovi u priči kao i kako samizvođač izvodi kamishibai – pripovijeda i pokreće slike što pomaže djetetu u razumijevanju svijeta oko sebe i osamom sebi. Štoviše, u kamishibai umjetničkom kontekstu pruža se mogućnost proširenja djetetova svijeta preko
granica njegova iskustva - u imaginarne svjetove, čiji stanovnici imaju različita iskustva, različite osjećaje i različite
spoznaje. Pripovijedanje i razgovori o tim svjetovima omogućuju djetetu da nešto nauči o njima, ali i da razmišlja
kakav je realan svijet uspoređen sa zamišljenim: to je način da se o njemu uči i da ga se prihvati (Meadows i
Cashdan 63-70).
Učenjem putem riječi, što se u kamishibaiu postiže pripovijedanjem odnosno slušanjem priče uz slike koje ju
prate, posebno pomažemo djetetu u razumijevanju odnosa u samom jeziku odnosno ovladavanju onoga što jeosnovno u prirodi jezika kao simboličke sposobnosti: propozicionalnost, diskretnost, gramatika, polisemija,
višeslojna struktura, stvaralaštvo8 (Ivić 87 - 89). Kroz kamishibi upravo pomažemo djeci da osvješćuju svoje
govorne i jezične mogućnosti, razvijaju ih, grade različite spoznaje, uče umjetnički komunicirati. To otvara široke
mogućnosti za mnogostrukost djetetova razmišljanja, za organiziranje njegovih konkretnih životnih iskustava u
unutarnje slike, maštu, koje onda mogu poslužiti kao osnovni obrasci za apstraktne misaone oblike.
Izdvojit ćemo mogućnosti kamishibaia u ovladavanju stvaralačkog aspekta jezika, odnosno za razvoj opće
stvaralačke sposobnosti uporabe jezika kao što su: stvaranje novih jezičnih elemenata, pridavanje novih značenja

8

Propozicionalnost podrazumijeva emocionalni i propozicionalni govor. Emocionalni govor je onaj koji neposredno, svojim
izvan jezičnim komponentama (intenzitetom ili visinom glasa), intonacijom ili naglaskom itd.) saopćava nešto o emocionalnomstanju onoga koji govori. Za razliku od toga, propozicionalni govor, i općenito propozicionalni semiotički sustavi, mogu stvaratisudove (stavove, iskaze) kojima se saopćava neka intelektualna informacija, neka tvrdnja koja je točna ili netočna.
Propozicionalnost podrazumijeva emocionalni i propozicionalni govor. Emocionalni govor je onaj koji neposredno, svojim izvan
jezičnim komponentama (intenzitetom ili visinom glasa), intonacijom ili naglaskom itd.) saopćava nešto o emocionalnom stanju
onoga koji govori. Diskretnost, koja podrazumijeva izraz lica, intonaciju glasa, pokretanje, primaju se kao globalne sinkretičke
cjeline. Polisemija - varijacija značenja govora i slike, tj. svakog znaka/znakovlja pojedinačno, čime se postiže znatna
prilagodljivost i fleksibilnost sustava i povećava njegova moć da se pomoću malog broja znakova omogući saopćavanje velikog
broja poruka. Polisemija se ograničava pomoću konteksta ili pomoću komunikativne situacije u cjelini. Višeslojna struktura –sloj smislenih jedinica i sloj kombinacija tih smislenih jedinica – proces razumijevanja i stvaranja saopćavanja pretpostavlja
kretanje od jedne razine prema drugoj (obuhvaća analizu i sintezu. Gramatika – semiotički sustavi ne sastoje se od gotovih
poruka već od diskretnih jedinica i sustava pravila za njihovo kombiniranje. To znači, posebnost semiotičkih sustava je u tome
što se od relativno ograničenog broja jedinica koje čine taj sustav pomoću ograničenog broja pravila može stvoriti neograničen
broj složenih jedinica (u, na, ispred, iza…) – semiotičkih odnosa (odnosa vršioca radnje, i radnje, odnosa lokacije, odnosa
atribucije, odnosa referencije itd).

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starim elementima, stvaranje novih spojeva jezičnih elemenata u cjelovite poruke, sposobnosti stvaranja hipoteza,
razmišljanje, stvaranje slikovnih ili verbalnih metafora (primjerice metafora pars pro toto, dio umjesto cjeline –ognjište(dio) umjesto kuća (cjeline). U tom smislu inspirativno je teoretsko motrište i pedagoški rad Giannia
Rodarija (1973.), posebice u dijelu gdje obrazlože načine kako se grade maštovite priče kao i priče koje su
povezane s emocionalnim iskustvom djeteta (Janković 110 – 112).
Maštovita prerada stvarnosti u Rodarijevim pričama odvija se na principu kontrasta prema neobičnim vezama, tj.
u neobičnom, neočekivanom povezivanju viđenog i doživljenog. Kroz uzajamno preplitanje realnosti i mašte, kroz
igru asocijacija, kroz misaone procese logičkog poretka, analize i sinteze koje deduciraju moguće, razbija selogično i rutinsko, sjedinjuje slučajno i - nastaju priče – igre. Kroz takve priče stimulira se govorna sloboda,
slobodno ovladavanje svih mogućnosti jezika, kao i poticanje antikonformizma.
Iz zadovoljstva slušanja priče uz pokretanje slika dijete dobiva želju i priopćiti je drugima, prijateljima ili odraslima,pri čemu, služeći se jezičnim simbolima kao sredstvom izražavanja misli i osjećaja, postupno razvija simboličku
transformaciju iskustva i svojstva jezika. Dok prepričavaju priču koju su slušali, ili pričaju novu, svoju, „izmišljenu“
priču na predložak one koju su slušali, djeca se igraju riječima, ponavljaju ih, okreću, mijenjaju im redoslijed, slažu
ih u nizove ili nove rečenice, pri čemu su sama i sugovornici i govornici (Vukonić – Žunić, Delaš 83). Dijete je,naime, tada upućeno na traženje jezičnih rješenja kroz koja manifestira svoju poznatu stvaralačku „graditeljsku“
komponentu u usvajanju jezika. Pripovijedajući neki umjetnički tekst uz pokretanje slika, dijete se velikim dijelom
koristi rječnikom tog teksta, preuzima manje jezične strukture, stilizaciju rečenice, stilske figure, kompoziciju te na
taj način razvija estetsku komponentu jezika (Pokrivka 31 – 32). Poželjno je stoga da odgojitelj pronalazi takve
priče – scenarije koji potiču dijete na otkrivanje i interpretaciju jezika u priči. Konačno, njegovanje vještine
pripovijedanja preko kamishibaia, čini od djece bolje govornike i bolje slušače, jača njihovu samosvijest,
koncentraciju, kreativnost, samopouzdanje te pomaže da bolje shvate sebe i svijet koji ih okružuje.
Razgovor s djecom poslije gledanja kamishibaia potiče igre uloga s junacima priče, predviđanje (što se moglo
dogoditi da je …), sjećanje na neke prethodne događaje, te samostalno izvođenje kamishibaia, a to su sve
aktivnosti koje izravno unapređuju govorni i socijalni razvoj, te neizravno, početke pismenosti odnosno čitanja ipisanja općenito.
Za stjecanje emocionalnog iskustva djeteta kroz priče, spomenuti Rodari uzima teme u vezi odrastanja djece,njihovih problema kod uspostavljanja djetetova odnosa s odraslima, neželjenim ponašanjima, tabu temama i sl.
Takve teme za građenje priča pomažu djeci koja osjećaju strah, tjeskobu, kaos i sl. Put emocionalnog
oslobađanja, spomenuti autor vidi u duhovitoj, komičnoj strani onoga što se smatra neprimjerenim, nemoralnim,
zabranjenim (u: Janković 111). Prevrtanjem, primjerice, represivnih normi u priči, postiže se šaljivo-parodijski
učinak i dijete navodi na smijeh, oslobađa ga straha i razvija osjećaj sigurnosti. Priča o dječaku koji se često
prljao dok je jeo i za to bio nagrađivan, a ne kuđen, uz sliku dječaka Prljavca, koji je neurednog izgleda,
nezgrapnih pokreta, priča postaje još duhovitija i smješnija za dijete. Upravo iz takve paradoksalne situacije – dase Prljavca nagrađuje, a ne kudi, dijete razumije da nije strašno zaprljati se i da se to može riješiti. Nakon takvih
priča, dijete će često samo željeti ispričati priču i uzeti slike koje je odrasli koristio tijekom pripovijedanja, nastavitće pripovijedati priču na svoj način, ili će izmisliti novu priču s nekim problemom iz svoga emocionalnog iskustva.
Ili, će razgovarati s odraslim (odgojiteljem) o liku/likovima iz prče, a to je prilika da se priča poveže i s drugim
aspektima dječjeg iskustva te na taj način, proširi djetetovo iskustvo i njegove mogućnosti. Wels ističe da ječestina slušanja priča, pričanja ili prepričavanja, značajnije povezana sa čitalačkim sposobnostima djece negočestina razgledavanja knjiga sa slikama. Isti autor, smatra da priče imaju centralnu ulogu u dječjem učenju i daaktivnost, zahvaljujući kojoj se uči ili otkriva, daje smisao stvarima i događajima, omogućuje zamišljanje onoga što
se zbiva u priči, kao i interpretaciju ideje zajedničke za onoga koji čita i onoga koji sluša (u: Meadows i Cashdan
122).
5. Zaključne misli: teorija se potvrđuje u praksiIzložit ćemo neka od iskustava splitskih odgojiteljica koje su izvodile kamishibai u dječjem vrtiću. Pored priča izknjiževnosti koje su opisivale različita emocionalna stanja likova, ove su odgojiteljice često pripovijedale i priče iz
svakodnevnog života djece, kako vrtićnog tako i obiteljskog. Takve priče, kako one izjavljuju, omogućile su djeci
da lakše razumiju vlastita emocionalna stanja koja svakodnevno doživljavaju prema odraslima kao i umeđusobnim odnosima. Priče sa sadržajem koji razrađuje odnose između odraslih i djeteta, simpatije iprijateljstva među djecom ili između djece i životinja, odnosa saveza između likova u kojima je izraženo
dogovaranje te odnosa u kojem je istaknut komični aspekt – zadirkivanje i šale između likova, odnosa između
slabijeg i jačeg lika u kojem jači pruža pomoć ili zaštitu slabijem, potakla su djecu da razgovaraju o osjećajima
prema vršnjacima i odraslima kao i društvenim normama koje svakodnevno susreću u životu. Odgojiteljice
zaključuju da je identifikacija djece s likovima iz priča, koje su im pripovijedale uz pokretanje slika, omogućila djeci
stjecanje općenito novih spoznaja iz različitih odgojno-obrazovnih područja. Posebice su priče o društvenim- 72 -

odnosima potakle djecu na razmišljanje kako se zauzimati za normu i zakon te kako rješavati određene
problemske situacije u kojima se priča o ljudskom odnosu.
Odgojiteljice ističu da tema priče za djecu predškolske dobi (od 3 do 7 godina) mora odgovarati njihovoj razvojnoj
razini i biti povezana s njihovim aktualnim iskustvom. Priča uvijek mora sadržavati i neki novi element (sadržaj),kako bi djeca tijekom procesa slušanja priče sa slikama, mogla strukturirati i konsolidirati već stečeno iskustvo i
istodobno graditi novo iskustvo – znanje (Vigotski, 217).
Kada se radi o djeci rane i predškolske dobi, nužno je prema njihovu mišljenju, imati na umu da priče ne budu
preduge te da imaju sretan završetak kao i izvjesni zaključak. S obzirom na uočeno – da su djeca veoma
osjetljiva na priče sa snažnim događajima, komičnim i dramatičnim, potrebno je nuditi priče koje imaju jaki „zalet“.
Takve priče održavaju osjećaj iščekivanja, napetost koja će iznenaditi, „šokirati“ i koju treba na kraju smiriti.
Odgojiteljice također izjavljuju da djeca vole priče koje opisuju djetinjstvo odraslog koga poznaju kao i priče ukojima ima humora, šaljivog.
Odgojiteljice ističu važnost izvođača - da svojom glumom, glasom i pokretima, „navede“ djecu – publiku da se
uključuju u priču, postavljajući pitanja, dajući komentare, prijedloge, i sl. Na taj se način mobilizira dječja
prisutnost verbalnim sudjelovanjem, potiče njihova refleksija i koncentracija oko odvijanja radnje. I poslije izvedbe
kamishibaia, dobro je provjeravati što su djeca razumjela i zapamtila iz priče, pitati za njihovo mišljenje - zašto je
nešto pošlo po zlu, što se dobro završilo i sl.
Snažan doživljaj priče uvijek potiče želju u djeci na samostalno pričanje– reproduciranje priče sa slikama koje jeprethodno koristio odgojitelj. Pritom djeca nikad doslovno ne prepričavaju priču, uvijek unose neko svoje
iskustvo, ili sadržaje iz drugih, njima poznatih priča.
Česti je povod da djeca samostalno izvode kamishibai kada zajedno gledaju fotografije (sa izleta ili neke
zajedničke svečanosti) i razgovaraju o njima. Te situacije potiču djecu da proživljene događaje ponovo izraze kroz
kamishibai. Pripovijedaju uz pokretanje fotografija, ali češće slikaju ili crtaju nove slike ili crteže koje će pratiti
priču.
Odgojiteljice izjavljuju da su djeca već od tri i pol godine sposobna ovladati trima stvaralačkim razinama dok
pripremaju i izvode kamishibai. To su:
razina ideje – djeca znaju koje će ideje iznijeti kroz pripovijedanje priče te kako će dati naslov priči;
razina koncepta pripovijedanja priče – priča ima početak, zaplet te završetak; djeca također znaju dadinamika pokretanja slika mora pratiti dinamiku pričanja;
razina likovnog oblikovanja sadržaja priče (Balić - Šimrak 5-8)
Iskustvo izvođenja kamishibaia u dječjem vrtiću pozitivno se odražava na razinu maštovitosti dječje igre ali i na
niz drugih sposobnosti djece kao što su: vještine verbalnog komuniciranja, bolje govorno-jezično izražavanje,
uspješniju suradnju među djecom, empatičnu komunikaciju djece tijekom igre i u drugim svakodnevnim
situacijama. Također, iskustvo svakodnevnog slušanja pripovijedanja priče preko butaia odražava se i na
bogatstvo drugih igara i u drugim umjetničkim područjima: dramsko-scenskom, likovnom, glazbenom, plesnopokretnom.
Pripremajući i izvodeći kamishibai, odgojiteljice su usavršile svoje sposobnosti pripovijedanja i glumačkog
izražavanja te postale osjetljivije za potrebe djece - više ih slušaju što im žele reći i zbog toga bolje komuniciraju s
djecom. A, situacija kada djeca pripremaju i(li) izvode kamishibai pruža odgojiteljicama mogućnost da dobiju
dragocjen uvid u dječji unutarnji svijet i na taj način bolje upoznaju njihove stvarne potrebe i interese.
Kamishibai, kako odgojiteljice izjavljuju, ih je obogatio u duhovnom i emocionalnom smislu te osnažio njihov
osobni i profesionalni rast

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Maleš, Zagreb,2011, str. 19-37.
BETTELHEIM, Bruno. Značenje bajki. Izdavački zavod Jugoslavija, Beograd, 1979.
BRATANIĆ, Marija. Mikropedagogija: interakcijsko-komunikacijski aspekt odgoja. Školska knjiga, Zagreb, 1993
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MARJANOVIĆ i dr., Beograd: Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva, Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1990. str. 19-29.
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NUSSBAUM, C. Martha. Ne profitu! Zašto demokracija treba humanistiku. Zagreb: Petar Šegedin; Institut za
filozofiju, 2012.
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Einaudi. Saggistica letteraria e linguistica, 1973.
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VIGOTSKI, Lav. Mišljenje i govor. Nolit, Beograd. 1977.
VUKONIĆ-ŽUNIĆ, Jasna, Delaš, Božena. Lutkarski medij u školi. Priručnik za učitelje i voditelje lutkarskihdružina. Zagreb: Školska knjiga, 2006.
WINNICOTT WOODS, Donald. Playing and Reality. London: Tavistock Publications Ltd., 1971.

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Kamišibaj in njegov transformativni duh

Jäger Gerhard

Spoštovanje tradicije
Kamišibaj je že stoletja podvržen neprestanemu procesu spreminjanja. Navdihoval je budistično filozofijo, laterno
magiko, rojstvo junakov mange ter vojno propagando, dokler niso z njim začeli poučevati bontona in moralističnih
vrednot v šolah. Od prodora v zahodni svet, kjer so to pripovedovalsko tehniko odkrili in sprejeli v osemdesetih
letih prejšnjega stoletja, vse več otrok in odraslih uživa v tej čarobni obliki pripovedovanja. Organizacije po vsem
svetu globoko spoštujejo japonsko tradicijo in obenem prosto prirejajo in spreminjajo kamišibaj. V tem prispevku
se posvečam raznolikosti umetniški tehnik in tem, s katerimi ustvarjamo zgodbe, oblikam ustvarjalnega
pripovedovanja v sodelovanju z ateljeji ali delavnicami ter raznolikosti prizorišč.
Umetniške tehnike in temeŠtevilni umetniki in ilustratorji že leta eksperimentirajo z različnimi tehnikami in velikostmi, ko ustvarjajo nove
zgodbe kamišibaja. Poleg risanja in/ali slikanja so popularne tehnike še kolaž, senčno gledališče, fotografije
scenskih postavitev ali različnih materialov, priredbe tiskanih slikanic in vezene podobe. Umetniki nekateretehnike izberejo, da bi presenetili občinstvo na vizualni ravni. Celo eksperimenti z belimi ali črnimi listi (kipredstavljajo snežni vihar ali temno noč) lahko pripeljejo do osupljivih rezultatov in sodelovanja občinstva. Izbira
tem za zgodbe ter njihove vsebine se odmika od standardnih pravljic, legend in vzgojnega konteksta šolskega
učnega načrta proti sodobnejšim vsebinam, ki so tesneje povezane z vsakodnevnim življenjem otrok in mladine, zločenimi družinami, s problematiko priseljevanja ali spola itd.
Ustvarjalne pripovedovalske kombinacije
Po predstavi kamišibaja je mogoče prirediti ustvarjalne delavnice, ki se posvečajo kulturnemu ozadju specifične
zgodbe, poleg tega pa obstajajo še številne možnosti, ki so odvisne od vsebine zgodbe in sposobnosti
pripovedovalca. Kombinacije z zvoki, pesmimi in glasbenimi inštrumenti so precej pogoste, vendar je mogoče
sklopu dodati tudi kuharske aktivnosti ali lekcije o znanosti. Tudi povezave z digitalnimi mediji so cenjene, treba je
le paziti, da zgodbe ne izgubijo poetične moči. Na daljših delavnicah v šolah se bolje pokažejo različni talenti indomišljija otrok, prav tako pa je mogoče predstavo interdisciplinarno povezati z drugimi šolskimi predmeti.
Raznolikost prizorišč in sodelovanja
Prilagodljivost tega edinstvenega instrumenta se kaže v uporabi koles za kamišibaj, udobnih prizorišč na tleh ali
pripovedovanja »iz roke« – vse to odpira širok razpon možnosti. Če pustimo ob strani pomen sodelovanja sšolami, je pomembno preučiti različna prizorišča in sodelovanja, ki jih lahko razvijamo za izvajanje projektov
kamišibaja: izobraževanja za bodoče učitelje, izobraževanja ob delu za učitelje, umetnostno-družbene
organizacije, zapore, domove za ostarele in zavode za ljudi s posebnimi potrebami, šotore, poulične festivale,plaže, kulturne ustanove, prehodne domove, družinske dnevne sobe, nakupovalne centre, muzeje, bolnišnice,knjižnice itd.
Vizualna pismenost
Trikrat verjetneje je, da bodo priseljenski otroci uspešno zaključili razred, če so v šoli redno v stiku z umetnostnimi
aktivnostmi. Spodbujanje jezikovnih sposobnosti s kamišibajem ni le posredna oblika širjenja ljubezni do branja inknjig, temveč tudi nujen politični prispevek k trudu za enake možnosti. Tako bodo male papirnate drame postaleše bolj nepogrešljive v našem postmodernem, domnevno »postnarativnem« svetu.
***
Gerhard Jäger, rojen leta 1956 v Gradcu v Avstriji, je petnajst let delal v gledališču Serapions na Dunaju. Od leta
1990 do 1995 je sodeloval pri kulturnih projektih na jugu Avstrije, blizu slovenske meje. V Bruslju je preddvajsetimi leti ustanovil ABC (ART BASICS for CHILDREN oziroma »osnove umetnosti za otroke«), neprofitnoorganizacijo, ki deluje na meji med umetnostjo in izobraževanjem kot laboratorij za estetske izkušnje inozaveščenost. Trenutno deluje kot umetniški koordinator organizacije. www.abc-web.be- 75 -

Kamishibai and its Spirit of Transformation

Jäger Gerhard

Respect for Tradition
For centuries, kamishibai has been in a constant transformation process. It taught Buddhist
philosophy, magic lantern performances, the birth of Manga heroes, and war propaganda until itchanged to the instruction of good manners and moralistic values at schools. Since the breakthroughin the Western world, where this narrative technique was discovered and embraced in the 1980s,
more and more children and adults have had the chance to experience and enjoy this magic form ofstorytelling. Besides having profound respect for the Japanese tradition, organisations around theworld continued in a broad spirit of adaption and transformation. In this paper I would like to focus on
the diversity of artistic techniques and themes to create stories, on ways of creative storytelling in
combination with ateliers or workshops and on the variety of locations.
Artistic Techniques and Themes
Numerous artists and illustrators have been experimenting for years with different techniques andsizes to create new kamishibai stories. Apart from drawing and/or painting, other popular techniques
are collage, shadow-theatre, photography of scene set-ups or different materials, adaptations ofprinted picture books, and embroidered pictures. Some examples are chosen to surprise the public ona visual level. Even experiments with white pages (expressing a snowstorm) or black pages(expressing a dark night) can lead to astounding results through audience participation. The choice ofthemes for the stories and their content has moved from the standard fairy tales, legends, and theeducational context of the school curriculum to a more contemporary level, which is more closely
related to the daily life of children and youngsters, families of divorcees, immigration and gender
problematics, etc.
Creative Storytelling Combinations
Besides working with the cultural background of a specific story through arts and crafts activities inateliers after storytelling sessions, there is a range of creative possibilities which can be used
depending on the story’s content and the capabilities of the storyteller. Combinations with sounds,
songs, and musical instruments are quite common, but also cooking activities or educational lessons
on science can be brought into relation. Even links with digital media are appreciated, so long as thestories do not lose their poetic power. Long term workshops in schools are certainly good opportunities
to use the children’s various talents and imagination and to make interdisciplinary combinations withvarious teaching subjects.
Variety of Locations and Partnerships
The flexibility of this unique instrument can be shown by using a kamishibai bike, a comfortable ‘down
to the floor’ setup, or storytelling ‘out of the hand’ – these create a broad range of possibilities. Leaving
aside the importance of working with schools, it is crucial to consider various locations andpartnerships to develop and realise kamishibai projects: academies for aspiring teachers, in-service
teaching courses, artistic-social organisations, prisons, homes for elderly and disabled people, tents,
street festivals, beaches, culture centres, immigrant houses, family living rooms, shopping centres,
museums, hospitals, libraries, etc.
Visual Literacy
It is three times more likely that immigrant children who had the opportunity to come in regular contact
with art activities at school will successfully finish their term. Stimulating language skills throughkamishibai is not only an indirect way of promoting the joy of reading and the love for books, but also a- 76 -

necessary political input to work on equal opportunities. In this way, the little paper-drama will beneeded more than ever in our postmodern, presumably ‘post-narrative’ world.
Keywords: Respect for Tradition, Artistic Technics and Themes, Creative Storytelling Combinations,
Variety of Locations and Partnerships, Visual Literacy

Gerhard Jäger (born in 1956, Graz, Austria) worked for 15 years in the Serapions Theatre in Vienna.
From 1990 to 1995 he was involved in cultural projects in the south of Austria near the Slovenian
border. 20 years ago Jäger started the ABC. ART BASICS for CHILDREN is a non-profit organisation
located in Brussels, Belgium, and operates on the border of the arts and education as a laboratory foraesthetic experiences and awareness. He is currently the artistic coordinator of the organisation. Helives in Brussels and has two children. www.abcweb.be, gerhard@abc-web.be***
Abstract available only

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Likovno formalni pristopi ter tehnike pri oblikovanju ilustracij za
kamišibaj

Karim Silva

Pri kamišibajski predstavi ima najpomembnejšo vlogo vizualni del. Dopolnjujeta ga gib in beseda, lahko tudi
glasba. Ilustracija nam odpre široko polje možnosti: od realističnih do abstraktnih podob, od karikature do
ekspresivnosti, od kolorističnih rešitev do asketskih, tonskih slik, od ploskovnih ilustracij do močnih prostorskih
iluzij, od črtne risbe do slike, grafike, fotografije … Vsaka likovna rešitev ima svoje sporočilo. Tako kot imamo pri
kamišibaju opraviti z govorjenim jezikom, imamo pri ilustracijah opraviti z likovnim jezikom, katerega gramatiko
tvorijo točka, linija, barva ter kontrast med svetlim in temnim. Pomembno vlogo imajo tudi likovne spremenljivke innačela gradnje kompozicije. Ob primerih ilustracij za kamišibaj bomo analizirali različne likovnoformalne pristope,
razmišljali bomo o likovnih tehnikah in njihovem učinkovanju pa tudi o pristopih, ki se pri kamišibaju izkazujejo kot
manj učinkoviti.
***
Silva Karim je po izobrazbi profesorica likovne umetnosti z znanstvenim magisterijem. Za polovični delovni čas
se ukvarja z likovnopedagoškim delom na osnovni šoli, za drugo polovico pa je samozaposlena v kulturi. Ukvarja
se z ilustracijo, slikarstvom in keramiko. Zadnja leta se intenzivneje ukvarja s kamišibajem, kjer je dosegla nekaj
vidnejših uspehov.

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Artistic Formal Aspects, Styles and Techniques in Designing
Kamishibai Illustrations

Karim Silva

In kamishibai theatre, the visual part plays the most important role. It is completed by motion andwords, sometimes even music. If we only focus on illustration, a vast field of possibility opens up: fromrealistic to abstract images, from caricature to expressivity, from colorist solutions to ascetic, shaded
drawings, from planar illustrations to strong illusions of space, from line drawings to painting,engraving, photography… Each artistic solution carries its own message. Just as the spoken part ofkamishibai deals with language, so does the illustrated part deal with artistic language, where thegrammar is built through points, lines, colour, and the contrast between light and dark. Artistic
variables and basic principles of composition building also play an important role. Through examplesof kamishibai illustrations, we will analyse various artistic formal approaches, consider artistic
techniques and their effects, as well as methods that are less useful for kamishibai illustrations.

Keywords: Artistic Formal Aspects, Styles, Techniques, Illustration Design, Kamishibai

Silva Karim is a professor of visual art with a scientific MA. She is employed part-time as a visual arts
teacher at a primary school, and part-time as a self-employed cultural worker. She works as anillustrator, painter, and potter. In the past years, she has begun to focus more on kamishibai theatre,with several notable successes marking her work.

***
Translation: Irena Saksida

A visual presentation is an important part of the kamishibai performance. We have noticed
that the authors often have an inappropriate mode of drawing illustrations. This makes theperformance, which can be brilliant, just pale and ineffective.
In recent years I've seen a lot of kamishibai performances. I noticed that the kamishibai
illustrators are very excited about using colored pencils. Of course, there is nothing wrong
with colored pencils if they are used in an effective way. Pencils are rich material,
which allow you to create soft shadows and transitions, as well as sharp, accurate lines.
Unfortunately, they are so often used on inappropriate paper surfaces. Furthermore, manyof them tend to paint very lightly with the pencils. The result of such kind of use are pale, lightcolors that have no real effect.
In the kamishibai performance we act with different forms of expression. The first one is the
spoken word, the other is the language of movement and facial expression. Of course,- 79 -

sounds or music should be involved. As I have said before, visual language is also very
important. This is the language of the kamishibai illustrations.
In visual art theory, visual language has its own grammar. A work of art can be analyzed byconsidering a variety of aspects of it individually. These aspects are often called
the elements of art. The main elements include a dot, a line, a color, a relationship between
light and dark and a texture. If we take a look around ourselves, everything that surrounds us
is shaped by these elements.
The other important thing is in the design approach itself. The options are endless. Let's takefor example the illustration of a fox.
Pictures:
The fox can be drawn simply with black ink, using dots, lines and the relationship between
light and dark.

We can draw it with black ink and water. This caricature is showing the features of the fox ina exaggerated way.

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We can paint it in a watercolor technique.

Sometimes we are very much inspired by art. I painted this illustration on a trip to Kurdistan,
impressed by Persian art.

I can also paint the fox in a way of expressionistic painting style.

- 81 -

Or graphically, with geometric shapes.

Also this cute fox is a collage painting, made of pieces of fabric and colored papers. It ismuch stylized.

We can print it in any printmaking technique.

- 82 -I shall paint it in the pop art style. If Keith Haring were alive, he would probably paint a fox
like this.

I also played with drip painting. Do you actually see the fox?

You could also draw shapes in the sand. Or by a finger in the cornflour, which is applied on adark background. And then you take a photo.

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However, the possibilities of artistic expression are infinite. It is important to choose a way ofillustrating that is effective. Of course, we try to be ourselves and find out our personal
expression. We try to discover our own authenticity. Yes, being yourself is an individual
mission, also in the field of art. And then we do it the way which could be our best to tellwhat we want to express in our presentation.

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Umetnost kamišibaja kot izobraževalna kognitivna tehnologija pri
poučevanju tujih jezikov v osnovni šoli v Ukrajini

Karpenko Jevgenija
zunanje sodelovanje

Kamišibaj je umetnost, ki bi jo lahko učinkovito povezali s procesi poučevanja in učenja. Njegova kognitivna
tehnologija prispeva k večji kognitivni učinkovitosti, socialni povezanosti pri izobraževanju, motivaciji invključevanju v procese poučevanja in učenja. Zelo uspešno jo lahko uporabimo že pri poučevanju najmlajših
učencev, saj učenju doda motivacijsko razsežnost. Njegov pristop pomaga tudi pri reševanju problema socialne
povezanosti pri izobraževanju različnih skupin učencev (z različno socialno dinamiko). Kamišibaj je povezan s
poglavitnimi nalogami izobraževanja – moralo in osmišljanjem. Glavni pristop je razvijati razmišljanje učencev,
zvišati raven njihovih kognitivnih sposobnosti in razvijati njihovo čustveno kulturo. Uporaba kamišibaja pri
poučevanju tujih jezikov v osnovni šoli v Ukrajini igra pomembno vlogo, saj se otroci učijo iskati kompromise,konstruktivno razreševati spore in pomagati drugim v stiski. Vse to je lažje zaradi edinstvene komunikacije pri
kamišibaju. Zgodbo lahko zasnujemo interaktivno, tako da otroke vodimo pri tem, da napovedo, kaj se bo zgodilo
v zgodbi, pomagajo glavnemu junaku pri reševanju problema in najdejo miroljubno rešitev, tudi če pride do
konflikta. Drug zelo učinkovit način uporabe kamishibaja pri poučevanju tujih jezikov v osnovni šoli je »tezukuri«,ročno izdelan kamišibaj, pri katerem otroci ustvarijo lastno zgodbo za »dosego celovitega življenjskega
izobraževanja« in kamišibaj uporabijo kot orodje za pripovedovanje zgodb. Videorokopis (angl. video scribing) je
inovativen način uporabe kamišibaja v izobraževalnih procesih. S programi, kot so Sparkol, Doodle Video itd.,
lahko sami v petih korakih ustvarimo lasten animiran video z belo tablo (http://www.videoscribe.co). To je nova
vrsta kamišibaja – interaktiven pristop k risanju slik in spremljanju govora.
***Mag. Dr. Jevgenija Karpenko je višja predavateljica na Oddelku za angleški jezik in primarno metodologijo
poučevanja angleščine kot tujega jezika (Izobraževalni in raziskovalni inštitut za pedagogiko, Žitomirska državna
univerza Ivana Franka, Žitomir, Ukrajina). Predava splošno jezikoslovje in metodologijo poučevanja angleščine
kot tujega jezika (vključno z osnovnošolsko stopnjo). Raziskovalno je delovala tudi na univerzi v Zilini na
Slovaškem. Ukvarja se z metodološkimi vprašanji strokovnega usposabljanja bodočih učiteljev tujih jezikov,
metodologijo poučevanja angleščine kot tujega jezika v Evropi, informacijskim in analitičnim usposabljanjem
bodočih učiteljev tujih jezikov itd. E-pošta: karpenko26@i.ua.

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The Art of Kamishibai as an Educational Cognitive Technology in
FLT in Primary School in Ukraine

Karpenko Yevgeniya
External Participation

Kamishibai is an art which could be effectively connected with the teaching and learning processes. It
can allow starting education from the youngest students and successfully educating them by creatingof motivated learning dimension. The main aim is to develop thinking of the pupils, to increase thelevel of their cognitive ability as well as develop their emotional culture. Using kamishibai in FLT in
primary school in Ukraine is aimed at children who are at different stages in their English-language
learning. The stories may come from around the world and include traditional stories and modern
retellings of fairy tales, animal stories, stories about everyday life, stories from other cultures andfantasy stories. Much can be explored in the stories selected: new concepts, new language,
opportunities for crosscurricular links, and developing intercultural awareness and citizenship. It is up
to the teacher to choose the right story for the linguistic and conceptual level of the children. Eachchild is a unique learner and the art of kamishibai can make learning experiences meaningful for eachchild.
Keywords: Kamishibai, Teaching, Teaching Languages, Educational Cognitive Technology, Primary
SchoolMgr. Yevgeniya Karpenko, PhD. - Senior teacher at Department of the English Language andPrimary ELT Methodology (Educational and Research Institute of Pedagogics, Zhytomyr Ivan Franko
State University, Zhytomyr, Ukraine). She lectures on general linguistics, ELT methodology (primarylevel included). She completed a research stay at the university of Zilina, Slovakia. She is publishingand dealing with the methodological issue of professional training of prospective foreign language
teachers, ELT methodology in Europe, formation of information and analytical skills of prospective
foreign language teachers, etc.
Contact information: Mgr. Yevgeniya Karpenko, PhD. Department of the English Language andPrimary ELT Methodology, Educational and Research Institute of Pedagogics, Zhytomyr Ivan Franko
State University, 40, Velyka Berdychivska Str., Zhytomyr, Ukraine, 10008. E-mail:mailto:karpenko26@i.ua.

***
1. Introduction

Stories have always been an effective cognitive tool for educators (Egan, 2005). Reading
picture books aloud to children is known to have a positive effect on young children’s
academic performance (van den Heuvel-Panhuizen et al., 2016). It helps to extend thechildren’s’ imagination and involve the children in discussing the content of the story andsupport their learning of vocabulary, conceptual development, comprehension, and content
knowledge (Panayota and Helen, 2011).
- 86 -

This paper discusses a popular form of Japanese drama called ‘Kamishibai’, meaning ‘paper
drama’ (de las Casas, 2006). Kamishibai is a form of ‘story-telling, or performance art thatemerged in Japan in the late 1920s’ (McGowan, 2010). It is a kind of drama performance inwhich characters act out a story represented on a series of pictures.
The Kamishibai that will be discussed here is called ‘Kyouiku (pedagogic) Kamishibai’ incontrast to ‘Gaito (street) Kamishibai.’ Pedagogic Kamishibai is usually performed inchildren’s centres and public libraries. Street Kamishibai is enacted by professional
performers for the audiences of children who gather to watch the performance. Street
Kamishibai requires a ‘Butai (stage)’ which is a wooden frame for the cards, but in pedagogic
Kamishibai, teachers usually hold the cards in their hands, reads them aloud and thus
involves children in the world of the story. Yone Imai, who established ‘Kamishibai-Kanko-kai’(Kamishibai publisher) in 1933, is considered to be the first person to use Kamishibai forpedagogical purposes. She was a Christian and used Kamishibai to teach Bible stories, forexample, the Christmas story. Her activity is widely viewed as an example of pedagogic
Kamishibai (Bingushi and Taneichi, 2005). Street Kamishibai began to decline from 1953
forward (Shimokawa, 2002), but pedagogic Kamishibai, however, has remained a popularpedagogic tool for many practitioners in early childhood institutions.
Kamishibai uses a sequence of picture cards that make up a story. Each card has a pictureon the front side and the text of the story on the back with a miniature replica of the frontfacing pictures. The performers are recommended to perform the cards rather than to readthem directly, so that looks like theatre. One of the important actions in the telling of a
Kamishibai story is the displacement of the paper cards (Horio, and Inaniwa, 1972). Throughdisplacement, audiences can watch the physical transformation of the character or theenvironment and, therefore, of the psychological transformation of the atmosphere in thestory. This action is very effective at getting the audience to empathise with the story and thecharacters. For example, when a performer reveals only part of the next card, the audience
begins to imagine what happens there, what the rest of the card will reveal. The text that
accompanies the pictures is composed of descriptive and conversational sections. The
audience has to be able to differentiate the characters’ voices from the narrator’s voice inorder to understand the story. This is sometimes difficult for younger children. In
conversational sections, it is difficult for them to differentiate which character is speaking. In
other words, the audience has to actively imagine the scenes and the story in Kamishibai in adifferent way than in a puppet show or a bodily drama play. These constraints mightstrengthen cognitive function for children.
Another possible way of using kamishibai in FLT in primary school is "tezukuri" [McGowan(2015), P. 16], hand-made kamishibai in which children create their own stories to "achievecomprehensive life education" [Nesterova M. (2017), P. 16] using kamishibai as a storytelling
tool. Video scribing is an innovative way of kamishibai in the education processes. With
Sparkol - Doodle Video, etc. there is a possibility in a 5 steps to create your own whiteboard
video (http://www.videoscribe.co). This is a new type of kamishibai: an interactive approachin drawing the pictures and following speech.

- 87 -

2. Methods of the study
In our research, we use the following methods: theoretical - the analysis of philosophical,
pedagogical and psychological literature, which make it possible to clarify the nature of thebasic concepts of research, systematization and synthesis of theoretical and empirical data,with which we can show the real state of the possibility of using kamishibai in foreign
language lessons in primary education in Ukraine.
3. Results of the study
The educational value of using the technique of storytelling has rarely been disputed.
However, there is some resistance among teachers to using stories, including picture stories,
in the primary English language teaching classroom. This is, as the observation shows, for avariety of reasons:- a lack of teacher’s confidence in their ability to tell stories or read stories aloud- a feeling that the language in storybooks is too difficult- a lack of understanding about the true value of using picture stories.
- a lack of understanding of how to use picture stories and of time to prepare a plan ofwork.
Some of the reasons mentioned above are connected with lack of information and practice inusing picture stories, including Kamishibai in foreign language lessons in primary educationin Ukraine. However, children enjoy listening to stories in foreign languages and are familiar
with narrative conventions. For example, as soon as they hear the sentence Once upon atime… they can make predictions about what the next activity will be like. For this reason,
kamishibai can provide an ideal introduction to the foreign language as they present
language in a repetitive and memorable context. Kamishibai can also provide the starting
point or act as a springboard for a wide variety of related language and learning activities.
Our study is aimed at finding out possible ways of using Kamishibai as an educational
cognitive technology in FLT in primary school in Ukraine. The analysis of the scientific andmethodological literature (Ellis G., Brewster J. (2002), Ishiguro, H. (2018)) revealed possible
reasons for using kamishibai as a picture story technique in FLT in primary school in Ukraine:- Kamishibai stories chosen may be motivating, challenging and enjoyable and canhelp develop positive attitudes towards the foreign language, culture and language
learning.
- Kamishibai stories may exercise the imagination. Children can become personallyinvolved in a story as they identify with the characters and try to interpret the narrative
and the pictures. This imaginative experience can help develop their own creative
power.
- Kamishibai stories may be a useful tool in linking fantasy and the imagination with thechild’s real world. They provide a way of enabling children to create shared social
experience as they may provoke a shared response of laughter, sadness, excitement
and anticipation which is not only enjoyable but can help build up the child’s
confidence and encourage social and emotional development more effectively.
- Many kamishibai stories contain natural repetition of some key vocabulary andstructures. This helps children to remember the details, so they can gradually learn toanticipate what is about to happen next in the story. Repetition also encourages
pattern practice in a meaningful context. It also allows the teacher to introduce orrevisenew
vocabulary
andsentence
structures- 88 -

-

-

-

-

in memorable and familiar contexts, which will enrich children’s thinking and graduallyenter their own speech.
Kamishibai stories may help children become aware of the rhythm, intonation andpronunciation of a foreign language.
Kamishibai stories meet individual interests and diverse learning needs by allowing
children to respond at their own linguistic or cognitive level and make learning
meaningfulforeach. child.
Kamishibai stories reflect the culture of their authors, thereby providing ideal
opportunities for presenting cultural information and encouraging intercultural
understanding.
Kamishibai stories develop children’s learning strategies such as listening for generalmeaning, predicting, guessing meaning and hypothesising. In particular, they candevelop the child’s listening skills and concentration via the visual clues (high-quality
pictures that support children’s understanding).
Kamishibai stories provide opportunities for linking English with other subject areas
across the curriculum.
Learning a foreign language through stories can lay the foundations for secondary
school in terms of learning basic language functions and structures, vocabulary andlanguage-learning skills.

The above mentioned reasons reveal that Kamishibai as an educational cognitive technology
will help to increase a cognitive effectiveness, social cohesion in education, motivation andinvolvement in teaching and learning processes (Ellis G., Brewster J. (2002), Ishiguro, H.
(2018)). Let’s provide an overview of different activities aimed at developing children’s
cognitive skills as well as learning vocabulary, listening and speaking and writing skills. Let’s
start with vocabulary. Kamishibai helps to present the vocabulary in a story in a vivid andclear context and the illustrations help to convey meaning. Both the context and thesituations can make the vocabulary easy to remember. For example, pupils will probably
have no problem recalling the names of the animals and their associated colours or objects
in a room etc. Words are easier remembered in groups that have something in common.
Because of this, we can try to introduce new words in colour sets, for example (e.g, grouping
together objects that are green – a pea, a leaf, an apple, a caterpillar, a bird, etc.). Below aresome other examples of working with the vocabulary:- referring to illustrations: point to pictures and discuss;- guessing from context: encourage pupils to guess the meanings of words they do not
know; eliciting: ask pupils questions what they would expect someone to say or do ina particular situation to elicit vocabulary;- sequencing: ask pupils to sequence the objects as they appear in the story;- labelling: pupils can label a picture or a diagram, e.g. the life stages of the main
characters;- classifying/sorting: ask pupils to sort words into different categories, for example,
sweet or salty food.
Let’s look at some examples:
1. Activity, aimed at semantization of the lexical units in the process of their classificationaccording to the criteria set.

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Task: Kids, let’s recollect the story about animals we’ve watched today and choose theappropriate picture with a word and organize the words into 2 groups “Domestic animals”,“Farm animals”.
Procedure: The children select and order of the pictures of the animals.
Method of control: control by the teacher.
2. Activity, aimed at mastering the form and meaning of lexical units with the help of guessing
the right word.
Task: Watch the story and fill in a suitable gap in the fairytale.
Procedure: Children form pairs. Each pair has a text of fairy tales with gaps. Children fill in asuitable gap in the fairytale.
The expected reaction: Children fill in a suitable gap in the fairytale.
Example:Once upon a time, there was a girl named …. She lived with her … One day, the princess
wanted to see the…. When the princess came there she saw the … His name is … They fellin … and were married.
Method of control: control by the teacher.
3. Activity, aimed at using lexical units in a communicative situation with the help of
sequencing the words.
Task: Dear children, let’s write a letter to a friend and tell them the story we’ve watchedtoday. But first let’s sequence the vocabulary for it.
Procedure: Children sequence the vocabulary from a story and write a letter.
The expected reaction:
Example:Once upon a time, there was a girl named Cinderella. She lived with her father. …
Method of control: control by the teacher.
Stories can introduce pupils to the grammatical structures of English in a natural andauthentic way and the rich context and visual support helps them understand the meanings
these structures convey. The natural repetition and cumulative content in some stories also
encourages pupils to join in when the story is being watched and heard, allowing certain
structures to be acquired without being formally or explicitly introduced. Pupils need,however, to have some structures more formally and explicitly introduced and then practiced.
How this is done depends on the age of the children as well as their knowledge of grammar
in their mother tongue. Children tend initially to learn language by chunks when they listen
and repeat after the teacher in order to master the rhythm and pronunciation, but there is no
reason why we should not encourage them to look more closely at how a certain structure isformed when they have to write it down. The teacher can outline in the story notes the
structures to be introduced or revised and practised. Many of these consist of questions,
instructions, statements, and simple descriptions that arise from the related language
activities. Here is an example of how the frequently used structure ‘He/she like …ing?’ canbe presented in a lesson on food with help of a kamishibai story.

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4. Activity, aimed at practicing the grammar structures in the process of classifying theinformation from a story according to the criteria set.
Task : Kids, let’s recollect the story about Cinderella we’ve watched today, choose theappropriate picture with a word and organize the sentences with them into 2 groups“Cinderella”, “Cinderella’s sisters”.
Procedure: The children select and order of the pictures of the activities and write sentences
like “Cinderella likes cooking”, “Cinderella’s sisters like sleeping”.
Method of control: control by the teacher.
Listening to stories is not a passive activity. As children listen, they are noticing the subtle
differences in storyteller’s voice, matching any visuals shown to the language they arehearing, building up their own pictures in their heads, trying to predict what comes next,
guessing the meanings of the new words and so on. So, a great deal of informationprocessing takes place in learners’ heads. To help children to listen with understanding is toensure they are motivated and actively involved while listening. Pupils will be able to follow astory more effectively and listen with understanding if we focus their attention on specificpoints they must listen out for, or if we have provided them with important backgroundknowledge of the topic and key language of the story. We can support our learners’
understanding further by providing different kinds of visual support or written framework,
such as pictures, charts or diagrams. Here are some ways to bear in mind when planning todevelop cognitive skills through listening. Listen for specific information. Children appreciatethat they cannot be expected to understand every word, especially after only hearing
something once or twice. We need to be clear how much detail we think learners canprocess after just one chance to listen. We may decide we want them to listen out only forspecific words, for example, ‘Stand up if you hear a colour word.’ Or we may want thelearners just to get the gist of the storyline. In a second reading we might choose a smaller
part of the story and ask the children to focus more on specific details, such as following theexact sequence of events or asking them to predict what will happen next.
- Listen and repeat if true. This can be used when a story has a lot of repetition and thechildren can join in. We can ask pupils to repeat something only if it is true.
- Listen and discriminate. In this kind of activity we focus the learners’ attention on
pronunciation
features, such as listening for words that rhyme, or on selecting phrases that have thesame rhythmic pattern. Pupils may also be asked to listen out for words and stand up
when
they hear them or to do gap-filling where pupils listen and write the words. Pupils
could also listen out for specific words in a story and tick off those words when they
hear them.
- Listen and perform actions or follow instructions. This kind of activity is used
when the learners are asked to trace a route on a plan or map following directions‘left’, ‘right’, ‘next to’, ‘first’, ‘second’, ‘third’, etc.
- Listen and draw or colour. Picture dictation is often used to help pupils focus on key
nouns and on adjectives that describe colour, size, shape and so on. The picture canhave missing items that the learners add as they listen.
- Listen and label. This kind of activity is used with drawings, maps or diagrams where
the pupils are asked to listen to a description of an animal, person or place in order tolabel the key parts.

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Listen and guess. This type of listening is often based on the description of something
whose identity the pupils have to guess.
Listen and predict. This activity presupposes predicting the events in the story,
judging by the facts from it.
Listen and match. This usually involves matching spoken words to pictures. It caninvolve matching pictures or words – such as those in speech bubbles – to otherwritten texts.
Listen and sequence. This activity is usually based on written phrases or pictures thatthe children sequence while they listen to a story.
Listen and classify. This activity is also usually based on pictures; the pupils listen
carefully to a series of descriptions and sort pictures into different sets.
Listen and transfer information. This activity usually involves interaction in pairs orgroups. The children complete a questionnaire or carry out a survey where they ask
each other questions and listen carefully for the answers. The responses can berecorded on a chart to consolidate understanding.

Here is an example of an activity.
Activity, aimed at forming skills of listening for gist and classification of lexical units according
to the criteria set.
Task : – Kids, let’s listen to the story and choose the appropriate pictures with food andorganize the words into groups according to what food the main characters like to eat.
Procedure: The children select and order of the pictures of the animals.
Method of control: control by the teacher.
Speaking practice in primary school is often controlled and mainly initiated by the teacher. It
generally consists of simple questions and answers. The following activities can be used in
the process of watching a kamishibai story and progress from tightly controlled practice tofreer communication.
- Look and ask. As a preparation for freer activities such as questionnaires and surveys
or pair work, the teacher can use picture prompt cards. After introducing the question,‘How many trees are there?’ and getting the answer, ‘There are three trees’, theteacher gives another picture card (five flowers) to a pupil and instructs them to ask
another pupil: ‘Mark, ask Mary!’ Mark shows Mary the picture and asks, ‘How many
flowers are there?’ Mary replies. The teacher can then ask the class, ‘Is that right,
children?’ This provides controlled practice where the children are focusing on
producing the correct form and pronunciation of words and phrases.
- Guessing games. These games usually involve children asking questions or
describing
somethingor someone. For example, pupils draw a picture of a character from the story, without
showing the class. Children can also describe the character in the class without
saying her name. ‘She’s got long hair.’ The class must guess who it is. ‘Is it
Cinderella?’, etc.
- Information gap. These activities are usually carried out in pairs or groups and often
involve children asking and answering questions. One partner from a pair has some
information that the other does not have. The aim is to find out what this information
is so as to complete a task.

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Questionnaires and surveys. The aim here is to interview other classmates about, forexample, about their likes and dislikes, and to present the information ona chart.
Role play. Role play gives an opportunity for language that has been presented in astory to be used in a different context. For example, pupils act out a shopping
dialogue inspired by the story.

Here is an example of an activity.
Activity, aimed at forming dialogical speaking skills on the basis of survey results.
Task : Recollect the plot of the story, try to remember or guess what are tastes in food of themain characters. Imagine that you are characters of a story and have to go to a shop and wantto buy some food. Somebody will be a seller and somebody will be a buyer. Tell the seller what
you want to buy.
Procedure: Children recollect the tastes of the main characters in a story and make a shopping
list. The teacher chooses the buyer and the seller. Children compose a dialogue.
The expected reaction: Children play the dialogues.
Example:- Good morning!
- Good morning!
- What do you want?
- I want (bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples…)- How much is it?
- Two pounds.
- Here you are.
- Thank you.
- You are welcome.
- Goodbye!
- Goodbye!
Method of control: control by the teacher.
Young children might still be struggling to learn to read in English in primary school. It is agood idea to encourage pupils to notice any examples of written English in the stories, suchas signs, notices or advertisements. This kind of reading awareness is a useful prelude toencouraging pupils to think about different reading purposes, such as reading stories forenjoyment and for information. Reading in English at an early stage in primary school may
remain at the letter and word level, so we may have flashcards with both words and pictures.
We might colour-code the flashcards in some way, for example, all adjectives in pink, allnouns in green, all verbs in blue and so on. We can present new words before watching astory and then pupils can work in pairs with flashcards to practice reading and to try andcollect as many words correctly read as they can or to collect as many matching pairs ofwords as they can.
Gradually the pupils will become more confident in reading the written word without pictures.
Other activities, such as story friezes or labelling pictures with flashcards in alphabet, orclassifying words into word families help the pupils to recognize the key words of a story andremember their meaning.

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The use of charts of different kinds helps in reading development and provides a framework
to support children’s speaking skills. When using a chart children might describe, compare orclassify things. Reading practice may also be derived from listening work, such as when
pupils listen for specific words and tick them off in a list. The following activities summarise
the types of reading activities that can be used with kamishibai stories.
- Reading with flashcards. Children sequence words or match these with pictures.
Reading to reconstruct texts. We may use vocabulary prompt cards to help pupils
make statements.
- Reading as a prompt for speaking. We may use pictures as prompts rehearses
sentence patterns.
- Reading and ticking a chart to ask questions or make sentences. This activity also
provides a guided context for rehearsing specific structural patterns.
- Reading words and rearranging them to make sentences. This is a useful way ofchecking comprehension and the understanding of word order.
- Reading sentences and reconstructing a whole text of a story.
- Matching pictures to speech bubbles. As the pupils listen to the teacher reading astory they read a selection of speech bubbles and choose the correct one.
- Sequencing. While the children listen to a piece of story or to a description theyarrange the sentences in the right order- Verifying written statements. The pupils read statements in a quiz, or sentences
derived from pictures, or a graph written by other pupils, and check if they are true or
false.
- Reading lists of words or sentences to classify words or to write word or conceptwebs.
- Reading problems from the story and matching them with their solutions.
Here is an example of an activity.
Activity, aimed at forming skills of reading at a sentence level and arranging the informationin the right order.
Task: Kids, let’s listen to the story, choose the appropriate sentence and organize them in
the right order.
Procedure: The children select and order of the sentences.
Method of control: control by the teacher.
When supporting pupils’s writing skills, it is important to know which skills the children arepractising in a writing task. Younger pupils may learn to write, while older pupils who havemastered the basic skills may move further and use writing to learn as writing activities arethey nearly always chosen to provide practice in spelling, handwriting, vocabulary andgrammar. There are ways that we can encourage our pupils to write things down to help
them remember vocabulary, to encourage them to plan ideas, to write down their ideas, tocommunicate with one another, etc. Children also need practice in how to organise
descriptions, comparisons and instructions in writing, how to use specific structural patterns
to form sentences, or how to plan layout, as in a letter or poster. These are all parts of thewriting process that need to be practiced so that they become easier for pupils. As learners
develop, it becomes more important for teachers to create opportunities for them to have acontext and audience to write for. This is a very important part of writing to communicate.
Children can be encouraged to write sentences about the kamishibai story they’ve watched,and other children have to decide if the sentences are true or false.
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The teacher can encourage children to experiment with different text types, such as
descriptions, poems, crosswords, invitations, birthday cards, dialogues, letters, menus,
instructions or puzzles. Older pupils may even write simple re-tellings of a kamishibai story,
using different characters or a different ending, which can be given to other pupils to read. An
important part of this process is guided activities or a bank of suitable vocabulary. Anotherimportant stage is collaboration among pupils during which they discuss ideas, plan thewriting.
Writing activities that we can use with kamishibai stories can be divided into those that are
guided and encourage some form of copying, and those that are a little freer and encourage
more creativity. Copying at word- or sentence-level can be more or less guided by pictures,
written models, substitution charts and so on. Guided copying is often used to practice
handwriting, spelling and new grammatical constructions from the story. The use of a
substitution chart, for example, can provide a simple sentence pattern, which the children
can adapt according to the information on the chart. Lists of words can be provided for
pupils to classify under different headings, which may allow them to use some of their own
ideas. Freer, more creative writing activities that encourage and support pupils incomposing sentences or texts should also be used to provide variety and encourage
creativity and learner independence. With this kind of freer activity pupils practice planning,organizing ideas and understanding the conventions of different text types, such as layout.
Designing a poster or advertisement, for example, requires a learner to focus on the mostimportant pieces of information and present them in a way that is eye-catching. Guided
writing activities are a necessary foundation for more creative writing and, if carefully
sequenced, can provide opportunities for pupils to practice writing based on the content of astory at word-, sentence or text-level.
Here is an example of an activity.
Activity, aimed at forming skills of writing a text and arranging the information in the rightorder.
Task: Kids, let’s listen to the story, organize the words given them in the right order and write
an invitation for a Cinderella’s wedding from her name.
Procedure: The children order of the words and write an invitation.
Method of control: control by the teacher.
4. Conclusion
The experience of dramatization is a rich source for developing different learning skills. Whenselecting activities, we should try to make these as varied as possible to allow all children toparticipate according to their ability and stage in learning. We should provide plenty ofopportunities for children to work in pairs or groups. This encourages maximum participationand individual practice in speaking. Kamishibai proved an effective way for the children toreflect on and express thoughts and ideas about the story. It reveals a broad variety ofpossibilities of using kamishibai as an educational cognitive technology in FLT, as children
can analyze and work with the content of the story in different ways for better understanding
and developing their English language skills. For example, analyzing the plot and thecharacters, pointing out the main details, comparing the characters, predicting, guessing,hypothesizing, interpreting the narrative and the pictures may not only develop children’s- 95 -

cognitive skills but also form a positive attitudes towards the foreign language, culture andlanguage learning.

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culture,” in The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research (3rd Edn), eds N. K. Denzin and Y.
S. Lincoln (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications), 411–441.
BINGUSHI, K., and Taneichi, J. (2005). ‘Kamishibai As Media in Early Childhood Care and
Education—A Consideration Based on the History of Kamishibai.’ (St. Mary’s College:
Annual Report of Studies), Vol. 27, 53–67.
DE LAS CASAS, D. (2006). Kamishibai Story Theater: the Art of Picture Telling. Santa
Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited Inc.
EGAN, K. (2005). An Imaginative Approach to Teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
FINLEY, S. (2005). “Arts-based inquiry: performing revolutionary pedagogy,” in The Sage
Handbook of Qualitative Research (3rd Edn), eds N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln (Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications), 681–694.
ELLIS G., Brewster J. (2002). Tell it Again!: The New Storytelling Handbook for Primary
Teachers. Penguin English.
HORIO, S., and Inaniwa, K. (1972). Kamishibai: sozo-to-kyoikusei (Kamishibai: creation andpedagogic potentiality). Tokyo: Doshisha Publisher. Revisiting Japanese Multimodal Drama
Performance
ISHIGURO, H. (2005). “Development of imagination through drama play with adults,” inProceedings of the Symposium ‘Play, Drama and Life’ at the First ISCAR Congress, Sevilla.
ISHIGURO, H. (2017). “Collaborative play with dramatization: an afterschool programme of‘Playshop’ in a Japanese early childhood setting,” in Routledge International Handbook ofPlay in Early Childhood, eds T. Bruce, P. Hakkarainen, and M. Bredikyte (London: Taylor &Francis/ Routledge), 274–288.
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Performance Ethnography: Picture-Mediated Reflection on ‘Kamishibai’ In Tatiana Chemi, T.
& Du, X. (Eds.), Arts-Based Methods in Education around the World, River Publisher,
Denmark. 89-105.
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Oaks, CA: Sage Publications), 421–433.
MCGOWAN, T. Performing Kamishibai: An Emerging New Literacy for a Global Audience,Routledge, 2015. – 315p.
MCGOWAN, T. M. (2010). The Kamishibai Classroom: Engaging Multiple Literacies throughthe Art of ‘Paper Theater.’ Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited Inc. Minwaza (2016).
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NESTEROVA M. Educational Cognitive Technologies as Human Adaptation Strategies //Future Human Image. Volume 7, 2017, P. 107.
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PAATELA-NIEMINEN, M. (2008). The intertextual method for art education applied inJapanese paper theatre—a study on discovering intercultural differences. Int. J. Art Des.
Educ. 27, 91–104.
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SHIMOKAWA, K. (ed.). (2002). Kindaikodomoshinenpyo (Modern History of Children): 1868–
1926. Vol. 1 Meiji and Taisho era. Tokyo: Kawade Shobo Shinsha. The department of social
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VAN DEN HEUVEL-PANHUIZEN, M., Iliada, E., and Alexander, R. (2016). Effects of reading
picture books on kindergartners’ mathematics performance. Educ. Psychol. 36, 323–346.

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Kamišibaj kot sredstvo izražanja za ljudi z motnjami v duševnem
razvoju

Kermauner Aksinja, Cvetko Jerca in Engelsberger Jure

Ljudi z intelektualnimi primanjkljaji definiramo kot posameznike z nižjo ali specifično ravnijo inteligentnosti, spomanjkanjem spretnosti ali z omejenimi kognitivnimi, govornimi, motoričnimi ali družbenimi sposobnostmi.
Njihovi miselni procesi so konkretni in številni med njimi nikoli ne dosežejo ravni abstraktnega mišljenja. Vse to bi
radi presegli, ko ljudem z milimi, srednjimi ali hudimi intelektualnimi primanjkljaji predstavimo gledališče kamišibaj.
Kot pravi Kranjčan, umetnostna, glasbena in kulturna področja vsebujejo številne izkustvene, pedagoško-razvojne
in oblikovne priložnosti za ljudi z intelektualnimi primanjkljaji. Proces seznanjanja s kamišibajem, njegovim
nastankom in postavitvijo na oder odpira nova področja razmišljanja in aktivnosti. Vsak del kamišibaja torej
vključuje različne kognitivne procese in dopušča individualno izražanje vsakemu posamezniku, a mu kljub temu
ne odreka umetniške svobode z jasnim ciljem (kamišibaj kot izdelek in igra). Kamišibaj predstavlja lažje
razumevanje zgodbe, saj je ta podprta s slikami (ključne scene so ilustrirane) in s pripovedovalčevo glasovnointerpretacijo. Ilustracije pomagajo, kadar je treba povzeti vsebino besedila. Ustvarjanje lastnega kamišibaja
odpira novo paleto možnosti izražanja. Poleg tega, da si lahko posameznik sam izbere, kakšno vsebino bo delil z
drugimi, lahko izbira tudi med različnimi umetniškimi tehnikami (risanje, slikanje, kolaž, fotografija itd.). Končni
izdelek vedno prežema avtorjev (ali skupinski) značaj, ki kar kliče po umetniški ali ustni predstavitvi. Kamišibaj
lahko deluje tudi kot skupinski projekt za tiste, ki se ne morejo umetniško ali govorno izražati in bi radi drugače
sledili zgodbi in jo interpretirali, na primer s pomočjo glasbe ali gibanja. Ta umetniška svoboda in širok spektermožnosti izražanja v kamišibaju sta še posebej dobrodošla pri delu z ljudmi z intelektualnimi primanjkljaji, saj
ponujata okvir za značilnosti in izrazje vsakega posameznika. Aktivna udeležba, priprava predstave in besedni ter
glasbeni nastop kamišibaja spodbujajo osebe z intelektualnimi primanjkljaji k učenju skozi različne čute in jih
motivirajo z občutkom uspešnosti, ki ga doživijo ob odzivu občinstva. Kamišibaj spodbuja psihosocialne procese,ki prispevajo h gradnji identitete, družbenih sposobnosti in empatije. Tako se posameznikove izkušnje in mišljenje
spreminjajo in tudi vplivajo na njihovo obnašanje.
***
Dr. Aksinja Kermauner (rojena leta 1956 v Ljubljani) je po poklicu tiflopedagoginja (učiteljica slepih) ter
profesorica umetnosti in slovenščine. 26 let je poučevala na Zavodu za slepo in slabovidno mladino v Ljubljani.
Zdaj predava o metodah dela s slepo in slabovidno mladino na Pedagoški fakulteti Univerze na Primorskem.
Napisala je številne članke, več muzikalov, komedij ter šestindvajset knjig za otroke, mladino in odrasle. Ena odteh, mladinski roman Berenikini kodri, je vključena v zbirko Bele vrane 2008 Mednarodne mladinske knjižnice
(Internationale Jugendbibliothek) v Münchnu. Njena dela Kakšne barve je tema?, prva slovenska tipna slikanicaSnežna roža ter Žiga špaget gre v širni svet so bila v letih 1997, 2005 in 2011 vključena v zbirko Izjemnih knjig za
otroke s posebnimi potrebami, ki jo vsaki dve leti ureja IBBY-jev dokumentacijski center za knjige za otroke s
posebnimi potrebami. Aksinja Kermauner je predsednica mladinske sekcije Društva slovenskih pisateljev in
podpredsednica Društva specialnih in rehabilitacijskih pedagogov Slovenije.
Jerca Cvetko je dipl. pedagoginja ter samozaposlena v kulturi. Kot performerka gledališča kamišibaj se z njim
praktično in raziskovalno ukvarja že od leta 2014. Kamišibaj redno uprizarja na domačih in mednarodnih kulturnih
dogodkih ter raziskuje njegovo uporabo v pedagogiki in terapiji. Je članica zveze IKAJA (International Kamishibai
Association of Japan) in podpredsednica Društva kamišibaj Slovenije.
Jure Engelsberger je dipl. oblikovalec in ilustrator (1977). Že od nekdaj riše po domišljiji. Zaradi igranja v bendih
se je v preteklosti posvečal predvsem oblikovanju številnih koncertnih plakatov in nosilcev zvoka. Zadnjih nekaj let
pa se poglobljeno ukvarja z ilustracijo mladinskega in otroškega leposlovja ter hkrati ustvarja na področju
gledališča kamišibaj, kjer se kali kot ilustrator lastnih zgodb. Prislužil si je tudi nekaj priznanj in nagrad.
Jerca Cvetko in Jure Engelsberger delujeta samostojno in v tandemu; kamišibaju se posvečata pod imenom
Atelje Slikovedke. Ustvarila sta številne kamišibaje – tako avtorske zgodbe kot tudi v obliko kamišibaja prirejene
ljudske pripovedke in poezijo, ki jim pogosto dodata tudi glasbeno spremljavo oz. jih uglasbita. Uprizarjata odrasli
program (Zgodbe in poezija ob slikah in glasbi) in otroške kamišibajske programe. Vodita tudi delavnice inseminarje o gledališču kamišibaj in likovni izdelavi le-tega ter sta avtorja skripte Likovna izdelava kamišibaja. Njun
- 98 -

pedagoški program z naslovom Kamišibaj paket je prejel znak za kakovost z uvrstitvijo na spletno platformo Zlata
paličica. Leta 2014 sta prejela »posebno priznanje strokovne žirije za avtorski doprinos in širjenje kamišibaj
forme«, v letih 2015, 2016 in 2017 pa sta dobila glavno nagrado zlati kamišibaj na Slovenskem festivalu kamišibaj
gledališča.

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Kamishibai and the Development of Expressive Competences in
Persons with Intellectual Disability

Kermauner Aksinja, Cvetko Jerca and Engelsberger JureIn working with persons with intellectual disability kamishibai encourages expression (selection ofstories), creativity (creative freedom) and social integration (appearance in front of a group). In theprocess of production the individual has the opportunity to discover her or his strengths (planning,
identifying the essential scenes and presenting them, artistic creation, rhetorical skills, handling withthe pictures in the butai, performance).
By diverting the attention of the audience to pictures the narrator as a person is not exposed; theperformance thus becomes an important means of expression in the area of the persons capacities..
By participation in the show, the person strengthens her or his self-image, highlights his or her positionin the society and is introduced. He or she becomes the co-author of an interdisciplinary holistic workof art, for which he or she has tried committedly and in the end also participated in presenting it toothers.
Kamishibai show facilitates understanding of information from the content of the story, as it is about
double information – the narration is supported with picture (an illustrated presentation of thesemantically essential scenes in the story) and with narrator’s verbal interpretation, while pictures also
assist the user in rebuilding the content of the text.
Kamishibai can thus also be a successful group project, where room opens for those who are not able
to express themselves verbally or artistically and who would like to accompany the content of the story
in another way, e.g. with sound or movement. This creative freedom exactly and the broad area of theways of expression within kamishibai are especially welcome in working with intellectual disability , asthey open room to individual characteristics and expressive capacities of the individual.
Keywords: Kamishibai, The Process of Producing a Kamishibai, Persons with Intellectual Disability,
Artistic Expression, Performance

Assistant Prof. Aksinja Kermauner, PhD is a teacher of Slovenian, teacher of art, special andrehabilitation pedagogue, and a writer. She is a higher education teacher at the University of
Primorska, Faculty of Education. She writes scientific and professional articles in the area of persons
with special needs and fiction for children, youth, and adults. She is vice-president of the Associationof special and rehabilitation pedagogues of Slovenia, president of the Governing board of the Reading
association of Slovenia, and president of the youth section of Slovene Writers’ Association.
Jerca Cvetko, has a degree in pedagogy and is a kamishibai performer. She performs the programme
for children and adults and leads workshops and seminars on kamishibai. The educational programme
Kamišibaj paket has been selected to the Zlata paličica platform as a quality programme in the area ofcultural-artistic education. At the kamishibai theatre festival (2014, 2016) she received the recognitionof the professional jury for innovation and the spreading of the kamishibai form and the Zlati kamišibaj
(Golden kamishibai). She works with the illustrator Jure Engelsberger under the name Atelje
Slikovedke.
Jure Engelsberger has graduated in design, is an illustrator and musician. In the last few years, hehas been more deeply involved in illustration of youth and children’s literature. At the same time, healso creates in the area of kamishibai theatre, where he has been developing his proficiency as an
author of illustrated stories for children and adults. At the kamishibai theatre festival (2015, 2017) he- 100 -

was awarded the Zlati kamišibaj (Golden kamishibai). He has also earned some important
nominations, awards and prizes with his illustrative work.
aksinja.kermauner@gmail.com, jercacvetko@gmail.com, jure.engelsberger@gmail.com***
Note: The research took place in the project
Vključujemo in aktiviramo (ViA – We include and activate)of the Slovenian Book Agency.

Introduction
In May 2018 the Council of the European Union (Official Journal of the European Union)
adopted Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning. The European ‘Pillarof Social Rights’ underlines as its first principle that “everyone has the right to quality andinclusive education, training and life-long learning in order to maintain and acquire skills thatenable them to participate fully in society and manage successfully transitions in the labour
market.” The reference framework of the recommendation defines 8 key competences,among which stated as the eighth is Cultural awareness and expression. It includes
understanding of different ways of communicating ideas between the creator, the participant
and the audience in written, printed, and digital texts, theatre, film, dance, plays, arts anddesign, music, customs and architecture and in hybrid forms.
Persons with intellectual disability often have difficulties communicating in the way of
normative people, while creativity in the area of art allows them to express their ideas,
recognise their feelings, strengthen self-consciousness and improve self-image and thus
enhance the quality of their lives. Diverse forms of expression can be offered to them, which
will be outlined below in the article. First we will describe their general characteristics.
Characteristics of persons with intellectual disability
Persons with intellectual disability are defined as persons with lower general and specificlevels of intelligence, with lower abilities in cognitive, speaking, motor, and social area, andlack of skills. Their thinking is concrete and many never attain the level of the abstract way of
thinking. The speech is mainly poorly developed. In persons with intellectual disability
imagination is modest or nearly non-existent.
According to the level of intellectual disability distinction is made between mild, moderate,
severe, and very severe intellectual disability. We sum up the characteristics of individual
groups according to the Criteria for defining the type and level of deficits, obstacles, ordisorders of children with special needs (Kriteriji za opredelitev vrste in stopnje
primanjkljajev, ovir oz. motenj otrok s posebnimi potrebami; several authors, ed. Vovk Ornik,
6-7)- Mild intellectual disability
In persons with mild intellectual disability sensory-motor and mental coherent functioning andability for planning, organisation, decision-making, and performance of activity are reduced.
They use simpler language; their mental processes take place more at concrete than at
abstract level. With adaptations in the learning process they can attain the basic school- 101 -

knowledge that does, however, meet the minimal standard of knowledge. They can betrained for less demanding occupational work and independent social life.
- Moderate intellectual disability
Persons with moderate intellectual disability can develop individual abilities such as thebasics of reading, writing, computing, while being able to attain more in the motor, artistic,
and musical areas. They need supportive or replacement communication, assistance in
integration into social environment, they understand simple instruction and take part insimple conversation. They can be trained for non-demanding jobs, however requiring various
levels of assistance.
- Severe intellectual disability
Persons with severe intellectual disability understand simple instruction and respond to themadequately, so they can be trained for the most elementary tasks. Although their speech
develops poorly, they are able to communicate their desires and needs with the assistance of
supporting replacement communication. They can orient themselves independently in the
narrow environment, needing guidance and protection in this, however. They also needassistance in care for themselves. With the assistance of iteration the skills become
automatic. Most of these persons have motor and other developmental disorders, and they
are also highly susceptible to various diseases and illnesses.
- Very severe intellectual disability
Due to limited understanding persons with very severe intellectual disability only take into
account the most basic instruction. They can only be trained for participation in individual
activities, They seldom develop speech and communication. Perception of external stimuli is
extremely limited, so also the response is limited. They need permanent guidance,
assistance in basic tasks, protection, and care. In most cases they have—in addition to
motor disorders—also other severe disorders.
Expression of persons with intellectual disability
Intellectually persons with intellectual disability cannot compete with persons with normative
development. According to Krajnčan (Doživljajska pedagogika, 137), however, for the groupof these persons there are already many opportunities for experiential-pedagogic
development and formation in the artistic, musical, and cultural area.
Tatjana Knapp (Project Lahko branje – Easy reading) is convinced persons with intellectual
disability must be enabled expression of beliefs, values, thoughts, and emotions; they must
be empowered for the expression of ideas and feelings, various forms of art must be broughtcloser to them, and opportunities created for their artistic expression, their creativity anduniqueness and creative skills must be developed that are necessary for better employability
in the area of culture and simultaneously also applicable in other occupational areas. She
argues also that in the area of art differences and diversity among people are the mostaccepted and valued. When people look at things from another perspective, a shift in thinking
can occur and the participants get aware what they can achieve (summed up after Knapp).
In 2016 we participated in a project organised by Slovene Book Agency titled Vključujemo inaktiviramo (We include and activate); the project was continued in 2018. With a group ofparticipants from the Centre for training, work, and care Črna na Koroškem we tackled
various types of art.
- 102 -Drama creation: under the artistic leadership of the actor Pavle Ravnohrib Prešeren’sromance poem Turjaška Rozamunda (Figure 1) was performed. In her master’s thesis(Šolsko gledališče, 44-117) Lili Miloševič extensively describes a group of children withintellectual disability from a basic school in Murska Sobota (IV. osnovna šola) in Slovenia,
who played three demanding dramatic performances with excellent response from the public.

Figure 1

Shadow theatre: with the assistance of the puppeteer Renata Kalemba and of academic
sculptor Primož Seliškar shadow puppets were created and the performance played.
Prešeren’s ballad Povodni mož served as the basis (Figure 2).

Figure 2- 103 -

Fine arts: under the guidance of illustrator Ciril Horjak and Jasmina Hlaj we drew and painted
medieval initials and patterns from the time of Turjaška Rozamunda (Figure 3). We also
created drawings of scenes from the aforementioned romance (Figure 4).

Figure 3

Figure 4

Writing sonnets: The poetess Jana Kolarič taught a group how to write sonnets. Extremelyinteresting creations emerged, real sonnets with adequate structure, while the participants
drew the material mainly from everyday and love life.
Translation of more difficult words into easy-to-read variants: Prešeren’s poem Turjaška
Rozamunda was translated into the form of a simple narration.
Kamishibai and persons with moderate and severe intellectual disabilitiy
In 2018 we started the art of kamishibai with a group of 10 individuals with moderate andsevere intellectual disability. The process of learning, production, and performance ofkamishibai opens new areas of thinking and functioning. The production of kamishibai is thus
a project that in each of its stages allows a different cognitive activity and takes account of
the person’s individual expressive competences while simultaneously allowing creative
freedom within the concrete objective (kamishibai as a product and a performance).
Kamishibai performance allows easier understanding of information from the content of thestory, as the narration is supported with picture (an illustrated presentation of the scenes in- 104 -

the story essential for the meaning) and with the narrator’s verbal interpretation. The pictures
are also of assistance in retelling the content of the text. The creation or the production of
one’s own kamishibai opens new room of expressive options and ways for them. In addition
to random content that the individual would like to share with others, various artistic
techniques are at disposal (drawing, painting, collage, torn paper collage, photography, etc.).
The final product, which always carries the personal stamp of the author (or group), enables
primarily the artistic and verbal presentation of the product. Kamishibai can also be a group
work, in which room opens for those who are not able to express themselves in speech orart, and who would like to follow the contents of the story or interpret it in a different way; e.g.
with sound or motion. This creative freedom and a wide range of ways of expressing withinkamishibai is especially welcome in working with persons with intellectual disability as it
opens up space to the singular characteristics and expressive abilities of individuals.
Methodology and participants in the research
In our article a singular, heuristic case study will be presented. The unit of research is agroup of 9 adult persons with moderate and severe intellectual disability. Four individuals
have major difficulties with movement, speech, and coordination. In the time period fromJanuary to March 2018 the members of the group were introduced into the process ofmanufacturing the kamishibai with the purpose they would produce their own stories,
illustrate them, and present them in public. The illustrators Jerca Cvetko and Jure
Engelsberger worked with them 10 hours and the mentor Aksinja Kermauner 9 hours.
The process of creating a kamishibai
To get to know the kamishibai as a form of art or the carrier of verbal-visual information, forthe selection of an adequate narrative content, for the process of artistic production of thekamishibai and the presentation (performance) of the kamishibai (individually or in group) we
had three sessions or ten hours at our disposal.
At the first meeting the kamishibai was introduced to the users as a staging form. We learned
its functioning, technical characteristics, based on old photographs talked about its historiccontext, and tackled the basic applicability of kamishibai in pedagogy and therapy.
After that we, Jerca Cvetko, and Jure Engelsberger, deliberately performed a programmethat was variegated in terms of genres in order to show the broad content capacity ofkamishibai, the stories being taken both from children’s repertoire and that of adults andamong them there are some that are accompanied by music:
Camp song: Teta (The aunt) (picture: Jure Engelsberger, music Jerca Cvetko and Jure
Engelsberger)
Autorial: About the three rabbits (narration, story: Jerca Cvetko, pictures, music: Jure
Engelsberger)
T. Pengov: Come on, think! (narration, pictures: Jure Engelsberger)
G. Križnik: The Tailor and the Shoemaker (narration: Jerca Cvetko, pictures, music: Jerca
Cvetko and Jure Engelsberger)
Traditional: Dekle je po vodo šlo (music: Jerca Cvetko and Jure Engelsberger, pictures: Jure
Engelsberger)
R. M. Rilke: Der Panther (voice, pictures: Jure Engelsberger)(Figures 5 and 6)- 105 -

Figure 5

Figure 6

In between individual performances we got acquainted with the process of illustrating thestory, dividing the text into scenes (semantic subunits), and with the production process (via
all the stages – from text to performance). We looked at the drawings in their early stages,
thought about the next solutions. We observed the artistic characteristics of the kamishibaidrawing. We broke down the interpretation of the story at the picture – narration.
After the programme some already had ideas for their own stories. All the stories wererecorded in writing.
At the second meeting we retold the recorded stories. The users remembered the content of
their stories from the first meeting well. The interest of the rest of participants for the contentsof the recorded stories also represented the opportunity and the cue for the division ofindividuals into groups.
From here on the work proceeded individually and in groups. Each individual story had to be
divided into scenes. In this we, Jerca Cvetko and Jure Engelsberger, helped each group (orthe individual) to look for adequate scenes that would semantically define the story.

- 106 -

At the selection and distribution of the artistic material (colours, felt pens, collage, tempera
pigment) the fine motor skills of individual participants also showed and who could be
assigned artistic production. While some were engaged in painting and drawing, under ourmentorship others selected the instruments with which they could accompany the content ofa story and practiced the mechanics of the kamishibai – the opening of the butai (thekamishibai stage) and the pulling out of the first picture, the beginning and the end.
In this meeting it showed thus clearly who of them, according to the abilities and strengths,
would be the one in the group to be the narrator, who the one who can open the butai andchange the pictures, who would draw and who accompany the story on a musical instrument(Figure 7).

Figure 7

At the end of the meeting we had almost finished the process of the artistic production ofmost of the kamishibai – we only left the last few details to be finished in the final meeting.
On the basis of their story cues two users—the ones with the most severe deficits in the
motor and speaking area—got their individual kamishibai that were drawn for them by Jure
Engelsberger, who also helped them present the kamishibai at the presentation.
At the third meeting we finished the pictures and rehearsed the performance. In some groups
it was necessary to adapt or change the roles, so all participants would feel competent forthe performance of the show.
The performance took place in the gym hall of the Centre for training, work, and care Črna na
Koroškem, where most of the clients of the home gathered. All the ten users actively
participated in the performance in the way each of them was able to cope with. The
performance ran smoothly, in the case of technical or content complications during the show,
we quickly solved the situation and continued. We successfully concluded the planned
programme.
After the show, the performers received great applause, congratulations and praise, which
was a great recognition for each of them. After their performance they were more confident
and proud of themselves.

- 107 -

At the end we also carried out a short joint evaluation, where we laughed at thecomplications and emphasised the positive points and the solutions of each individual show,
sincerely congratulating each of the participants for their roles and effort.
Evaluation
In the study nine persons with a severe intellectual disability participated. In the course of ourgathering six kamishibai were created:
1. Lover’s WishTwo lovers are blown away by tornado. They safely land on a beautiful field full of flowers
where they pick a bouquet.
The first kamishibai was the outcome of an independent performance of a female participant
who was able to carry out the whole process of the production and of the performance. She
invented the story, illustrated it, even wrote the title and the end. The mechanics did notcause her too much trouble, her rhetoric abilities were very good, she spoke loudly andclearly. In the performance another female participant joined her, who originally did not wantto take part in any of the stages in the process of producing the kamishibai, but later shechanged her mind and volunteered to add a sound accompaniment to the story. Together
they successfully carried out the performance, were very pleased with it and proudly
accepted congratulations. Even the participant, who initially did not want to be involved, was
now happy due to her “good accompaniment” (Figure 8).

Figure 8

2. New Year‘s Decoration
Christmas tree decoration is blown away by the wind. The children pick up the decorationand decorate the tree anew.

This was the only independently performed kamishibai. With the assistance of mentors thefemale participant created the kamishibai across all the stages of the production process: thedesign of the authorial story, artistic production and interpretation (speaking presentation).
The presentation was carried out in low voice, yet sovereignly, without technical difficulties.
She successfully described the events in each of the individual picture and reaped enormous
success with the audience. After the performance she was very satisfied (Figure 9).

- 108 -

Figure 9

3. The Sinking of Costa Concordia
About the well known accident of cruising ship which was wrecked off the coast of Italy in
2012.

The kamishibai in the collage technique was documentary in nature. It was created on theinitiative of a participant who plotted the course of real events on the basis of documentarymaterial (photographs) in the correct sequence. He added only the illustrations of the firstand of the last picture (the title picture and the end). At the presentation, which in spite ofstage fright was both technically and narratively correctly carried out, the participant was
accompanied with music performed by a female fellow participant. Their joint performanceended with a triumph of both (Figure 10).

Figure 10

4. SpringIn spring, when the snow is melting, a beautiful flower blooms from the ground.

This kamishibai was created with the assistance of the mentor, who in the artistic
performance guided the strokes of the participant’s brush; the story was created with thecooperation of the whole group. In spite of considerable motor clumsiness the participant
managed to pull the pictures out of the butai. The presentation took place in tandem with aparticipant who partly helped with the speaking interpretation of the text – mentor’s- 109 -

assistance also being necessary here. In spite of everything we concluded the performance
successfully and comprehensibly, receiving approval and congratulations from the audience(Figure 11).

Figure 11

5. While Everybody is Sleeping
At night Sebastjan‘s wheelchair transforms into a super flying engine (Figure 12).

Figure 12- 110 -

6. Saška‘s Story
Favourite special teacher Saška, her everyday with her group and her funny accordion show
(Figure 13).

Figure 13

The last two participants, who had the most severe deficit both in the motor and in the verbal
area, had the story drawn according to their cues (Jure Engelsberger provided assistance inlinking the story cues into a whole and the illustrations). At the performance they appearedas the intermediaries of the emotional message of their stories, which means theyexperienced the narration of their story, which Jure told for them. They were both proud to beable to present their story.
All participants were involved in the show (Figure 14).

Figure 14

We have attained the set objectives:
They get to know the artistic way of displaying literary content.
They participate in the process of artistic creation.
They look for, collect and process information.
They gain new knowledge.

- 111 -

They are aware with an appropriate attitude to solving problems that they can overcome
obstacles, thus strengthening confidence in themselves and a positive attitude towards life.
They break down the text into meaningful semantic units.
They know how to summarise the meaning of each image.
They assume tasks and responsibilities in the group.
They develop expressive skills.
They develop social competences by participating in the creation of a new work.
They recognize their own potential for artistic engagement in society (Figure 15).

6
Figure 15

Discussion
Active participation, preparation for the performance, verbal and musical performance withpeople with intellectual disability stimulate multisensory learning and motivate them with thesuccess experienced at the response of the audience. Kamishibai stimulates psychosocial
processes that contribute to the building of identity, development of social competences andsocial empathy. In this way the individual’s position changes at experiential and cognitive
levels, which also influences changes in behaviour. In our case, with the assistance of thenarrator at the presentation of the kamishibai also those were able to express themselves
who have difficulties in speech, and in the artistic creation also those who have severe
problems with coordination. Kamishibai functions not so much as the intellectual medium, butmainly emotionally. Persons with intellectual disabilitiy do not have high cognitive abilities,
but quite certainly they do possess high emotional intelligence.
In the long run public appearances and the presentation of artistic achievements by people
from marginal groups also alter the prejudices about people with intellectual disabilitiy andabut other vulnerable groups. Only when they are offered various opportunities for social
empowerment, it shows that they are entirely equivalent in the artistic field.

References:
ALDEA, Eva. Magical Realism and Deleuze: The Indiscernibility of Difference in Postcolonial
Literature. London: Continuum, 2011.

- 112 -KRAJNČAN, Mitja. »Doživljajska pedagogika: metoda, moda ali kaj več?« Socialna
pedagogika, 3 (2), 1999, 135-154.
MCCLOUD, Scott. Making Comics. Collegium Graphicum, 2006.
MCGOWAN, Tara. The Kamishibai Classroom. Oxford: Libraries Unlimited, 2010.
MILOŠEVIČ, Lili. Šolsko gledališče kot pot do socialnega vključevanja otrok z motnjami v
duševnem razvoju. Magistrsko delo. Koper: PeF UPR, 2017.
SANDE, Matej, Dekleva, Bojan, Kobolt, Alenka, Razpotnik, Špela in Darja Zorc-Maver (ur.)(2005). Socialna pedagogika: izbrani koncepti stroke. Ljubljana: PeF.
URADNI LIST EVROPSKE UNIJE: Svet Evropske unije. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/SL/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.C_.2018.189.01.0001.01.SLV&toc=OJ:C:2018:189:TOC.
(dostop 10. jul. 2018).
VOVK-ORNIK, Natalija (ur.). Kriteriji za opredelitev vrste in stopnje primanjkljajev, ovir oz.
motenj otrok s posebnimi potrebami. Zavod RS za šolstvo. https://www.zrss.si/pdf/Kriterijimotenj-otrok-s-posebnimi-potrebami.pdf. Dostop 18. jul. 2018.
WRENTSCHUR, Michael. Gledališče … Sreča … Socialno … Sreča … Gledališče. V Alenka
Kobolt (ur.), Evropski izobraževalni in strokovni projekti na precepu med gledališkim insocialnim delom. Učenje na odru življenja. Projektno delo z ranljivimi skupinami mladih (str.
112-127). Ljubljana: PeF, 2008.

- 113 -

Ko besede vzletijo iz kletke

Konc Lorenzutti Nataša

Zasvojenec se običajno iztrga drogi šele pod prisilo tistih, ki živijo z njim in ga imajo radi. Ko ga vsi zapustijo in ko
mu nihče več ne zaupa, ima samo še dve možnosti: da se dokončno uniči ali pa se povzpne iz pekla. Kdor seodloči za tak alpinistični podvig, tvega ob vsakem oprimku. Hitro mu lahko zdrsne nazaj na dno. In vsakič težeznova vstane. Zato zasvojenca, ki se je odločil za vzpon, globoko spoštujem. Kajti spoznanje, koliko let je zapravil
za utapljanje v omami, koliko mladosti, priložnosti in znanja je šlo v velikem krogu mimo njega, mora biti
strahovito boleče, pa kljub temu vztraja v treznosti, se podreja redu skupnosti, opravlja najpreprostejša dela ter
spet začenja tam, kjer je bil pred leti odrezan od glavne žile. V projektu Vključujemo in aktiviramo, ki ga za ranljive
skupine financira Evropski socialni sklad, koordinira pa Javna agencija za knjigo, sem mentorica že tretje leto.
Leta 2017 sem vodila literarno dejavnost v skupnosti za zasvojene s pridruženimi motnjami v duševnem zdravju,
imenovani Terapevtska skupnost Pelikan, ki deluje pod okriljem Slovenske Karitas. Kako bodo ljudje, ki sezdravijo zaradi zasvojenosti s prepovedanimi drogami, sploh sprejeli zamisel, da jim bom prinašala knjige in sehotela z njimi pogovarjati o njih, sem se vprašala, preden smo začeli. In kaj bodo rekli na predlog, da bi pisali?
Želja po učenju, spoznavanju in ustvarjanju je pri večini začela hirati že pri petnajstih, šestnajstih letih, ko sozanemarili šolanje in nazadnje utonili v popolni opustitvi svoje rasti. Sprejeli so me prijazno, celo z nekoliko
zvedavosti, ki me je prijetno vznemirila. Vpregla sem vso sproščenost, kar je premorem, da ne bi nastopila zviška,
ampak na višini njihovih pogledov. V praksi sem (poleg tega, da sem delno »na svobodi«) tudi gimnazijska
profesorica, vendar sem iz učiteljske drže izstopila že pred vrati njihovega bivališča. Predstavila sem se jim
drugače kot dijakom, ki pridejo v prvi letnik. Z druge strani. Ne od zunaj, od vseh svojih vlog naprej, ampak odznotraj, od vlog nazaj. S slikarjem in ilustratorjem Petrom Škerlom, ki je bil skupini dodeljen kot menor za
ilustriranje (glavni mentor, pisatelj, izvede 80 ur dejavnosti, mentor za ilustriranje pa deset), sva se že ob snovanju
načrta usposabljanja dogovorila, da bova glavno nit dejavnosti peljala proti ustvarjanju zgodb, ki naj bi jih
predstavili v veščini kamišibaja. Te zvrsti doslej nisem poznala. Ker projekt predvideva, da lahko k svoji dejavnosti
s skupino povabiš goste, tako ustvarjalce kot strokovnjake, sem povabila tudi takšne, ki bi nam kamišibaj
pomagali spoznati in ustvariti: Jureta Engelsbergerja ter zakonca Sitar Cvetko. Z raznolikimi pristopi k ustvarjanju
zgodbe, nato z risbami (slikami) in potem spet z zgodbo, ki jo je slika nekoliko preoblikovala, smo pripravili kratke
kamišibajske izdelke, ki se mi zdijo pravi mali čudeži. Kajti skoraj vsi udeleženci projekta so najprej govorili, da ne
bodo nastopili, ker ne znajo, ne zmorejo, imajo tremo … Nazadnje so se opogumili vsi, ki so izdelke pripravili,
vsak nastop je bil po svoje osupljiv, ker nobeden ni bil obremenjen z znanjem, tehnikami, nič jih ni zastiralo,
ampak so privreli iz njih kakor ptice, ki so jih spustili iz kletke, da so po dolgem času poletele. In izkazalo se je, danobena nima polomljenih kril. O procesu ustvarjanja bom pripovedovala v svojem simpozijskem prispevku.
***
Nataša Konc Lorenzutti (1970) je diplomirala na Akademiji za gledališče, radio, film in televizijo v Ljubljani, na
oddelku za dramsko igro in umetniško besedo, kjer je leta 1993 prejela fakultetno Prešernovo nagrado za vlogo
Ofelije. Leta 2010 je končala tudi univerzitetni magistrski študij umetniške besede pri prof. Alešu Valiču. Med
letoma 1994 in 1999 je bila kot igralka angažirana v dveh slovenskih poklicnih gledališčih, od leta 1999 pa se
posveča leposlovju. Doslej je izdala šestnajst knjižnih del za otroke in mladino ter štiri za odrasle. Bila je
nominirana za nagrade izvirna slovenska slikanica, modra ptica, trikrat za nagrado desetnica in trikrat za nagrado
večernica. Njena proza za odrasle je dvakrat prejela nagrado tržaške Mladike. Leta 2017 je za knjigo z naslovom
Kdo je danes glavni prejela priznanje zlata hruška za najboljše izvirno mladinsko delo leta 2015, za roman Bližina
daljave pa istega leta nagrado svetlobnica. Poleg svobodnega poklica že enajsto leto opravlja delo profesoricegledaliških predmetov na umetniškem oddelku Gimnazije Nova Gorica, kjer z dijaki uprizarja tudi svoja avtorska
dramska dela in dramatizacije romanov, predpisanih za maturitetni esej na maturi. Skoraj vsako leto z maturanti
gostuje na festivalu Transgeneracije v Cankarjevem domu v Ljubljani Že tretje leto je mentorica za literarno
dejavnost pri projektu Vključujemo in aktiviramo, ki ga financira Evropski socialni sklad, izvaja pa Javna agencija
za knjigo Republike Slovenije v ranljivih družbenih skupinah. Leta 2017 je s skupino zasvojencev in z ilustratorjem
Petrom Škerlom izvedla projekt pripovedovanja zgodb s kamišibajem.

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When Words Take Off from the Cage

Konc Lorenzutti Nataša

An addict only pulls away from his drug of choice after his loved ones, who often live with him, force
him to do so. When everyone leaves him and nobody trusts him anymore, he only has two options: tofinally self-destruct or rise from hell. When he decides on such a climbing endeavour, he faces risks atevery handhold. He could quite easily slide back to the bottom. Each time he does, it is more difficult
to get up again. This is why I have nothing but deep respect for every addict who has faced such a
decision. The realization of how many years he had spent drowning in intoxication, how much youth,
opportunity, and knowledge has passed him by, must be horribly painful – and yet the former addict
persists in sobriety, conforms to the rules of his community, works menial jobs, and begins again
where he had been cut off years ago. For three years now, I have been a mentor in the “Integrate andactivate” (Vključujemo in aktiviramo) movement for vulnerable groups, financed by the European
Social Fund and coordinated by the Slovenian Book Agency (Javna agencija za knjigo RS). In 2017, I
led literary activities in a community for addicts with additional mental health problems called the“Therapeutic community Pelikan” (Terapevtska skupnost Pelikan), which functions under the
Slovenian Karitas. Before we began, I asked myself how these people who are recovering from theiraddiction to illegal drugs will even react to me bringing them books and wanting to talk about them.
And what would they say to my suggestion that they should write? Their will to learn, study, and create
mostly began to wane when they were fifteen or sixteen years old, when they started neglecting
school and finally drowned in a complete rejection of their growth. They welcomed me kindly, evenwith a degree of curiosity that came as a pleasant surprise. I tried to be as relaxed as I could manage,
so I wouldn’t come across as haughty but rather equal to their views. I work as a high school teacher(apart from being partly freelance), but I stepped out of my teacher’s shoes before I entered their
domain. I presented myself differently than I do with my first year students, from the other side. Not
from the outside, passing all my roles, but rather from the inside, preceding my roles. With the painterand illustrator Peter Škerl, who was assigned to our group as the mentor for illustration (the main
mentor, the writer, performs 80 hours of activities, while the mentor for illustration does 10), we formed
the plan of the training to focus on story creation that would be presented through the art ofkamishibai. I did not know that genre before. But since the project allows the mentor to bring guests(both artists and experts) into the group’s activities, I invited people who would help us learn aboutkamishibai and also create it: Jure Engelsberger, Jelena Sitar-Cvetko, and Igor Cvetko. Throughvarious approaches to creating the stories, then drawings (paintings), and re-writing stories that were
somewhat changed by the images, we prepared short kamishibai products that were nothing short ofmiraculous. Almost all of the project participants first claimed that they wouldn’t perform because they
didn’t have the skill or the will to do so, that they suffered from stage fright… In the end, everyone who
prepared a kamishibai story also performed – every performance was shocking because none of themwere burdened by knowledge, techniques, or other factors that would have veiled their show. The
stories flew out of them like birds from a cage after they’d been locked in for a long time. It turned outthat none of the bids had broken wings. I will speak about this process in my presentation at the
symposium. ord about the marvellous educational and cultural education potential of these picturecard
stories.
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Keywords: Creativity (by making your own kamishibai), Learning (about a new art form and culture),
Exploring (the ideas and values of other cultures), Growing (intellectually and morally), Empathy (withother peoples' customs and habits)

Nataša Konc Lorenzutti (born in 1970) graduated from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film andTelevision in Ljubljana, at the Department for Stage Acting and the Artistic Word, where she wasawarded the Faculty Prešeren Prize for her role of Ophelia in 1993. In 2010, she obtained a MA fromthe Chair of the Artistic Word with professor Aleš Valič. Between 1994 and 1999 she worked as anactor in two Slovenian professional theatres, but started focusing on literature in 1999. She has since
published sixteen fiction works for children and youth and four adult works. Her work has been
nominated for the Original Slovenian Picture Book (izvirna slovenska slikanica) and Blue Bird (modra
ptica) awards, and three times for the Desetnica and Večernica awards. Her adult prose earned her
two awards from Mladika in Trieste. In 2017, she received the Golden Pear award for the best original
children’s book (priznanje Zlata hruška za najboljše izvirno mladinsko delo) for her work Kdo je danes
glavni, as well as the Svetlobnica award for her novel Bližina daljave. Apart from being an author, she
has been teaching theatre subjects at the artistic department of the Nova Gorica High School(Gimnazija Nova Gorica) for eleven years. She helps her students perform her original theatre works
as well as theatre retellings of the novels that are the subject of Matura essays. Almost every year, her
students perform at the Transgenerations festival (festival Transgeneracije) in Cankarjev dom in
Ljubljana. For three years, she has been a mentor for literary activity in the “Integrate and Activate”(Vključujemo in aktiviramo) project for vulnerable social groups, which is financed by the European
Social Fund and coordinated by the Slovenian Book Agency (Javna agencija za knjigo RS). In 2017
she cooperated with the illustrator Peter Škerl to carry out a project of storytelling through kamishibai
theatre with a group of addicts.

***

Have you ever heard oaks grow, brother,when they soar into the sky, stretch their gnarly branches
and fade away in the scorching sun?
Have you ever heard clouds weep, brother,when they collide with the dawn high in the sky, top off with the red dusk
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and seep into the ground as heavy droplets?
Have you ever heard leaves yearn, brother,when old grey men fall from trees, rubbed with mud, dieand within the earth return to dust?
Have you ever heard, brother, oh brother…

Klemen, the person who wrote this poem, is a member of the Therapeutic Community,
Pelikan Institute, in which drug addicts with dual diagnosis are treated. In addition to being
addicted, they have problems with their mental health and are thus included in the psychiatrictreatment for various conditions: mood disorders, sleep and eating disorders, schizophrenia
and other psychoses, bipolar and personality disorders, and the like. Most of these people
gave up on their education when teenagers, at fourteen, fifteen years of age, when they
began to abuse psychoactive substances. Today, they are between twenty and fifty years
old; the deviant behaviour dragged them to the bottom and forced them to decide between acomplete self-destruction and the withdrawal from drugs. However, almost no one enters thecommunity on a voluntary basis. The sickness is stronger than their will. Though, it is lesspowerful than love. When past the limit of their abilities to cope, the ones who love them
managed to choose the right path and persuaded the addict to enter the community; there it
is mandatory to establish a permanent abstinence and set the goals that will be realised
during the lengthy process of altering the ingrained behaviour patterns with everyday routine
and work. The programme lasts for 20 months, with six months of reintegration and thepossibility of extension.

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I was a smiling and happy child.
A pigeon followed me on my way to school and when I played tennis.
Suddenly, I spent more on the street than at school. I was full of life and brimming withcuriosity.
My second home was a notorious discotheque. The pigeon warned me of the danger, but I
ignored it. I enjoyed taking club drugs and partied night after night. The desire for love awoke
in me, but there was too much anger nearby.
Many times, I was in an overdose-induced coma. The bottom. The pigeon has not left me.

Between 2016 and 2019, the Slovenian Book Agency is conducting a project titled “Include
and Activate!”, which is supported by the European Social Fund.
The main purpose and goal of the project is to increase the possibility for a reintegration ofvulnerable groups into society. Through the programme, which is based on reading andcreativity, the participants acquire knowledge that will help them to reintegrate into society
and consequently actively participate in the labour market. The project includes four
vulnerable groups: persons with mental health disorders, persons with mental disabilities,
persons serving prison sentence scheduled for release, and persons participating in drug
rehabilitation programmes.

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The recurrent theme of the programme are literary works written by acclaimed Slovenian
authors. Each year before the start of a new round of the project, even we as mentors, also
writers, poets, and illustrators, receive some initial training from professionals from different
fields who prepare us for work. The main mentors construct a detailed training plan andmanage activities throughout the year, complete eighty hours of pedagogical work in thegroup, whilst the illustrators complement our plan with an artistic activity, carrying out ten
hours of mentorship, either arranged amongst individual units or in a compact form. Our
supervision must by no means interfere with the field of therapy; they must remain at thelevel of reading, discovering art, and creation. During the programme, the participants meetwith other Slovenian authors and book specialists, who can be invited by the mentors as partof their programme, in order for the participants to get informed about the discussed literaryworks and themes from several different perspectives.

In 2017, I was assigned to the therapeutic community, Pelikan Institute, mentioned before, as
their mentor. I knew that the pelican is a symbol of offering and resurrection in the Christianculture, however, I could not recall where I heard this and from where the story originates. I
found a legend written by Leonardo da Vinci. It describes how the father pelican left his
young alone for a brief time in order to find food for them. Meanwhile, a snake slithered into
the nest and slaughtered them all. When the father returned, despair overwhelmed him uponseeing his dead offspring. With his beak he tore apart his chest. As he was dying, he sawthat his blood revived his hatchlings and restored their lives.

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In his poem, Klemen expressed a wish that someone beside him could hear oaks grow,clouds weep and leaves yearn. I visualise this as exposing every single sense and tuning it
to such sensitivity that I would be able to detect every murmur wanting to become a word.
While it is true that words are occasionally superfluous and that muffled noises suffice, they
do not remain as such for long, since "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God". Because we are thought to symbolically descend from theWord, we are ceaseless in our attempts of finding it, we aspire to hear it, pronounce orinscribe it, even though this demands that we overcome the fear and confront memories thatare not always pleasant. Addicts who are again learning how to perform the most basic tasks(e.g. getting up, washing, exercising, preparing food, eating, doing the dishes, taking care of
the laundry, house and garden) initially considered my attempts to get them involved inreading and creative activities bizarre, even intimidating. "I do not know, I cannot do it, blankmind, I have nothing to say, I just cannot manage, I instantly fall asleep in the evening, I havepoor concentration, medications are destroying me, I do not remember anything..."Nonetheless, no one ever resigned at any task. "If you write three words, this will be morethan nothing," I encouraged them. "If you read half a page of literature a day, that is morethan what an averagely educated person reads outside this community." They always
completed the task, even if they entirely strayed from the instructions. I cherished each
written word. The sensation was similar to that of successfully capturing a child on frame,
unnoticed, and thus immortalising an unrepeatable moment of child’s rapture. Therefore, in
Pelikan, I have been chasing the unique instances of tranquillity and alertness.

Peter Škerl, one of the highly esteemed Slovenian illustrators, was assigned to the group as
the mentor for the illustration module. We had made plan, in which we focussed on theliterary and art efforts on kamishibai. That is why I tenaciously led the creation in the directionof short narratives and lyrical glimpses, which could be illustrated.

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I invited Jure Engelsberger who presented to us the tenets of kamishibai theatre and enacted
some of his performances. He showed to us that you can tell fairy tales, legends, fables,
poetry, realistic stories, or sing a folk song.
The group was captivated, however, encouraging them to envision their own kamishibai
proved to be strenuous. They got frightened, thinking they were incapable of doing this, they
did not know what to do, they could not perform, their stage fright was too severe, they felt
best when they were hidden somewhere. I pretended not to hear this and we managed toprepare refined short texts by the start of summer, when the time for the artistic production
with Peter Škerl came. I was not there with them. Working with Peter took them away fromwhat they had imagined earlier, which is undoubtedly a sign that they were relaxed. They
yielded to the images, to the new language of expressing their inner world.
Some created a story in pictures.

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Someone else drew a comic book on the topic of his own poem about facing death.

Outside, there’s snow, white and cold.
Inside, it’s warm.
Pale light and a burning candle.
There is a spoon on the table, in it, a needle,
in the needle there is resin, in the resin there’s death.
We are three, the first one am I.
There’s the needle in the spoon, there’s power in me.
My neck stiffens, eyelids close,
I cannot see us anymore.
Splash to the head, mouth to mouth.
I can see us again.
“Where are you?” “Here, what’s the matter?”
I am the sole person remaining.
“Thank God I am alive.”
Once the artworks had been completed, some participants created new narratives, using theimages as the springboard for their verbal stories.

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They described a return to life.

One of them wrote about a home that is no more. The mother drank some poison and died,whilst the father’s debauchery squandered what was allotted to the children after theirmother’s death.

They spoke of the disease eating the body and spirit.
They were telling about coming closer and moving away. Let’s hear David’s story:- 123 -

I am looking through the window, through the dimmed window. Someone from the outside
can see only my reflection. I am waiting for you to come. My picture is still close to the one
outside.

“You’ve come,” I say. “Finally, my wish is fulfilled.”

The one outside cannot see me anymore, since we move deeper into the room.
The window is increasingly more distanced for him. It is very dark. From the background, helooks at my house.

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The window turns noticeable. It appears as considerably dark. It is like my soul when it
yearns for you. To the one outside, the house enlarges and take hold of the whole picture.

The window is just barely visible, as our apartment is so small.
A small window, a big house, everything in complete remoteness.

Tim spoke about how he imagined God. He tried to depict him with symbols.

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In the distance over a hill, there is an eye.
It makes sure that everything is in its place.
It is the eye of the totality, the source of all:the visible, the invisible, and everything in between.
In most cases, loneliness appears in their narratives;

I am sitting in the waiting room. Enormous neon lights are shining directly in my eyes. My
gaze travels across the long white corridor with orange seats. It strikes me as a motorway
without cars.
An old man with grey eyebrows, blue eyes, and thick black hair steps closer.
“Are you alone?” he asks.
“Yes, I am,” I answer.
The man sits down on the chair as if unloading a sack of potatoes. He stares, as do I, down
the corridor.

In the autumn, we were visited by Jelena and Igor Cvetko who helped us complete thekamishibai pieces. They taught us how to prepare a sequence of images, arrange the text
and paste it on sheets, how to perform, where to express more and where less, how toestablish a rhythm and pace. The participants were thrilled when they succeeded. All of- 126 -

them. Each of them now had their own kamishibai with which they performed on that day inthe safe environment of the community, in the presence of Jelena and Igor. Theircommendation meant a great deal to them; it was just touching to watch them glow. Even
those who previously said that they would sit somewhere at the back, in the corner during thefinal event changed their minds. They began to believe in the power of revitalisation throughstorytelling.
Klemen joined the community later, when the art workshops were already concluded.
However, his poem about a boy who rides through the landscape with a bike simply craves
for pictures. Because I am not an art teacher, I did not dare lead him into an aesthetic
activity, but I suggested that we create a collage. I inquired which colours I should bring.
“Autumn colours,” he responded immediately. And in that very moment a thought flashed into
my mind, which we have implemented together later:

A tiny lad is riding his red bikepast maypoles and bales and colourful grasses
ring ring.

Literary texts and drawings: Aleš, Anja, David, Klemen, Martina, Moris, Peter, Robert, Tim
The illustration of the butterfly: Peter Škerl
The photographs by Jana Jocif are the property of The Slovenian Book Agency.
The photograph of the final event: Arta Kroni, Gimnazija Nova Gorica
Translated by: Žan Korošec (MA student, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, consultant:
Veronika Rot Gabrovec, PhD)

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By the river flowing
not speaking its mind,
all grey meandering about when the wind cries out
ring ring.

Still there are no pains
no infernal flames
hey, my little boy of joy.

Don't look into the stream as yet, into the grim freedom
sing one last time in the sun:ring, ring.
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At the final event in mid-December, the participants performed with their kamishibai in frontof a broader audience. Since some had already left the community in the meantime and newmembers joined it, some participants told us their own stories, whilst others narrated thetales of those who had left. Unquestionably, it brought happiness and a shred of salvation toall.

The world of those who are being treated for addiction in such a community is closed andsafe. Someday they will venture out into the dangerous world where they will have to resist
the tempting and often deceitful stimuli. Will they cope with that? Perhaps they will be
encouraged by the sensation that when they were "inside", the safe part of the external world
kept coming to them, and they will recognise it in the open. We, the ones who were visiting
them, tried to bestow upon them our love of beauty. Now, maybe, they will raise it bythemselves, take it with them as a suitcase containing a kamishibai narration, which they will
nurture and remove from the briefcase whenever they might find themselves hanging over
the abyss of despondency.

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In the room, I am waiting you, forest fairy,
for you to open my head and fill it,with the acid rain of sweet rivers.
I am waiting for you to demolish me,
to penetrate my existence with the song of forests,
which is painful to hear.
Aren't these forests warm, my fairy?
Isn't this song kindly yellow?
For I am stung by the cold.

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Sliko-zgodbe kamišibaja – pripoved, ki u-gleda, in podoba, ki u-sliši,– soigra čutnih predstav na odru domišljije

Likar Igor

Tradicionalni zapisi o tej zanimivi, na videz odrski zvrsti nam pravijo, da je kamišibaj tehnika »pripovedovanja z
glasom in slikami«. Da jo torej krasita slikovitost in posebna glasovnost pripovedovalca. Da gre za podajanje
zgodbe z glasom (pogosto ob tem tudi z zvoki in glasbo) in s slikami. Da gre za neke vrste »papirno« gledališče,
ki uporablja risbo predvsem za prehode med dogodki v zgodbi. Vse to drži, a gre, nedvomno, še za nekaj
drugega. Za nekaj več … A kaj naj bi bilo to »nekaj več«, kar vzbuja naše začudenje ob preprostosti, a hkrati tudi
neverjetni sugestivni moči te predstavljalske tehnike miniaturnih zgodb. Gre namreč za neke vrste pripovedovanje
po »notranji« osi domišljije in predstavnosti. Za u-povedovanje, za u-gledanje in za u-zrtje hkrati. Kaj to v resnici
pomeni? Zakaj je takšna trditev sploh mogoča? »Gledanje in poslušanje potekata v sinestezijah … Vizualna
percepcija se spontano povezuje z akustičnim izkustvom,« pravi Michel Dufrenne v svoji študiji o sinestezijah, ki
po njegovem mnenju omogočajo, da se zbudijo so-predstave in se povežejo v so-igro izkustva vseh čutov (M.
Dufrenne: Oko in uho). Tudi v umetniških predstavitvenih praksah, ki se podajajo ali dajejo preko ali z odrov, nesmemo nikoli razmišljati ali govoriti le o tistem, kar smo videli, kar gledamo, kar se nam daje kot vidno, torej kar jebilo le na videz dano očesu, ampak se moramo ob tem ves čas predvsem zavedati, da nam je bilo vse u-gledanov resnici posredovano »za oko«, »za pogled«, da smo vse v resnici u-gledali za očesom, ki gleda – in sicer
najprej z »notranjim« očesom, tam, kjer se srečajo čutna izkustva vseh čutil in oblikujejo skupno, virtualno podobodoživetega. Predvsem moramo vedeti, doumeti, da so nam predstave zaznav dane le kot povabilo v prostore
sočutnega srečevanja vseh čutnih izkustev, da se nam »za gledanjem« in »za slišanjem« odpirajo domišljijski
prostori na osi sodelovanja vseh čutov, da doživljamo na osnovi notranjega u-gledanja, v sodelovanju med čutili inzaznavami. Vse temelji na »notranjem gledanju«, ker to inducira slike v našem duhu. Glas, ki pripoveduje s
podobami, ponuja poslušalcem »slike z druge strani fiziološkega vida, ki evocirajo »vidno« (kot slike duha indomišljije). Lahko torej rečemo, da gre pri gledališču kamišibaj res še za nekaj drugega kot zgolj za gledališče
risane slike. Zakaj in kako deluje ta domišljijska tehnika, bomo poskusili premisliti v tem referatu. Gre za tehniko,ki uporablja predvsem možnosti nesnovne snovnosti govora, ki deluje kot so-predstavnost iz lastnosti simbolne
jezika kot govora, ki uprizarja zgodbe v funkciji »metajezika«. V tehniki kamišibaja vodijo po »osi« domišljije inspodbujenega t. i. »notranjega« u-gledanja igrivo igro vsi so-čuti, ki izzivajo naša čutna izkustva in predstave.
Kako je to mogoče? Preprosto. Gre za »oder domišljije« v gledalcu/poslušalcu. Glas uglašuje pričakovanje
podob, ki se bodo šele pokazale, ko jih bo v vidnost podal zgodbar/risar/pripovedovalec. Podobe preskočijo iz
pričakovane predstave v nas nazaj v risbe, ki so le spodbujajoči slikovni zapisi tistega, kar prihaja iz glasu
pripovedovalca, iz zanj izbranih pomembnih preobratov ali dogodkov v zgodbi (tudi kot namigov o drugačnem
poteku od pričakovanega). Ves čas gre pri podajanju slikovnih zgodb za spodbujeno pričakujoče u-gledanje
gledalca/poslušalca, za notranje u-zrtje tistega, kar v osnovi slišimo kot pripoved, in hkrati za u-slišanje tega, kar
nam namigujejo ali govorijo podobe z risb, ki se izbrano nizajo, kadar jih prikliče glas
pripovedovalca/predstavljalca.
Slikovitost/zvočnost/predstavnost
Pri tehniki gledališča kamišibaj lahko torej govorimo o čudovitem sodelovanju med čutili in zaznavami ter onjihovem prenosu v naše predstave. Zakaj? Ker pripoved, ki se odvija pred nami, računa na pričakovane, v naši
domišljiji spodbujene pričakovane podobe, ki jih lahko sugestivno vzbuja pripovedovalec, predvsem zaradi
pričakovanega in dramaturško ponujanega v sluteni podobi, ki je slikovno še ni pred nami, a v nas že nastaja
zaradi sugestivnosti pripovedi glasu, ki izklicuje predstave. Tako gledamo, vidimo »pričakujoče«, lahko bi se reklo
v-naprej. In vsak razplet v nato podani resnični podobi risane kamišibajske risbe nas v notranjem u-gledanju
zgodbe spet prestavi nekam naprej. A najprej in predvsem – v naši predstavnosti …
***
Igor Likar deluje kot pesnik, scenarist, dramaturg in režiser. Po študiju dramaturgije in režije na Akademiji za
gledališče, radio, film in televizijo Univerze v Ljubljani je končal tudi magistrski študij s temo Poetika in estetika
zvočne slike. Je stalni član mednarodne skupine izvedencev za področje zvoka Ars Acustica pri Evropskemzdruženju radiotelevizij (EBU). V Društvu slovenskih pisateljev več kot desetletje in pol deluje tudi kot programski- 131 -

vodja rastočega projekta Slovenska pisateljska pot, ki je nastal po njegovi zamisli. Izdal je pet pesniških zbirk in
dve knjigi novel, je avtor scenarijev in režiser 52 dokumentarnih TV filmov, med njimi so filmi o Jemnu in 39 filmov
o slovenskih pokrajinah z naslovom Razgledi slovenskih vrhov. Prejeli so najvišje mednarodne nagrade, npr.
zlatega metulja v Trenti leta 1993 in 1997, 1. nagrado Imaginarne akademije leta 2000 itd. Na področju umetniške
radiofonije je napisal ali režiral več kot 250 dramskih besedil, dokumentarnih iger in eksperimentalnih zvočnih del.
Zanje je prejel številne najvišje mednarodne nagrade, kot so nominacija EBU za najboljše evropsko besedilo za
igro Brisanje resničnosti, nagrado fedor v Beogradu, Grand Prix Macrophon v Vroclavu leta 1991 in 1994, GrandPrix Ostankino leta 1996 v Moskvi za besedilo in režijo igre Apostoli in zbiralci groze, Prix Exaequo leta 2008 v
Bratislavi ter 1. nagrada IRFI leta 2008 v Teheranu za Spanje na sveti keltski gori idr.

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Kamishibai – The Stage for Imagination - Looking and Seeing with
Voices and Drawings

Likar Igor

The traditional writing on this interesting form that is seemingly set on stage says that kamishibai is atechnique of “storytelling through voice and images.” That it is characterised by its images and thenarrator’s special vocality. That it is a way of narrating a story through voice (along with other sounds
and music) and images, that it is a paper theatre using drawings mostly for the transitions between theevents of the story. All this is true, but kamishibai is certainly something else. Something more… This
is what stirs our amazement at the simplicity and the incredible suggestive power of this technique ofminiature stories. It is a form of storytelling through the “inner axis” of imagination. The storytelling
combines watching and seeing. What does this really mean? “Watching and listening happen as
synaesthesia… Visual perception spontaneously connects to the acoustic experience,” says Michel
Dufrenne in his study on synaesthesia. He claims that this phenomenon enables the co-performances
to merge into a co-play of experience for all the senses (M. Dufrenne, “The Eye and the Ear”). Even
with artistic performative practices, which are given through or from the stage, we must never think or
speak only of what we’ve seen, of what we’re watching, of what is given to us as visual content. We
must always be conscious that we primarily “saw” with our “inner eye”, where the sensory experiencesof all the senses meet and form a common virtual image of what we experienced. We must first andforemost understand that the notion of perception is only offered to us as an invitation into the spaceof an emphatic meeting of all sensory experience, that after seeing and hearing, imaginary worlds
open up on the axis of all senses combined. We experience this on the basis of inner realizations,where senses and perceptions function together. Everything is based on “inner seeing” because it
induces the images in our spirit. The voice that narrates through images offers “images from the otherside of physiological sight” to the audience, evoking the visible (as images of the spirit andimagination). We can thus say that kamishibai theatre surpasses the simple concept of a drawing
theatre. It is a technique that makes use of the incorporeal corporeality of speech, which works as coconception of the symbolic quality of language as speech, performing stories in the function of “metalanguage”. In the kamishibai technique all senses lead to the cheerful play on the axis of imaginationand the encouraged “inner” vision. The senses challenge our sensory experience and perceptions.
How is this possible? It’s quite simple. It is a “stage of imagination” inside the spectator/listener. The
voice tunes the expectation of images, which only appear after the storyteller/artist/narrator makes
them visible. The images skip from the expected perception inside us back into the drawings, which
are only the encouraging artistic recordings of what arises from the narrator’s voice, from the chosen,
important twists or events of the story (also as hints of a different path than what we would expect). It
is always the issue of delivering the picture-stories for the viewer/spectator’s encouraged, expectedunderstanding, the inner seeing of what we primarily hear as the story, and at the same time hearing
what is suggested or told by the images. These images create an excellent sequence whenever they
are called upon by the narrator/presenter. The picturesque/ the acoustic/ the imaginative With thekamishibai theatre technique, we can discuss the wonderful cooperation of senses and perceptions,and their transfer into our expectations. Why? Because the story unfolding in front of us counts on the
expected images that are prompted in our imagination by the narrator – mostly because of the
expected and dramatically offered elements of the anticipated image, which is not yet in front of us but
is already forming inside our minds through the suggestive narration of the voice that calls out theperformance. We therefore watch and see the expected, almost in advance. Each dénouement in the- 133 -

actual image of the next kamishibai drawing sets us into the next sphere of the inner seeing of thestory. But first and foremost – into our imagination …
Keywords: Kamishibai, Imagination, Voices, Drawings

Igor Likar is a poet, writer, and a theatre, radio, TV and film director. He lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia,
where he is also known as a theatre and film dramaturge, screenwriter and playwright. After studyingof Directing and Dramaturgy at Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television, he obtained his MA
with a masters thesis “The Poetics and Aesthetics of Sound Image.” He has published seven books ofpoetry and short stories and directed theatre works by Beckett, Strindberg, Montherlant, Yerofeyev,
Ghelderod, J. M. Barrie, Slovenian poets Kocbek, Kovič, Kosovel, Boris A. Novak and others. He has
written and directed more than two hundred and fifty radio plays, documentary dramas andexperimental sound works, mostly for Radio Slovenia. With them he has participated in numerous
international festivals and won a number of awards: the nomination for the best play for Erasure of
Verity at the EBU radio play contest, the Fedor Award in Belgrade 90, the Grand Prix Macrophon 94
and 96 in Wroclaw, the Grand Prix Ostankino award from Moscow, for the text “Apostles andCollectors of Horror” and direction, the 1 st prize at the 9th International Festival of Iran 2008 for“Sleeping on a Holy Celtic Mountain”, Prix Ex Aequo for direction in Bratislava in 2008 etc. His latest
play is a stage radio performance called “Radio Tesla and the Story About the Child of Light” (2016).
His filmography includes 52 documentary and TV films. Among them are films about Jemen and 39
films about Slovenian regions, entitled “The Views of Slovenian Mountaintops”. In the field offilmmaking he also recieved several important international awards, i.e. the Golden Butterfly of Trento,
Italy, in 1993 and 1997, the Valsella Prize 2000, the 1st prize at the Imaginary Academy contest forfeature film screenplays for The Black Clown, in Zagreb in 2000. He has been an active member of theArs Acustica Expert Group of the European Broadcasting Union from its foundation in Florence in
1989. He is also a member of the Slovenian Writers’ Association, where he manages an intermedia
project The Slovenian Writers’ Trail; its aim is to revive the literary and cultural heritage of Slovenian
regions. igor.likar@rtvslo.si***
Translation: Dušanka Zabukovec“The Inner Sight” and Kamishibai
Ancient Greeks knew already that there existed “eyesight beyond eyesight”. They also knewthat people with normal eyesight, i.e. people who can see, are often blind when it comes toseeing the essence of the world. Furthermore, they knew that a person who can see must
sometimes go blind in order to see. That is why Oedipus was doomed to use his hollow eyes
for looking at his shameful deed and guilt, something he didn’t see before, until his dying day.
For what is it that our eye actually sees? Is it perhaps that the eye is but an organ that looks
while the organ that sees is something else altogether? Can we look and not see, but can wealso see while being blind?
The point under discussion is looking and seeing the essence and under-standing the world.
Also, the “inner looking and seeing enabled by stories and myths told or performed”. Thevery “inner sight” is the basis of kamishibai or the theatre of stories presented by drawings
and voices. By offering listeners “pictures from the other side of the physiological sight” (or- 134 -

simply looking), kamishibai also offers stories and images to be seen and understood. Or to
put it simply: the “pictures of our mind and imagination”. 9

The design of a kamishibai story is actually composed by one’s imagination and not by the
succession of drawings in a story. It is a design meant for telling a story in which all theviewers see it simultaneously but they each see it in their own way, for it is being formed,
built (until the very end) in our imagination, the imagination of viewers and listeners. Our
imagination is the real magic stage of kamishibai that can sometimes evaporate to an
immaterial atmosphere or abstraction (a line, a blotch, an object) in front of us or inside us.

Let us consider why: It is the site for experiencing the third dimension of a story which iscomposed of images represented by the voice and subjectivity inside us (images told,
imparted and portrayed). We are free to say that kamishibai is the medium of a portrayedword or of a figural narrative addressing our imagination.
The author Dejan Šorak in his treatise on the magical stage of imagination in an auditory
medium stated that kamishibai “induces images in our mind, it stirs up imagination, waking it
like a Sleeping Beauty”. 10
Dejan Šorak, A Film to Be Watched by our Ears (or the Selectiveness of Senses), Collection of Papers on the Magical Spacesof Imagination, Zagreb, p. 42. In his paper, Šorak discusses the radio play, the radiophonic narrative, but we can borrow his
ideas in order to understand the poetics of »kamishibai«.
910

Dejan Šorak, ibidem.
- 135 -

Kamishibai and Auditory-Visible Synaesthesias
In one of his papers on the silent film, the playwright Ranko Marinkovič writes about a certain
paradox, namely that sounds, even though they are physically absent or missing from silent
films, add the dimension of depth. He also maintains that the silent film was never viewed “inthe deaf-and-dumb way” but that the visual perception was rather spontaneously connectedwith the acoustic experience, adding what was missing when the need arose.
Marinković goes on to draw attention to the fact that the substitution of the missing elements
works by way of a spontaneous operation of rationalization.11 Not only that, the missing
elements of pictures, sounds and even behaviour are added by each individual from the preexisting “warehouse” (or the archive of experiences – oneself) created in other media as well
as by the medium of reality itself, of course. They are being added from one’s auditory
experience that used to be accompanied by viewing pictures – the experience of sensory
synaesthesias.
We know that the eye itself without the help of the ear does not take in the depth of a space
but only movements, distances, dimensions, details. The eye looks into a partial space, in its
direction, it watches movements; the ear listens to the whole space surrounding it and notes
and hears the details in it; the brain then hears and sees what is chosen out of the palette of
choices. Watching and listening proceeds in synaesthesias.
It is a well-known fact that our hearing is selective. Where would we be if our ears filled our
minds with the sum of unbearable noises we were drowning in? The ear chooses what itneeds to hear.
What about the eye? We often realize that we are watching the faces of our dearest without
ever really seeing them because we know what they look like in the first place. We arewatching the street we walk along every day without ever actually seeing it because it
represents the sum of our habits and ideas. Our eyes tend to keep us in the continuous
hallucination of seeing.

11

Branimir, Bošnjak, » Igrana in dokumentarna radijska igra v dobi sveta slike», Zbornik Čarobni prostor
domišljije in dokumenta, Zg, str.34.
- 136 -

The hallucination of seeing? Yes, because often what we see is not the real world but rather
images of our minds.
The technology of kamishibai enables voices and images in synaesthesias to profit from thepossibilities of picture plays provided by our imagination, which is what makes it so
fascinating… Let us see why.
Kamishibai is a medium that builds in pictorial elements with the help of the viewer or listenerby additionally instilling and imaging where it is expected while creating communicational
immediateness.
The technique of kamishibai is based on the suggestively balanced subjectivizing of thesenses and the procedure of gradually formed cognition which, we may say, keeps changing
along with the method of narration, with the story in progress, from the »blind« sites ofordinary, normally functioning perception to active and »acute« ones.
A kamishibai story addresses individual receptors and is intended for the »intimacy« of theviewer or listener; for the stage of an individual’s imagination.
Kamishibai is Three-Dimensional Narration
Kamishibaj is, as we already said, a medium of in-painted word or figuralic narration, which
addresses the imagination. It is a kind of special storytelling , a kind of »three-dimensional
narration«, narration »in time and space«. 12
We are all familiar with a scene from the period of childishly happy »civilization«: a tribal
magician, a shaman, uses movements, dance and voice in order to tell his story to themembers of the tribe sitting in a circle around the fire with children in their arms. They all
listen to him, painting the traditional myth with their »inner« eyes. In the imagination of every
individual listener, the collective tension stirs up a continuous connection between the pastand the present. (From the film Apocalypto, i.e.)
In the period of time before the existence of written records, witch doctors, beggars,
minstrels, bards and other travelling storytellers, carriers of oral tradition, used their voices
and drawings of motions to tell their stories to their viewers or listeners, gathered around fires
and ovens. They stirred up »images« in the collective subconscious. They created an
imaginative stage in the minds of other people by using the suggestive power of their voice
and movements. Today we only have grandmothers to do that – and kamishibai, obviously.
The Third Axis of Imaginative Space Rests Inside the Viewer
With kamishibai, words spoken to us in the limited space of fragile drawings – from one
drawing to the other, from one image to the other – build inside us a stage for the worldpresented to us.

12Angela Carter, Three-Dimensional Narration. From the collection The Magical World of Imagination and Documents, p.

67.F- 137 -

This openness of kamishibai as a medium, the manner in which the listener is invited to join
the narration in order to complement it with his own way of »seeing« voices, sounds andfeatures of the beings in the drawings and events in the narrated story – this is what gives
the narration in kamishibai its true dimension, i.e. the third dimension, opening up theenchanting space (stressed by the power of acousmatics in the narrator’s voice, »the voice
behind the curtain«, presenting various characters in the story).13
We are entitled to say: the third dimension of an experience, »the depth image« of the storyis created by the viewer of kamishibai inside himself. The third dimension of a narration iscreated inside the viewer or listener, therefore the third axis of spaciousness or the »space of
narration« is the viewer or listener.
Behind the seemingly linear narration coming from the kamishibai box many things are
happening at the same time. Consequently, the kamishibai technique does not offer
drawings acted out or flatly voiced stories but rather enables the creation of imaginary
scenes stirred up in the depth of the narration (full of additional meanings). As in any otherform of narration composed of words and drawings, the kamishibai technique functions on
the magical and mysterious boundary-line between the visible and the invisible, represented
in what is seen, again questioning the area of the in-visible which must be filled up by theimagination of the viewer and the listener. 14
Kamishibai Enables Imaging – Because it is a Play of the Universe, a Play with Time andSpace
A kamishibai story has as its goal to achieve blindness in a person that can see; a blindness
through which one is to take notice of meanings and beauty by a selective method inchoosing strokes, drawings and words for a story.
Kamishibai stories also play with time. This includes “playing with time and space” while in anarrative we can change locations momentarily and effortlessly, using various hints in a
drawing and voice for skipping into the areas of action in order to conjure up a seaside
atmosphere, inns, deserts etc. Such “play” with voices and drawings enables kamishibai torecreate beautiful passages and magnificent imaginary landscapes.
A kamishibai author tries to infuse the story in his little box with the feeling that there isnothing but magical ether around us, ether that allows us to see everything, both yesterday,
today and tomorrow. It creates an illusion in order to conjure up the feeling that thekamishibai stage is the theatre of the universe. That time is really its hero and our hero as
well.
Creating an Illusion by Drawings, Narratives and Sounds
A kamišibaj performance enables individuals to »dream and imagine the world by their
imagination«, as we said. The narration of the presenter of kamishibai can be a lot more
evocative than everyday speech. In his speech he can use all kinds of rhetorical inventions
and artistic tricks in order to stress some imaginary world.

13
14The »acousmatic voice« is discussed by Mladen Dolar in his book »About the Voice«.
Angela Carter, Three-dimensional Narration, p. 67.
- 138 -

In a kamishibai performance, when you want to include a windy day you can choose the kindof wind you are striving for by selecting the vocal and background instrumental sounds: asummer, winter or spring wind, a storm, breeze or wind in the treetops. There are limitlesspossibilities. Thus there exists a special list of various possible means for creating akamishibai illusion.
In its creative process, kamishibai as a medium is the result of imagination and innovation aspart of the narration. It is based on searching for ways of presenting the magical world of
pictorial stories, connecting pictures (i.e. drawings) and vocal descriptions and telling them insuch a way that a viewer’s imagined world opens up beyond literal narration.
We can thus give the final definition of this prolegomenon (or critical introduction): Kamishibaiis the process of e-vocation and imaginative completion of features and meanings of thepictorial stories and their significance by representation and interpretation.
An E-Vocation of the World by Voices and Drawings
With the narrator in kamishibai, words and drawings become some sort of mutual carriers ofemotions and imagination. I evoke means I call, I summon, consequently I bring to life – withmy voice? A word supplemented in the form of a tiny drawing is presented on the small stageof kamishibai which offers inner visions. The voice that brings images to life and evokes them
becomes the listener’s imaginary stage.
Kamishibai does not entail portraying or representing exterior stories, scenes meant forpeople’s eyes, but rather portraying by way of words that are imprinted on our imagination,spoken inwardly, into ourselves.
In the narrative medium of kamishibai, words regain their magic, the magic that narration has
lost through literature because we separated it from the sound, or voice, by writing it down.

- 139 -

Potovanje v času s kamišibajem: raziskovanje svetovne
privlačnosti magičnega gibljivega medija

McGowan Tara M.
uvodno predavanje sklopa IV.:
Kamišibaj kot srečanje kultur

V zadnjih desetletjih je kamišibaj pot ponesla daleč od dežele njegovega nastanka in še naprej se širi po svetu v
nove, nepričakovane smeri. Tisti na Japonskem, ki so menili, da bo s pojavom televizije v petdesetih letih
prejšnjega stoletja praktično izumrl, se verjetno sprašujejo, zakaj je ta skromna, nedigitalna tehnologija tako
privlačna. Da bi odgovorila na to vprašanje, v prispevku poskušam umestiti razvoj kamišibaja v okvir
zgodovinskega razvoja multimedije, ki upošteva tudi medkulturna potovanja drugih zgodnjih cinematskih medijev,
kot so laterna magika in nemi filmi. Izumitelji kamišibaja so uporabili materiale, ki so bili na voljo – papir, les,barvo, roke, glas in oko – in ustvarili čarobno iluzijo »velikega platna« v miniaturi. Ko se je na Japonskem prvič
pojavila televizija, se je imenovala denki kamishibai – »električni kamišibaj«, in sicer zaradi zunanje podobnosti
med zaslonom in kamišibajem, saj gibanje slik in zvoka tudi pri slednjem poteka v zaključenem okviru. Tudi pri
tehnologijah 21. stoletja še vedno igrajo veliko vlogo zvok, podoba v gibanju in zaslon; pogosto se jim pripisuje,
da omogočajo tako imenovano »novo pismenost«, uporabnikom pa ustvarjanje mešanice medijskih formatov. Ta
sposobnost sporočanja z vedno novim prepletanjem medijev in načinov predstavljanja se zdi nova, vendar le, čena zgodovino gledamo linearno. Podobno kot Möbiusov trak se zgodovina kamišibaja stalno zvrača sama naseter strokovnjakom in izvajalcem ponuja možnosti za »potovanje skozi čas«; pozabljeni vidiki se namreč znova
odkrivajo, ponovno aktualizirajo stare ideje in jih peljejo v nove smeri. Analiza kamišibaja znotraj globalne,
avdiovizualne zgodovine, ki se razteza od laterne magike do interneta, nam omogoča, da dobimo globlji uvid v
inovativnost in cenimo nelinearnost dogodkov, ki jih doživimo. Na podlagi zgodnjih artefaktov iz zbirke knjižnice
Cotsen Children’s Library na Univerzi v Princetonu, ki so povezani s kamišibajem, ta prispevek raziskuje nekaterepoti, ki jih je v zadnjem času ubral kamišibaj, pa tudi najrazličnejše načine, na katere so ga na Japonskem odnjegovih skromnih začetkov prilagajali in na novo prepletali z drugimi mediji. Z nedigitalnimi, avdiovizualnimi vidiki
se kamišibaj osvobaja spon tehnologije ter zagotavlja vsestranskost in potencial za igro; to je omogočilo in še zdaj
navdihuje številne adaptacije njegove oblike. Omenjeni vidiki privlačijo umetnike, pripovedovalce zgodb inpedagoge širom sveta, saj ponujajo številne pristope k mediju in njegovo prilagajanje glede na želeni učinek innamen.
***
Tara M. McGowan je umetnica, pedagoginja in pripovedovalka, ki že skoraj dvajset let raziskuje zvrst kamišibaja
v ZDA in na Japonskem. Njena prva knjiga Učilnica kamišibaja: vključevanje mnogoterih oblik pismenosti skozi
umetnost teatra iz papirja (2010) predstavlja enega od vrhuncev več kot desetletne izkušnje. Doktorirala je leta
2012 na University of Pennsylvania. Leta 2015 je izdala Uprizarjanje kamišibaja: porajajoča se nova pismenost za
globalno občinstvo (Routledge). Izvajala in vodila je vrsto delavnic po nacionalnih muzejih v New Yorku in
Washingtonu. Z izvirnimi kamišibaj pripovedmi je nastopala na kamišibaj festivalih na Japonskem in v Mehiki. Kot
poznavalki kamišibaja ji je Center za raziskave japonske kulture v Tokiu 2017. podelil nagrado Horio Seishi zanjen prispevek pri mednarodni afirmaciji kamišibaja. Trenutno deluje kot svetovalka v zbirki redkih otroških knjig
na univerzi Princeton in kot izvršna direktorica neprofitne organizacije, ki skrbi za dostopnost informacij o japonski
kulturi med akademiki v Severni Ameriki.
Izobrazba: Univerza v Pensilvaniji, doktorat, maj 2012 (podiplomski študij na Graduate School of Education,
2006–12). Naslov disertacije: Loosening the Ligatures of Text: Kamishibai (Paper Theater) in the Modal Ecologies
of 21st Century Classrooms Univerza Kyoto Sangyō (Kjoto, Japonska). Gostujoča raziskovalka, Inštitut za
svetovne zadeve, november 2012 Univerza v Princetonu, diploma iz vzhodnoazijskih študijev in primerjalne
literature. Diplomirala z oceno summa cum laude, junij 1990. Opravila strokovni izpit za poučevanje (Teachers
Preparation Certification Program), januar 2001. Univerza v Kjotu (Kjoto, Japonska) štipendija fundacije Ito.
Znanstvena sodelavka na področju primerjalnih folklornih študijev, 1993–94. Meduniverzitetni center za študije
japonskega jezika (Jokohama, Japonska), 1987–88.
Zaposlitve: izvršna direktorica, Severnoameriški svet za japonske knjižnične vire (NCC Japan) (2017–),
svetovalka za metapodatke za japonske zbirke na Oddelku za redke knjige in storitve v knjižnici Cotsen Children’s- 140 -

Library, Univerza v Princetonu (2015–), znanstvena sodelavka za kuratorstvo in razstave v Muzeju Ameriškega
filozofskega društva (Filadelfija) (2012–15), kuratorstvo posebnih razstav v galeriji stavbe Philosophical Hall:
Jefferson, Science, and Exploration (april–december 2015); Jefferson, Philadelphia, and the Founding of a Nation(april–december 2014); Through the Looking Lens: Cornelius Varley’s Wondrous Images of Art and Science,
1800-1860 (april–december 2013), pomočnica urednika znanstvene revije Children’s Literature in Education(2006–2010), urejanje spletnega sistema za povezovanje recenzentov člankov z ustreznimi rokopisi ter pomoč pri
dokončnih uredniških odločitvah.
Priznanja in nagrade : Štipendija za postdoktorski študij kuratorstva, fundacija Andrew W. Mellon Foundation(september 2013–avgust 2015), Knjižnica in muzej Ameriškega filozofskega društva. Nagrada Friends ofPrinceton University Library Award (2011) za raziskavo zbirke redkih grafik omocha (slik igrač) v knjižnici CotsenChildren’s Library. Štipendija fundacije Ito (1993–94) za študij na Univerzi v Kjotu. Štipendija fundacije JapanFoundation (1987–88) za študij na Meduniverzitetnem centru za študije japonskega jezika.
Publikacije: Knjige: Performing Kamishibai: An Emerging New Literacy for a Global Audience (Routledge Press,2015), The Kamishibai Classroom: Engaging Multiple Literacies through the Art of “Paper Theater” (Linworth
Libraries Unlimited, 2010)Članki: »The Designs of Kawasaki Kyosen: Envisioning the Future of a Vanishing World through Toy Pictures(Omocha-e),« Princeton University Library Chronicle, zvezek 64, št. 3, pomlad, 2013. Kamishibai no ronbunde
hakase gō shūtoku (Doktoriranje z dizertacijo o kamišibaju) Kodomo no bunka (Revija o otroški kulturi), zv. 3,
2013. Tokushū: Hirogaru kamishibai no sekai (Posebna izdaja: Rastoči svet kamišibaja), Kodomo no bunka(Revija o otroški kulturi), zv. 12, 2005. »Enlightened Conversation in the ‘Kennebec Kingdom’ of Sarah Manning(1753-1834)
and
BenjaminVaughan(1751-1835),«
APS
MuseumOnlineCollections
http://research.apsmuseum.org/exhibits/show/sarah-manning-vaughan. »The Many Faces of Kamishibai(Japanese Paper Theater): Past, Present, and Future« http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/content.cfm/the-manyfaces-of-kamishibai.

- 141 -

Time Travels with Kamishibai: Exploring the Global Appeal of a
Magical Moving Medium

McGowan Tara M.
Introductory Lecture of the Section IV:
Kamishibai as Cross-Cultural Encounter

Over the past several decades, kamishibai has travelled far beyond its country of origin and continues
to spread around the globe in new and unexpected directions. Those in Japan who thought that it had
all but died out with the advent of television in the 1950s may be wondering what the international
appeal of this unassuming, non-digital technology might be. To begin to answer this question, thispaper attempts to place the development of kamishibai within a larger multimedia history that takes
into account the cross-cultural travels of other early cinematic media, such as magic lanterns andsilent films. The inventors of kamishibai took what simple materials they had to hand—paper, wood,
paint, hand, voice, and eye—and created the magical illusion of the “big screen” in miniature. In fact,
when television first entered Japan, it was called denki kamishibai, “electric kamishibai,” because of
the outward similarity of a screen with moving images and audio, occurring within an enclosed frame.
21st century technologies continue to rely heavily on sound, moving image, and screen and are often
credited with enabling what have been called “new literacies,” allowing users to create a mish-mash of
media formats. This ability to communicate by remixing modes and media may seem new, but only if
we look at history as a linear progression. Kamishibai’s history, much like a Moebius strip,
continuously folds back upon itself, offering scholars and practitioners opportunities for “time travel,” asforgotten aspects of the past are rediscovered and old ideas are picked up and taken in new
directions. Examining kamishibai within a global, audio-visual history that extends from the magic
lantern to the internet enables a more complex understanding of innovation and an appreciation of the
non-linearity of lived events. Drawing upon examples of early kamishibai-related artefacts in the
Cotsen Children’s Library collection at Princeton University, this paper explores some of the routes
kamishibai has recently travelled, as well as the myriad ways it has been adapted and remixed inJapan since its humble beginnings. The non-digital audio-visual aspects of kamishibai free it up fromthe constraints of technology and provide the versatility and potential for play that have enabled andcontinue to inspire multiple adaptations of the form. These aspects appeal to artists, storytellers, andeducators from around the world because they offer multiple access points from which to enter intoand elaborate the medium for different effects and purposes.
Keywords: Kamishibai
Transmediation

Performance,

Multimedia

History,

Magic

Lanterns,

New

Literacy,

Tara M. McGowan is an artist, educator, storyteller, who has researched kamishibai for nearly two
decades, both in the US and Japan. Her first book, The Kamishibai Classroom: Engaging Multiple
Literacies through the Art of Paper Theater (2010) was the culmination of more than a decade ofadapting what she had learned in Japan to American classrooms. Tara received her PhD in 2012 fromthe University of Pennsylvania. In 2015, she published Performing Kamishibai: An Emerging New
Literacy for a Global Audience (Routledge). Tara has performed and conducted workshops at notablemuseums in New York and in Washington, DC. She has performed original kamishibai stories at thekamishibai festivals in Japan and in Mexico. In 2017, she received the Horio Seishi Award from theCenter for Research on Japanese Children’s Culture in Tokyo for her contributions to the field of- 142 -

international kamishibai. She currently works as a research consultant for the Cotsen Children's
Library collection at Princeton University and as Executive Director of NCC Japan, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to making Japanese information resources available to scholars in North
America.
Education: University of Pennsylvania, PhD, May 2012, Graduate School of Education (2006–2012),
Dissertation title: Loosening the Ligatures of Text: Kamishibai (Paper Theater) in the Modal Ecologies
of 21st Century Classrooms; Kyoto Sangyō University (Kyoto, Japan), Visiting Scholar, Institute forWorld Affairs, November 2012; Princeton University, BA, East Asian Studies/Comparative Literature,
Graduated Summa cum laude, June 1990; Completed Teachers Preparation Certification Program,
January 2001; Kyoto University (Kyoto, Japan) Ito Foundation Scholarship; Research Fellow in
Comparative Folklore Studies, 1993–94; Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies(Yokohama, Japan), 1987–88.
Employment: Executive Director, The North American Council on Japanese Library Resources (NCC
Japan) (2017–present); Metadata Consultant for Japanese Collections in the Rare Books andServices Department at Princeton University’s Cotsen Children’s Library (2015–present); Curatorialand Exhibitions Research Associate at the American Philosophical Society Museum (Philadelphia, PA)(2012–2015); Curating special exhibitions at the gallery in Philosophical Hall: Jefferson, Science, andExploration (April–December, 2015), Jefferson, Philadelphia, and the Founding of a Nation (April–
December, 2014), Through the Looking Lens: Cornelius Varley’s Wondrous Images of Art andScience, 1800–1860 (April–December, 2013); Assistant Editor of Children’s Literature in Education(peer-reviewed) (2006–2010); Managed the online system connecting reviewers with appropriate
manuscript submissions and assisted in final editorial decisions.
Honors and Awards: Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Post-Doctoral Curatorial Fellowship (September
2013–August 2015) American Philosophical Society Library and Museum; Friends of Princeton
University Library Award (2011) for research conducted on the Cotsen Children’s Library’s collection ofrare omocha-e (toy picture) prints; Ito Foundation Scholarship (1993-94) for study at Kyoto University;
Japan Foundation Grant (1987-88) for study at the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language
Studies.
Publications: Books: Performing Kamishibai: An Emerging New Literacy for a Global Audience(Routledge Press, 2015); The Kamishibai Classroom: Engaging Multiple Literacies through the Art of“Paper Theater” (Linworth Libraries Unlimited, 2010). Articles: “The Designs of Kawasaki Kyosen:
Envisioning the Future of a Vanishing World through Toy Pictures (Omocha-e),” Princeton University
Library Chronicle, Volume 64, No. 3, Spring, 2013; Kamishibai no ronbunde hakase gō shūtoku (Ongetting a PhD with a dissertation about kamishibai) Kodomo no bunka (Journal of Children’s Culture),Vol. 3, 2013; Tokushū: Hirogaru kamishibai no sekai (Special edition: The expanding world of
kamishibai), Kodomo no bunka (Journal of Children’s Culture), Vol. 12, 2005; “Enlightened
Conversation in the ‘Kennebec Kingdom’ of Sarah Manning (1753-1834) and Benjamin Vaughan(1751-1835)” APS Museum Online Collections http://research.apsmuseum.org/exhibits/show/sarahmanning-vaughan; “The Many Faces of Kamishibai (Japanese Paper Theater): Past, Present, andFuture” http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/content.cfm/the-many-faces-of-kamishibai.

***
Article will be published in Amfiteater, Journal of Performing Arts Theory (ISSN 18554539 (printed edition), 1855-850X (online edition)), Volume 7, Number 1 in July 2019.

- 143 -

Kamišibaj in dialekt: poskus dedovanja dialekta iz Hachijojime, ki
mu grozi izumrtje

Miki Yosuke

Prispevek obravnava uporabo podatkovne baze govorjenega diskurza pri ohranjanju in oživljanju ogroženega
jezika. Kot primer dokumentiranja in vizualiziranja bomo obravnavali predstavo z zgodbo in slikami, ki so jo
ustvarili govorci jezika na otočju Hachijo, in se pri tem osredotočili na slog pripovedovanja zgodb. V prispevku
bomo obravnavali uporabo avdio gradiva, sestavljenega iz posnetih pogovorov za ohranjanje in oživljanje jezika,
ki mu grozi izumrtje, in sicer z dokumentiranjem in videoposnetki predstav s slikami in zgodbo, ki so jih ustvarili
govorci jezika. Jezik z otočja Hachijo je UNESCO leta 2009 razglasil za »jezik, ki mu grozi izumrtje«. Danes
tradicionalni jezik govori le še nekaj ljudi, posnetki spontanih pogovorov, ki se zbirajo za ohranitev jezika, pa nezadoščajo za ohranitev predhodnega sistema jezika. Zato smo po pregledu transkripcij spontanih pogovorov
skupaj z naravnimi govorci iz transkripcij ustvarili revidirana besedila za ponovno snemanje. Da bi jezik ostal čim
bolj naraven, smo za temo izbrali ljudske pripovedke in se odločili za slog pripovedovanja zgodb. Tako smo lahko
ohranili naravna besedila v ogroženem jeziku in glasove, na podlagi katerih so besedila nastala. Za lažje
oživljanje jezika smo ustvarili tudi predstave s slikami in zgodbo ter pripravili besedila za pet regij. Odbor za
izobraževanje na otočju Hachijo je že razvil igro Hachijoan Karuta (2014), vendar je zgodba v obliki predstave sslikami in z zgodbo primernejša, saj omogoča poslušanje in učenje daljših govornih enot v jeziku otočja Hachijo
kot navedena igra. Poleg spletnega videa, na katerem govorec izvaja predstavo s slikami in zgodbo, sem ustvariltudi predstavitev v powerpointu, ki jo je mogoče prenesti s spleta. Govorci se tako lahko učijo iz videa, predstavo
v ogroženem jeziku pa lahko izvedejo tudi sami. Besedilo v predstavi je avtentično glede situacij, v katerih se
uporablja, ter jezikovno pravilno, zato učeči lahko govorijo in izvajajo predstavo v tradicionalnem jeziku otočja
Hachijo. Z izvajanjem predstave se jezik delno oživlja. S predstavami, ki jih sestavljajo slike in zgodba, lahko
prispevamo k ohranjanju in napredku ogroženega jezika.
***
Yosuke Miki je rojen v Tokiu. Doktoriral je iz literature in je izredni profesor na Fakulteti za humanistične vede
Univerze Mejiro (Japonska). Podiplomski študij literature je končal na Univerzi Kokugakuin. Nato je bil predavatelj
na isti univerzi, izredni profesor na Univerzi Chosun v Koreji, raziskovalec na Nacionalnem inštitutu za japonski
jezik in jezikoslovje ter posebni raziskovalec na postdoktorskem študiju v okviru Japonske zveze za promocijo
znanosti. Posveča se japonskemu jezikoslovju, dialektologiji in fonetiki (teoriji naglaševanja). Opravlja terensko
delo na raznih območjih Japonske in opisuje narečja z različnih vidikov, kot so glasoslovje, naglas, besedišče inslovnica. Trenutno raziskuje narečje na otočju Hachijoshima oziroma Hachijo, oddaljenih otokih, ki spadajo pod
tokijsko prefekturo. Leta 2009 ga je UNESCO razglasil za jezik, ki mu grozi izumrtje. Yusuke Mike je zadolžen za
ohranjanje tega jezika v sodelovanju z drugimi raziskovalci, lokalnimi vladami, Nacionalnim inštitutom za japonski
jezik in Agencijo za kulturne zadeve. Jezik raziskuje, zapisuje in rešuje ter ustvarja slovnice, slovarje, gradivo
govorjenega diskurza, učbenike itd. Poleg tega se že od študentskih let posveča tudi preučevanju naglasa
narečja v metropolitskem območju, iz raziskovanja naglasov pa je tudi doktoriral.

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Kamishibai in Dialect: Aiming to Inherit the Hachijojima Dialect
Endangered by Extinction

Miki Yosuke

This paper aims to discuss the approach of applying an oral discourse database to the preservationand succession activities of an endangered language. As an example of documenting and visualizing
a performance using a picture-story show by speakers of Hachijoan, we will focus on and discuss thestyle of storytelling. In this paper, we will discuss the use of audio conversation materials in the effort
to preserve and pass on a language in danger of extinction through documenting and videorecording
picture-story shows as recounted by Hachijoan speakers. The Hachijoan was designated as a“language in danger of extinction” by UNESCO in 2009. Even now, only a few people can speak
traditional Hachijoan, and the natural conversation recordings collected to preserve the language are
not sufficient to conserve the former language system. For this reason, we created revised texts of thetranscripts after consulting and examining the natural conversation transcripts with native speakers. In
the re-recording of the revised texts, in order to eliminate unnaturalness as much as possible, folktales
were chosen as the subject material, and the style of storytelling was adopted; thus, we were able topreserve both the traditional Hachijoan texts and the voices on which these texts were based. In
addition, in order to facilitate the application in an effort to pass down the dialects, we created picturestory shows by preparing texts for five regions. Although there is a card game called “Hachijoan
Karuta” by the Board of Education in Hachijo (2014), the story in a picture-story show is superior inthat it can listen to and learn a longer unit of the Hachijoan language speech than that of the“Hachijoan Karuta.” In addition to uploading a video on which the speaker played a picture-story showon the internet, I created a PowerPoint picture-story show and made it available for downloading anduse. Not only can learners watch and learn from the video, but they can also perform a picture-story
show in the Hachijoan language on their own by downloading the PowerPoint file. The text in the
picture-story show is authentic in the situations for which it is used and is linguistically accurate. For
that reason, learners can speak and perform in the traditional Hachijo language. When a new
performer completes the story, the language is inherited, although the inheritence is partial. By making
use of a picture-story show, we can contribute to the preservation and progress of Hachijoan.
Keywords: Endangered Language, Language Inheritance, Hachijoan, Documentation, Oral Discourse
Database

Yosuke Miki, PhD (Literature). Mejiro University, Faculty of Human Sciences, Junior Associate
Professor. Completed graduate school of literature at Kokugakuin University. Part-time Lecturer at
Kokugakuin University, Associate Professor at Chosun University in Korea, Part-time Researcher at
the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics, as a Special Researcher PD of theJapan Society for the Promotion of Science. He went through these positions and arrived at his current
position. He was born in Tokyo. His specialized fields are Japanese Linguistics, Dialectology,
Phonetics (Accent theory). He does field work in various parts of Japan and describes dialects fromvarious aspects such as speech sound, accent, vocabulary and grammar. The current researchsubject is Hachijoan (Hachijoshima dialect). Hachijoan is one of the dialects of Japanese, spoken in
Hachijoshima – in remote islands belonging to Tokyo. The Hachijoan dialect was designated by
UNESCO as being in danger of disappearing in 2009. For that reason, Yosuke Miki is in charge of- 145 -

preserving the Hachijo language in collaboration with other researchers, local governments, theNational Institute of Japanese Language and the Agency for Cultural Affairs. He researches, records
and saves Hachijoan, and also creates grammar books, dictionaries, voice discourse materials,
textbooks and so on. Apart from this, he has been studying the accent of the dialect of themetropolitan area since he was a student. He got a doctoral degree in accent research.

***
Article will be published in Amfiteater, Journal of Performing Arts Theory (ISSN 18554539 (printed edition), 1855-850X (online edition)), Volume 7, Number 1 in July 2019.

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Kamišibaj na Japonskem in v tujini: zgodovina, tranzicija inperspektiva prihodnosti

Moritoki Nagisa

Cilj tega prispevka je na kratko predstaviti zgodovino kamišibaja ter njegove perspektive v današnji digitalni dobi.
Pri tem se bom osredotočila na njegovo družbeno vlogo. Težko je opredeliti, kdaj in kako se je kamišibaj prvič
pojavil. Njegovi temelji naj bi bili emaki (zvitki s slikami, ki so jih spremljali pripovedni vložki) ali utsushi-e(predstave s projektorjem »čarobno svetilko«) in tachi-e (predstave s papirnatimi lutkami). Zdi se, da je bil
kamišibaj konec 19. stoletja oblika zabave. Od takrat je minilo že več kot stoletje in zgodovinski viri kažejo, da je
tradicija pripovedovanja zgodb s tehniko kamišibaj doživela vrsto transformacij. Med drugo svetovno vojno jejaponsko cesarstvo kamišibaj uporabljalo kot propagandno sredstvo. Prikazovali so ga kot orodje za ustvarjanje
dvosmernega odnosa med igralcem in občinstvom. S pomočjo kamišibaja je militarizem prodrl dobesedno v vsakvidik tedanjega življenja, kamišibaj pa je imel tudi večji vpliv od tedanjih časopisov in radia. Po vojni je kamišibaj
spet postal oblika zabave. Izvajali so ga na ulicah; številne zgodbe so bile napisane ena za drugo na podlagi
ilustracij. Največji del občinstva so predstavljali otroci in se veselili predstav, ki so se izvajale večkrat dnevno.
Priljubljenost kamišibaja je naraščala, dokler se v šestdesetih letih ni razširilo televizijsko oddajanje. Po pojavu
televizije je občinstvo kamišibaja izginilo z ulic in doma začelo spremljati televizijski program. Postopoma se jekamišibaj pričel izvajati v šolah in knjižnicah. Zgodbe so večinoma znane stare pripovedke, zato je težko
opredeliti, v čem natanko naj bi se kamišibaj tedanjega časa razlikoval od slikanic. V 21. stoletju je kamišibaj
orodje samoaktualizacije. Osvaja tujino in se izvaja tako na Japonskem kot drugje. Vsakdo lahko ustvari ali izbere
zgodbo, jo nariše in izvede. Kamišibaj se uporablja celo na področju psihologije in jezikoslovnega raziskovanja.
Danes se je odnos med igralcem in občinstvom v predstavah kamišibaja spremenil: slog komunikacije je dokaj
enosmeren – ta namreč poteka od igralca do občinstva.
***
Dr. Nagisa Moritoki (1969) je docentka na Oddelku za azijske študije na Univerzi v Ljubljani. Predava japonski
jezik in literaturo na programu dodiplomskega in podiplomskega študija. Pri raziskovanju se posveča
besediloslovju, jezikovnemu izobraževanju in jezikovni politiki. Aktivno sodeluje z raziskovalci v Srednji Evropi inna Japonskem na najrazličnejših področjih – od jezikoslovja do jezikovnega izobraževanja. Je tudi zunanja
raziskovalka Nacionalnega inštituta za japonski jezik in jezikoslovje ter Univerze v Tsukubi. Dr. Moritoki je tudi
glasbenica, ki se ukvarja s tradicionalno japonsko glasbo. Igra tradicionalno in sodobno glasbo na koto, šamisenin sanšin z otočja Okinava, z umetniki pa sodeluje tudi kot vokalistka. Močno jo zanima ustno izročilo v Sloveniji inna Japonskem, vključno s pripovedovanjem zgodb. Nastopa kot pripovedovalka zgodb in z ljudmi prek njih deli
srečo, nesrečo, smeh in čustva. Pripovedovanje zgodb vidi kot harmonično zlitje jezikoslovja, glasbe in
poučevanja.

- 147 -

Kamishibai in Japan and Abroad: History, Transition and Future
Perspective

Moritoki Nagisa

The aim of this paper is to briefly present the history of kamishibai, as well as its future perspectives in
the present digital age with the focus on its role in society. It is difficult to pinpoint when and how
kamishibai first appeared. The kamishibai is said to have its roots in ‘emaki’ (picture scrolls withinterspersed narrative accounts), or ‘utsushi-e’ (magic lantern performances) and ‘tachi-e’ (paper doll
performances). It would appear that kamishibai was performed in the end of the 19th century as a formof entertainment. More than a hundred years have passed since then, and a glance at historicalaccounts shows the various transformations of kamishibai in the tradition of kamishibai storytelling.
During WWII, kamishibai functioned as a medium for propaganda used by the Empire of Japan.
Kamishibai was shown as a tool for building a bilateral relation between the performer and theaudience. Its performance contributed to the infiltration of militarism into literally every aspect of life at
the time, and the influence of kamishibai surpassed that of newspapers and broadcasting in that age.
Post-war, kamishibai became entertainment again. It was performed in the streets, and many stories
were written one after another using drawings. Children comprised the majority of that audience, andwere looking forward to the performances which were played several times a day. Kamishibai’s
popularity continued to rise until television broadcasting spread in the 1960s. After the appearance of
television, the audience of kamishibai disappeared from the streets and started to watch programmes
in their own homes. Gradually kamishibai came to be performed at schools and libraries. The stories
are mostly well-known old tales, therefore it is difficult to point out the particular feature thatdifferentiates kamishibai from picture books in this age. The role of kamishibai in the 21st century isthat of a tool of self-actualization. It is exported and performed both abroad and in Japan. Each person
may make or select a story, draw it, and perform it. Kamishibai is even used in the fields of
psychotherapy and linguistics research. Nowadays, the relationship between the performer and theaudience in kamishibai performances has changed: the communication style is rather one-sided –namely from the performer to the audience.
Keywords: Audience, Performer, Relationship, Media, Self-Actualization

Nagisa Moritoki, Ph. D. (born in 1969), is an assistant professor at the Department of Asian Studies
at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana. She teaches Japanese language and literature in
the undergraduate and graduate programmes. Her research interests include text-linguistics, language
education and language policy. Dr. Moritoki actively cooperates with researchers in Central Europe aswell as in Japan on various fields, from linguistics to language education. She is also an external
researcher at the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics and at the University ofTsukuba. Dr. Moritoki is also a musician of Japanese traditional music. She plays traditional andmodern music on koto, shamisen and sanshin from the Okinawa islands and collaborates with artists
as a vocalist. She is fascinated by the oral tradition in Slovenia and Japan, including storytelling. She
performs as a storyteller and shares happiness, misfortune, laughter and emotion with people throughtheir stories. Dr. Moritoki finds storytelling to be a wholesome fusion of linguistics, music andeducation.

- 148 -

***
Article will be published in Amfiteater, Journal of Performing Arts Theory (ISSN 18554539 (printed edition), 1855-850X (online edition)), Volume 7, Number 1 in July 2019.

- 149 -

Priredba kamišibaja v izobraževalno orodje za reprodukcijsko
zdravje v Indiji

Nakaya Sommet Maki in Sommet Moritz

Ta prispevek predstavlja obstoječi projekt, ki uporablja kamišibaj za izboljšanje izobraževanja o reprodukcijskem
zdravju v Indiji. Izobraževalni pripomoček, ki je nastal med delom, je spremenil konvencionalno obliko kamišibaja
in jo priredil lokalnim razmeram, da jo je lažje uporabljati. Tako lahko celo nešolani poučujejo to zapleteno temo
na objektiven in prijeten način. Spolna vzgoja je v Indiji zelo zaznamovana in se bojuje proti pomanjkanju znanja
ter želje po učenju pa tudi proti splošnemu občutku sramu, ki izvira iz družbe, v kateri je ta tema še vedno tabu.
Starše in politike skrbi, da bo izobraževanje o reprodukcijskem zdravju otroke sililo k seksu in k prezgodnjemu
odraščanju. Toda otroci obenem potrebujejo informacije, ki jih zato pridobijo iz nezanesljivih virov, kot so njihovi
prijatelji, bratje in sestre ali internet. Med šestmesečnim bivanjem v Čenaju v Indiji sem ustvarila izobraževalni
program na osnovi kamišibaja, katerega cilj je nasloviti prav te težave. Orodje sem razvila v sodelovanju stamkajšnjimi najstniki in strokovnjaki za spolno vzgojo, preizkusili pa smo ga pred 70 osnovnošolci in srednješolci,
ki spolne vzgoje še niso bili deležni. Kamišibaj zlahka vključuje kulturne težave, saj ima edinstven način
predstavitve: zmanjšuje mučni občutek izpostavljenosti, ki spremlja pogovore o spolnosti, saj se tako učitelji kot
učenci raje osredotočijo na slike in pripoved kot drug na drugega. Od pripovedovalca kamišibaj zahteva le to, da
zna brati, zato lahko celo nešolani učitelji izobražujejo otroke o zapletenih temah, ki segajo od človeške anatomije
do prostovoljne privolitve v spolnost in enakosti spolov. Vsebino smo previdno razvili, da čim objektivneje podaja
informacije o reprodukcijskem zdravju – otrokom ponuja nov pogled na spolnost skozi oči živalskih likov. Ker soliki živali, jim ni težko govoriti o človeški spolnosti, obenem pa lahko z zunanjega gledišča preizprašujejo človeško
vedenje, ki je zakoreninjeno v predsodkih in diskriminaciji. Ker kamišibaj v Indiji ni dobro poznana zvrst, sem
morala prirediti njegovo fizično obliko, da so se znižali stroški izdelave in da je orodje lažje uporabljati. Šole vbližini si kamišibaje zaradi prenosljivosti zlahka delijo ali izmenjujejo. Vsebino predstav smo si zamislili kot
transmedijsko serijo izdelkov, ki bi lahko vključevali slikanice, posnetke na spletu, kamišibaje, ki jih je mogoče
sneti s spleta, in druge medije.
***
Maki Nakaya Sommet, industrijska oblikovalka, se je rodila leta 1986 v Tokiu. Od dvajsetega leta živi in dela v
Nemčiji in Švici. Uvodoma se je izobraževala za načrtovalko kuhinj in diplomirala iz industrijskega in unikatnega
oblikovanja na švicarski umetniški šoli ECAL (École cantonale d'art de Lausanne). Jeseni 2016 je sodelovala pri
pripravi razstave »Re-Importation« (»Ponovni uvoz«) v Tokiu s štirimi drugimi japonskimi diplomanti iste šole. Od
leta 2018 dela kot industrijska oblikovalka za švicarsko podjetje Kuhn Rikon, ki izdeluje kuhinjske pripomočke,
obenem pa je neodvisna oblikovalka pri več projektih. Projekt, ki ga je predstavila na simpoziju, izhaja izšestmesečnega pripravništva, ki ga je leta 2017 opravila pri mednarodni oblikovalski agenciji v Čenaju (Tamil
Nadu, Indija).

- 150 -An Adaptation of Kamishibai as an Educational Kit for
Reproductive Health in India

Nakaya-Sommet Maki and Sommet Moritz

This paper presents an on-going product design project that aims to improve reproductive healtheducation in India through Japanese paper theatre (kamishibai). The educational kit resulting from the
project alters the conventional form of kamishibai to adapt it to local conditions and make it easier touse, allowing untrained persons to teach this complex subject matter. We discuss the pilot episodefrom a series of plays teaching reproductive health specifically adapted to an Indian context. Sincekamishibai is not well known in India, the project also comprises an adaptation of its physical form to
reduce both manufacturing costs and difficulty of use.
Keywords: Reproductive Health Education, India, Kamishibai, Educational Kits, Intercultural
Adaptation, Product Design in Education

Maki Nakaya-Sommet, b. 1986, holds a B.A. in product design (2016) from ECAL. She co-organized
the exhibition Re-Importation in Tōkyō in 2016, interned at an Indian company in Chennai, and worked
as an industrial designer at Kuhn Rikon. She is currently working as a freelance designer in Fribourg,
Switzerland. nakaya.sommet@googlemail.com
Moritz Sommet, b. 1980, M.A. (Cologne University 2008), M.LIS (Cologne University of Applied
Sciences 2011), currently serves as head of documentation at the Research Centre on Multilingualism
in Fribourg. His research interests include Japanese literary and media history and the transnational
history of libraries and the book.

- 151 -

***Modern India faces persistent problems of access to gender- and sex-related knowledge,
which negatively affects the development potential of the country as a whole as well as theindividual quality of life of millions of men and women. Working from the assumption that asexual education that is both culture-sensitive and adapted to the material realities of the
Indian context plays a key role in disseminating such knowledge, this paper argues for a
product design approach to creating a reproductive health educational kit. We present an ongoing project that employs a slightly altered form of kamishibai (Japanese paper theatre) toteach children and adolescents about health issues such as menstruation. Development forthis project began in 2017 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, but it is intended to be adaptable to otherIndian regions.15
Sex education stigmatization in India
Stigmatization of the female gender, of LGBQTI issues and of sexually transmitted diseases
is common in India, with many of these problems stemming from a lack of knowledge. To
briefly illustrate this problem, we may cite the situation surrounding HIV. While statistics show
a decline in the number of new infections since 2001 by 50%, 2.1 million people in India areliving with HIV (UNAIDS 85). Patients are often discriminated against by their own families, intheir workplaces, by their neighbours or even by public servants such as school workers or
doctors and nurses.16 A study of staff attitudes in government and non-government clinics in
Mumbai and Bengaluru showed a widespread support (around 80% of respondents) for
prohibiting women living with HIV from having children as well as for statements to the effectthat people who acquired HIV through sex or drugs “got what they deserved” (Ekstrand et al.
4). The government addresses the problem through efforts that fight against stigmatization
towards people living with HIV, such as The National AIDS Control Programme (since 1999)
or The HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Bill (since 2017), but fear of discrimination
among patients remains high (Mukherjee et al.).
Much of this stigmatization crisis appears to stem from a lack of reliable knowledge. In
general, education is becoming increasingly valued and important in India, especially for the‘new Indian woman’ of the rapidly growing middle classes – yet even for this modern woman,“there continues to be a certain tension and anxiety in the discourse regarding her sexuality”(Belliappa 66). This anxiety permeates the educational system. In 2014, just 19% of all girls(versus 35% of all boys) knew much about HIV/AIDS, while only 15% of all young men andwomen (aged 15-24) reported that they had ever received family life or sex education(Bhangaokar and Pandya 85). This lack of systematic and adequate education appears tostem from issues of stigmatization. In India, sex is widely regarded as a taboo topic. Attempts
to introduce reproductive health education frequently meet with resistance by teachers, byparents and by the politicians that represent them. In 2014, Harsh Vardhan, the current
Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences in the Government of India, has calledon his website for “[s]o-called "sex education" to be banned. Yoga to be made compulsory.”
15

For more information about this project and additional visual material not included in this paper, cf. the official website:
https://www.makinakaya.com/process-kamishibai. Accessed August 26, 2018.
16
For the following description of the situation surrounding HIV in India, we mainly rely on data and research originally compiled
by UK-based educational organisation AVERT (cf. https://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-around-world/asia-pacific/india).
Accessed 26 Aug. 2018.
- 152 -

Vardhan has since walked back this statement, but still insists that “[c]rudity and graphic
representation of culturally objectionable symbols as manifested in the [previous
government’s] so-called sex education programme cannot be called sex education” (ET
Bureau). Other opponents of ‘sex education’ argue that it will “promote promiscuity of theworst kind, strike at the root of the cultural fabric, corrupt Indian youth and lead to thecollapse of the education system and the decrease of virginity age” (Sawhney 2014).
Currently, reproductive health education is banned at schools in five Indian states. Indianchildren tend to be either not interested in the issue since they do not yet feel affected by it,or they feel awkward and avoid discussing it in public. This leaves young adults to resort to
the information they can gather from books, magazines, youth counsellors, and throughpornography, often without questioning the reliability of the source (Ismail et al. 2015).
Reproductive health education through kamishibai
What form might a pragmatic educational program led by principles of product design
thinking take in the face of such deeply rooted resistance? We argue that, first off, it ought toavoid the stigma associated with the term “sexual education.” The words “sex” or“reproduction” by themselves tend to cause almost allergic reactions in Indian public
discourse, especially when associated with school or children. (This problem is, of course,
hardly restricted to India.) Instead, a pragmatic approach should strive towards theimplementation of a comprehensive reproductive health education program. UNESCO’s
2018 evidence-based “International technical guidance on sexual education” offers a basic
framework for such a program. It suggests numerous learning objectives that range from
relationships (such as family, friends, or marriage), values, attitudes and skills (such asdecision making, consent, or negotiation), culture, society and human rights, humandevelopment, and, finally, sexual behaviour and sexual and reproductive health. In otherwords, reproductive health education should be a life-skill class that deals with more thansexuality in the narrow sense of the term, and it should be presented as such.
At the content level, such a program should strive to reduce feelings of awkwardness. It
should be fun, it should offer reliable information, it should be easy to relate to, and it should
evoke familiar settings and feelings. It should also become a recurring experience for pupils
to build trust. Given material restrictions prevalent throughout much of India, the solution
ought to be cheap, modular and systematized. The program should be effective ataddressing many children at once. A mobile solution might to be able to cover large areas atlittle material cost.
We suggest that the Japanese pedagogical practice of kamishibai, when sufficiently adapted
to the Indian context, might contribute to a solution of the knowledge crisis in reproductive
health. Most often literally translated as ‘paper theatre,’ kamishibai has proved highly
adaptable throughout its history. It is situated in a long visual-narrative tradition going back toJapanese Buddhist pictorial storytelling, and it has in turn inspired other media such as
certain forms of manga (Köhn 213-235). It was most popular as a form of popular street
theatre in pre-war and early post-war Japan and repurposed for propaganda in wartime,
indicating that its effectiveness as a communication and teaching tool has also long beenrecognized (Horner, Orbaugh 87-97). Today, this art form survives mostly as ‘pedagogicalpaper theatre’ (kyōiku kamishibai) and is regularly practiced at schools in Japan and othercountries. Pedagogical kamishibai is already being used in health education (Hohashi and
Honda), and its form and function is continually evolving, leading for instance to the- 153 -

development of a ‘digital paper theatre’ (dejitaru kamishibai) in the early 2000s (Shintani etal.).
Certain existing cultural affinities might be also helpful when adapting kamishibai to theIndian context. The teaching style employed at Indian schools is frontal, much like in Japan.
Students are typically well disciplined and used to listen to authority. Reaching children inschools at an early age and on a large scale ought to be effective at addressing the root of
the problem. An informed child grows into an informed adult, and knowledge received bychildren at school may even reach their parents through them. Another benefit of kamishibaiis that it permits to educate not only the audience but also the performers by giving themreliable information. Kamishibai can be fun, and Indians’ love for entertainment will likely
work in its favour. It transmits ideas multimodally, in simultaneously auditive and visual ways,
and the audience’s interest is more likely to be engaged by a live performance that leaves
room for interaction with the children (McGowan).17 Kamishibai materials are transportable.
The theatrical setting and the physical presence of the kamishibai sheets between theperformer and the audience also serve to create safe zones for both parties, protecting themfrom each other’s sight and reducing awkwardness when discussing sensitive topics.
A kamishibai solution for reproductive health education might take the form of a series ofplays with recurring characters that covers everything from the ethical aspects ofreproductive health for younger children (such as gender equality and consent) to biologicalaspects for young teenagers (such as menstruation or STD). The repeat appearance of thesame characters in the series should build trust and help the recipients absorb informationthat at first might be hard to accept. Taking a cue from product design, we might imagine
such a series as part of a brand strategy that aims to build familiarity with young children to
create life-long customers. When used on a website or a campaign, these same characters
can serve as signal markers that guarantee the reliability of the information on offer.
Physically adapting the kamishibai format
The physical form of kamishibai is an area where product design might help with adapting
the art form to the Indian context. While it is economical and transportable, skilful usage ofthe kamishibai and its miniature proscenium (butai) requires a trained performer, especiallyoutside of Japan where this form of storytelling is not commonly known. Since the solution
should be cheap and be able to be used immediately, the project under discussion in thisarticle proposes some ergonomic adjustments and simplifications to the material form of thepaper theatre.
A design analysis reveals several difficulties with the orthodox butai. The first one concerns
the inclination of the slides: untrained performers tend to incline the kamishibai board too
far for the audience to see the picture, or they accidentally hide parts of the pictures with theirhands. The proposed solution allows the performer to read comfortably while assuring thevisibility of the pictures. The economic aspects of kamishibai can also constitute a hurdle.
Carton board is well adapted to regular use, but costly. The risk of pages getting lost or
getting out of order must also be taken into consideration, especially if a set is to be shared
among several schools.
17

While McGowan examines mostly student performances, we believe that kamishibai can also be made interactive andengaging in the more frontal teacher-student settings necessitated by the large class sizes and prevalent cultural norms in India.
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1: Flexible bound kamishibai solution without butai

The proposed solution is to bind together sheets of paper prints with a piece of carton board.
This way, the sheet of paper that is currently on display can hang loosely, giving theaudience a good view of the picture regardless of how much inclination the narrator needs toread out the text comfortably. The bound form also reduces the risk of losing single slides or
confusing their order. Since everything is in A3 format, the contents of a kamishibai episodecan easily be downloaded from the Internet and printed out, which should enable individual
teachers and other volunteers to build their own batch of episodes depending on what they
are aiming to teach. This solution takes less space to store and is easier to transport, whichenables neighbouring schools to share a single set among them. The mock-ups developed
and tested for this solution were created using only materials that were both locally available
and easily purchasable at a low cost in Chennai, ensuring that the final product is realistic toreplicate for everyone.
Culture-sensitive content and character creation
The storyline and visual content of the series was conceived with the intention that it should
be culture-sensitive, not offending religious or cultural sensibilities while offering familiarity
and trustworthiness to the students.
The overarching story revolves around an animal school in the forest, which reinforces theeducational intent and offers a wide range of possible authority figure characters throughwhich knowledge may be taught. The two main characters are young monkeys attending aschool situated near a human village. They often observe human beings; their animal natureallows them to wonder about some of the humans’ behaviour without appearing silly to theaudience and to discuss human anatomy without feeling awkward. They add an objective
perspective that refrains from criticism, and they will question and will not understand someof the human behaviour under discussion since they do not follow the same social
conventions as human beings. The target audience will also relate to the characters moreeasily since they are students. They might share some of the same personal issues, even if
they are not of the same species. A basic class about respecting each other’s feelings andconsent for younger children would be a compelling introduction to this series, since these
themes do not necessarily evoke any of the awkwardness that surrounds discussions ofsexuality.

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Being monkeys, the two main characters are culturally well accepted and have the potential
to drive forward the story in a fun way. In India, monkeys are associated with the mythology
of Hanuman, the ape-god who in the ancient epic Ramayana helps Rama on his journey tosave his wife. They also conventionally possess a certain intelligence, curiosity and agility.
These qualities are spread across two distinct characters: a girl-monkey called Key, who is acurious, active and reckless troublemaker, and a boy-monkey, Mon, who is a caring,
intelligent and cautious sidekick. The characters going against the grain of conventional
gender roles might encourage children to question these conventions. Having two main
characters also engages the dialogic and performative nature of kamishibai in story
development and offers the audience two distinct character types to which they might relate.
A third recurring character is a teacher figure. Owl Sir is knowledgeable, respected andgenerally presented as inert. He knows much about the theoretical aspects of the humanworld, especially biology and health. For the practical aspects of real life, human characterscome into play that vary from episode to episode, depending on the subject. Some episodes
might include recurring sub-characters, such as an atypically shy and gentle monkey who
has difficulty holding his ground against Key for teaching the importance of respecting other’s
feelings; or a worldly, cool crow who gives insight into urban life as the counterpart to Owl Sir
who cannot realistically provide this sort of real-life observation. These additional characters
can broaden the range of the subjects taught.

2: Character designs for Key (left) and Mon

Visual character designs were developed with the target audience in mind, taking inspirationfrom animation series Dexter's Laboratory and Powerpuff Girls (both popular with Indianchildren) for their easy to recognize character features. The main characters might for plot
purposes pretend to be human children and wear human clothes in order to spy on humans
in their everyday life, so their size is that of small children. One of the main characters, Key,is somewhat strange looking, more ape-like than her humanoid counterpart, Mon. The design
expresses her free, artless spirit. Her teeth might make her look aggressive, but on the other
hand, it is precisely this atypical feature that makes her memorable. Her orange fur andgreen eyes are vivid, with atypical colours for girls in India. Mon, the boy monkey on theother hand, has symmetric features and a single, thick straight eyebrow. This brings a slightly
concerned expression to face, revealing his prudish nature. Without this asymmetry, his facewould be too plain and not in balance with his partner, Key. His colouring also matches his
personality: greyish blue fur and black eyes, a bit staid but solid. Owl Sir was designed tosignalize his authenticity and profound knowledge. His enormous size compared to the twomonkeys and disproportionally big forehead signal these qualities.
The animal school setting is complemented by a museum of human objects, which exists
inside an abandoned train in the forest. Each of these objects tells a story: a broken
computer for media literacy, a cricket ball for consent, and the train itself for how to defend
oneself against harassment.

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Learning about menstruation: some pedagogical sequences from the pilot episode
The pilot episode deals with the subject matter of menstruation, which is one of the mostcommon causes of confusion for girls in India. It is subject to a stigmatization that affects
women’s life on an everyday basis. Because even mothers feel uncomfortable talking to theirdaughters about menstruation at home, many girls experience their first period without
having previously been taught about it. Menstrual shame is strong, and schools suffer from alack of hygienic facilities. Some girls hesitate to attend school during their period, which puts
them at an academic disadvantage that has repercussions for their further development andcareers.
The objective for this pilot episode is to convey
1. an objective perspective on the topic that eschews superstition or stigmatization,
2. basic biological facts about menstruation,
3. how to cope with menstrual shame,
4. alternatives to conventional (and, for various reasons, problematic18) menstruation
pads made from plastic.
The first two points are addressed by the animal characters, the latter two by a young yetexperienced female human character who knows what girls experience during menstruation.
It should be stressed that it takes time to change deeply rooted cultural values. It would beunrealistic to believe that no part of the audience will feel awkward during the performance,or that children will accept menstruation as something not to be ashamed of right after
watching this episode. The storyline therefore mainly aims to breach a taboo subject in anaccessible way.
The story is structured into seven brief and simple episodes each represented by akamishibai slide:
1. An introduction to a human museum in the forest, which showcases a sanitarynapkin.
2. A girl drops a sanitary napkin in a forest. Two monkeys collect it to show it to theirteacher, Owl Sir.
3. The teacher gives them a lesson on human anatomy and menstruation.
4. The two monkeys try to give the sanitary pad back to the girl.
5. The girl talks to her big sister, who tells her that she need not feel ashamed of
menstruation.
6. The big sister also tells her about cloth sanitary napkins, which she accepts to try out.
7. The monkeys donate the pad to the human museum.
Some brief excerpts from the narrative might serve to illustrate how the pedagogic approach
outlined above translates into practice. The second slide shows a girl dropping her menstrual
pad in the forest, which makes the monkeys curious:“What is it?”
When Mon go to Key, he saw that she was sniffing a flat package wrapped in a thinplastic sheet. “Not very tasty, for sure.”
18

Problems include high production and acquisition costs, the wide-spread clogging of toilets with discarded plastic sanitarynapkins, and adverse ecological effects.

- 157 -

“Key, don’t just try to eat everything you see! Let’s ask Owl Sir.”

1: Slide 2 – Finding out about menstrual pads

Here, the monkeys are just following their instinct while also establishing their roles in thisseries: the reckless one and the cautious one. In the third slide, they go ask their teacher Owl
Sir, who realizes how little his pupils know about menstruation. He improvises a class abouthuman anatomy:“Now, does someone know where a human baby is during pregnancy?”“Is it the stomach?”“No, it’s something else!”“I heard that they come out of this hole that humans pee from!”
The students were unable to give the correct answer.
Since the students are animals, it is natural that they need a lecture about even the mostbasic things human. The answers they are giving here are common misconceptions aboutchildbirth in India. The performer can choose to ask the same question to the audience toencourage interaction. This is important since the biological part is otherwise likely to bore
the children.

2: Slide 3 – Anatomy lesson- 158 -

Owl Sir starts to explain human anatomy using a graphic drawn on his black board. He gives
a lesson about menstruation and why women needs pads, which makes the two monkeys
realize that the girl must be in trouble without her own pad. They try to give it back. As theyreach the girl’s house, they hear two girls talking. One voice says in a sorrowful tone:“I don’t know what to do! If someone sees my pad and finds out that I was the one
who let it get lost… What will people think of me?”Key said to Mon, “I don’t understand. What does she mean by ‘What will they think’?”Key’s incomprehension offers an objective perspective to the audience, in an innocent way
that is certain to provoke incomprehension among an audience familiar with traditional views
on menstrual shame. This reaction then meets a surprising answer in the elder sister’s
response:“Well, they should think nothing of it! Menstruation is a natural thing, and it’snecessary if you want to have a baby. I’m happy to have a period, and I think you
should be, too.”“I don’t know, sis…”
The girl’s reaction to this new idea is realistic. She is not fully convinced (most girls would notbe), which makes this episode more authentic and easier to relate to for the audience. Whenthe girl asks her big sister to give her a menstruation pad, she tells her she no longer uses
plastic pads.
“But then how do you manage your period?”, the girl wanted to know.
“I use cloth napkins. They are better for your health and for the environment. See,
there are some alternatives to plastic napkins. You use cloth napkins just like plastic
sanitary napkins. They don’t leak so easily thanks to a waterproof layer and you haveto change them every three to five hours just like plastic pads. But you can washthem and reuse them!““So, you touch the blood?” The girl looked surprised.
“Well yes! Just like our grandmothers used to do….”

3: Slide 6 – learning about cloth napkins

The aim here is to appeal to traditional values which are held in high regard in Indian society.
“It’s not a big deal once you get used to it. After all, it’s just your own blood. Plus,
cotton has such a nice feeling on the skin. And it’s healthy, it’s cheaper, and it’s

- 159 -

ecological, so for me, it’s worth it. If you want to, you can try it out. I can give you a
new one!” The older sister handed her a cloth napkin.
Because of a lack of alternatives rather than by conviction, the girl accepts to try out the clothsanitary napkin. She is courageous but not overly so, as is the case in many didactic tales
where a person enthusiastically a drastically new idea at the end of the plot. This story, bycontrast, has almost an open ending. It offers an opening for class room interaction which
can happen between teacher and students as well as among students: will the girl choose toswitch to cloth sanitary napkins? Would you use these napkins yourself? And how about
touching the blood? Would she really do that?
Preliminary test performance
After translating the original English text into Tamil, the pilot episode was performed at
Advent Christ Middle school in Chennai by a teacher with no previous experience withkamishibai. The class consisted of 77 girls aged 10 to 15. The reaction of the children andthe teachers on site was overall positive. A survey conducted after the performance revealed
that 55 of them found the story “very interesting,” with another 15 saying it was “interesting.”
28 of the girls felt “shy” or “uneasy” during the performance, and 2 “very shy,” while 33
reported no particular feelings of shame. These results may be seen as encouraging
considering current conditions in this comparatively traditional part of the country.

Bibliography:
BELLIAPPA, Jyothsna Latha. Gender, Class and Reflexive Modernity in India. Palgrave
Macmillan UK, 2013.
BHANGAOKAR, Rachana, and Niyati Pandya. ‘Family Life Education in India: Policies andProspects’. Global Perspectives on Family Life Education, edited by Mihaela Robila and Alan
Taylor, Springer, 2018, pp. 75–89.
EKSTRAND, Maria L., et al. ‘Prevalence and Drivers of HIV Stigma among Health Providers
in Urban India: Implications for Interventions’. Journal of the International AIDS Society, vol.
16, 2013, p. 18717.
ET BUREAU. ‘Harsh Vardhan Clarifies on Ban on Sex Education in Schools’. The Economic
Times (Internet Edition), 28 June 2014, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politicsand-nation/harsh-vardhan-clarifies-on-ban-on-sex-education-inschools/articleshow/37329072.cms. Accessed 26 Aug. 2018.
HOHASHI, Naohiro, and Junko Honda. ‘An Original Picture Story Show Was Proved
Effective for Hand Hygiene Education of First-Year Elementary School Students’. Igaku to
Seibutsugaku, vol. 157, no. 6, 2013, pp. 759–70.
ISMAIL, Shajahan, et al. ‘Adolescent Sex Education in India: Current Perspectives’. Indian
Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 57, no. 4, 2015, pp. 333–37. PubMed Central, doi:10.4103/00195545.171843.
KÖHN, Stephan. Traditionen visuellen Erzählens in Japan: eine paradigmatische
Untersuchung der Entwicklungslinien vom Faltschirmbild zum narrativen Manga. Otto
Harrassowitz, 2005.
MCGOWAN, Tara. Performing Kamishibai: An Emerging New Literacy for a Global
Audience. Routledge, 2015.

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ORBAUGH, Sharalyn. ‘Kamishibai and the Art of the Interval’. Mechademia, vol. 7, no. 1,
2012, pp. 78–100.
SAWHNEY, Isha Singh. ‘Indian Politicians Want No Sex in Sex Education’. Scroll.In, 1 Aug.
2014,
https://scroll.in/article/672379/indian-politicians-want-no-sex-in-sex-education.
Accessed 26 Aug. 2018.
SHINTANI, Kimio, et al. ‘“Dejitaru Kamishibai” : Hoiku Genba e No Maruchimedia Dōnyū’.
Jōhō Shorigakkai Kenkyû Hōkoku: Jōhō Shisutemu to Shakai Kankyō, vol. 2001, no. 84,
2001, pp. 9–16.
UNAIDS. UNAIDS Data 2017. UNAIDS, 2017,
http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/20170720_Data_book_2017_en.pdf.
UNESCO. International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education: An Evidence-Informed
Approach. UNESCO, 2018.

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Razvoj združenja IKAJA: kamišibaj za mirno družbo

Nozaka Etsuko
uvodno predavanje sklopa II.: Kamišibaj in njegove možnosti pri osebni rasti,
v pedagogiki, socialni intervenciji in v terapiji

Kamišibaj se je na Japonskem razvil v tridesetih letih prejšnjega stoletja. Mednarodna zveza kamišibaja na
Japonskem (International Kamishibai Association of Japan, IKAJA), ki smo jo ustanovili leta 2001, je kamišibaj
prepoznala kot del edinstvene japonske kulturne dediščine. Želimo, da bi bil bolje poznan po svetu. Zato jezdruženje IKAJA ustanovilo sekretariat, ki naslavlja možne člane zunaj Japonske. Združenje IKAJA je postalo
največja organizacija za kamišibaj na svetu z več kot osemsto člani. Tristo članov prihaja iz 47 različnih držav.
Naš cilj je širjenje informacij o kamišibaju po svetu in spodbujanje preučevanja kamišibaja s kulturne perspektive.
Tako se znanje članov medsebojno oplaja, kamišibaj pa se vzpostavlja kot svetovna umetnost. Pomembno je
ustvariti dober kamišibaj, vendar je enako pomembno razmišljati o načinu nastopanja. Posebnost kamišibaja, ki
ga ločuje od slikanic, je ustvarjanje vzdušja kyokan (skupnih čustev) med gledalci v času predstave. Slikanice
spodbujajo občutek individualnosti, medtem ko zgodbe kamišibaja sprožijo kyokan. Oba občutka sta pomembna
in nujna za človečnost. IKAJA že šestnajst let organizira seminarje, predavanja in delavnice po evropskih inazijskih državah ter tako širi znanje o kamišibaju z nastopi in razlagami. Medtem ko smo poskušali ljudi po svetu
seznanjati z zabavo, ki jo ponuja kamišibaj, smo dobili povratne informacije iz številnih virov. Madame Geneviève
Patte, častna predsednica knjižnice La Petite Bibliothèque Ronde v Franciji, je srečanje z zvezo IKAJA in
izbranimi zgodbami kamišibaja na primer opisala kot »srečanje s kulturo, ki spoštuje mir«. Takšna komunikacija zdrugimi državami nas spodbuja k zagovarjanju univerzalnih vrednot kamišibaja. Občinstvu se zdi, da se svet iz
zgodbe kamišibaja širi iz gledališča v resnični prostor. Gledalci si v tistem trenutku delijo čustva in občutijo
zgodbo, kot bi se dogajala v njihovem svetu. Kamišibaj ljudem odpira duha, da postanejo dovzetni za empatijo.
Zato lahko predstave kamišibaja z dobrimi zgodbami in dobrimi ilustracijami premostijo razlike med nami vsemi:
med otroci, odraslimi, ljudmi s posebnimi potrebami, priseljenci, zaporniki, žrtvami naravnih nesreč … in morda
celo med prijatelji in sovražniki. Verjamemo, da je kamišibaj kulturna dobrina, ki nam omogoča deliti občutek, dalahko srečno sobivamo. V predstavitvi bom poročala tudi o nekaterih primerih, ki kažejo pravo vrednost
kamišibaja. Osnovani so na seriji vprašanj in odgovorov »Kako izvajati kamišibaj« (»How to Perform Kamishibai
Q&A«).
***
Etsuko Nozaka se je rodila leta 1959. Diplomirala je iz angleščine na Univerzi Waseda v Tokiu. Delala je pri
literarni agenciji, ki je japonsko književnost predstavljala svetu. Po petih letih bivanja na Nizozemskem in v
Franciji je postala plodna prevajalka nizozemske in angleške otroške književnosti. Japonskim bralcem jepredstavila številne pisatelje in ilustratorje, kakršni so Dick Bruna, Max Velthuijs, Marjolijn Hof in Guus Kuijer(dobitnik spominske nagrade Astrid Lindgren ALMA). Leta 2003 so petdeseto veliko nagrado Sankei Children'sBook Award Grand Prix podelili njenemu prevodu Ojiichan wasurenaiyo (Een opa om nooit te vergeten). Leta
2016 je iz nizozemščine v japonščino prevedla delo Mr. Orange, za katero je dobila Batchelderjevo nagrado
Ameriške knjižničarske zveze (American Library Association). Dolga leta je že članica japonske sekcije IBBY(JBBY) ter vodilna članica Mednarodne zveze kamišibaja na Japonskem (IKAJA) vse od njene ustanovitve leta
2001. Pogosto predava o kamišibaju po številnih evropskih in azijskih državah. Leta 2012 je koordinirala prvo
Unescovo evropsko srečanje o kamišibaju (European Kamishibai Meeting) v sodelovanju s francosko knjižnico La
Petite Bibliothèque Ronde. Etsuko tudi piše besedila za slikanice in kamišibaje. Njena zgodba Kind Monster
Wapper, ki jo je ilustrirala Nana Furiya, je leta 2009 dobila nagrado Gozan Encouraging Prize. Danes dela kot
občasna predavateljica na Univerzi Seitoku v Tokiu, na Aoyama Women's Junior College in Univerzi Sophia v
Tokiu, obenem pa je tudi mednarodna nadzornica zveze IKAJA.
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The Development of IKAJA: Kamishibai for a Peaceful Society

Nozaka Etsuko
Introductory Lecture of the Section II:
Kamishibai and its Possibilities for Personal Growth, in Education, Social Intervention and Therapy

Kamishibai originated in Japan in the 1930s. The International Kamishibai Association of Japan(IKAJA), founded in 2001, recognizes kamishibai as part of Japan’s cultural heritage and wants it to be
more widely known in the world. IKAJA is the largest kamishibai organization in the world, withmembers from 47 countries. At the same time, IKAJA has 30 administrative members who lead avigorous movement within Japan. Our aim is to foster communication about kamishibai, and topromote its study from a cultural perspective, thereby learning from each other and establishingkamishibai as a worldwide culture. It is important to create fine kamishibai works, but it is equallyimportant to think about how to perform kamishibai. The distinctive key feature of kamishibai, which isdifferent from picture books, is creating kyokan (shared feeling) among members of the audience.
While trying to acquaint people with the joy of kyokan by means of seminars, we have also received
feedback from people in various countries, encouraging us to articulate the universal values ofkamishibai. Kamishibai opens people’s minds, making them receptive to thinking about others. This is
why superb kamishibai performances can bridge differences among us all: children, adults, thedifferently abled, immigrants, prisoners, victims of disasters, and even friends and enemies. We
believe that kamishibai is a cultural asset that enables all to share the feeling that we are happy living
here together.
Keywords: Key Features, Performance, Universal Values, Kyokan, Peaceful Society

Etsuko Nozaka. Translator, writer, international project supervisor for the International Kamishibai
Association of Japan (IKAJA). A specialist in translating Dutch children’s literature into Japanese,
Etsuko Nozaka saw one of her translations win the 2003 Sankei Children's Book Award Grand Prix.
She actively organizes kamishibai seminars and workshops in various countries and presents atinternational conferences. She has also authored the kamishibai The Kind Monster Wapper, She is amember of JBBY, the Japan PEN Club, and the Japan Writers Association.
nozaka.etsuko@jcom.home.ne.jp- 163 -

***
Kamishibai originated in Japan in the 1930s. The International Kamishibai Association ofJapan (IKAJA, or Kamishibai Bunka no kai in Japanese), which we founded in 2001, sees
kamishibai as part of Japan’s cultural heritage and wishes it to be more widely known in theworld. This is why IKAJA established a subsection early on to work with international
members. IKAJA is now the largest kamishibai organization in the world, with 889 members:
561 domestic members and 328 international members from 47 countries, as of August
2018. In Slovenia, we have 19 members at present.
International Members of IKAJA

Our aim in IKAJA is to foster communication throughout the world—among people who are
already kamishibai enthusiasts, people who express an interest in kamishibai, and people
who wish to perform it. We simultaneously aim to promote the study of kamishibai from acultural perspective, learning from each other and establishing kamishibai as a worldwide
culture.
It is important to create fine kamishibai works, but it is equally important to think about how to
perform them. The distinctive key feature of kamishibai, which is different from picture books,
is that it creates kyokan (shared feeling) among members of the audience. Picture books
may be said to foster an individual’s inner life, while kamishibai stories heighten a sense ofconnectedness to others. For the audience, it is as if the world of a kamishibai story emerges
from the mini-theatre (butai) into the real world. The audience share their feelings andexperience of the story as if it is their own world.
Both the sense of individuality nurtured by picture books, and the kyokan nurtured bykamishibai, are indispensable for being human.
- 164 -In IKAJA, we aim to share information about kamishibai by means ofboth performance and explanation. This is why we have given
seminars, lectures and workshops for 16 years all over Japan andinternationally. And just as we try to spread our basic ideas throughour semiannual Japanese newsletter, Kamishibai bunka no kai, we
also offer the annual English publication Kamishibai Newsletter.
Anyone who becomes an international member of IKAJA will receive
Kamishibai Newsletter digitally each year, and upon joining they will
receive IKAJA’s welcome pack, which includes Kamishibai NewsletterVol. 10 in hard copy. We also offer a useful website in both Japaneseand English: http://www.geocities.jp/kamishibai/index-e.html
IKAJA and Movements in JapanIKAJA is a global network. But how did it come to be that way? In the early 1990s, a handfulof people in Japan came together to start a Kamishibai Theory Group, because they realizedthat some kamishibai works were excellent, but others not. Members of the group wondered,“Why are certain works excellent?” “Can we define what makes an excellent kamishibai?” To
address these questions, they undertook to examine approximately 2000 kamishibai that
Doshinsha Publishing Co., Ltd. had published since its founding in 1957.
Around the same time, a number of people including some members of the group above,
proposed holding public seminars. The seminars were called Traveling Kamishibai
University, and they were held in seven cities around Japan. In the 1990s, the same kinds ofseminars were held, along with workshops for kamishibai creators in Vietnam.
In 2001, the members of the Kamishibai Study Group and organizers of Traveling Kamishibai
University united to form IKAJA. The late Noriko Matsui, author of picture books, kamishibai,
and definitive books on kamishibai theory, became IKAJA’s first representative. Kyoko Sakai,
then-president of Doshinsha, became IKAJA’s first supervisor. IKAJA soon became a new,strong kamishibai movement in Japan.
IKAJA still works in tandem with Doshinsha, which is Japan’s largest publisher of kamshibai.
Doshinsha is one of IKAJA’s group members. IKAJA has used Doshinsha’s library as well as
their Kamishibai Hall to organize meetings and seminars.

- 165 -IKAJA’s approach is based on the books Kamishibai: The Joy of Kyokan and How to Perform
Kamishibai Q & A, Noriko Matsui’s first and second books of kamishibai theory. In thesebooks, she endeavored to clarify the secret of kamishibai through her experience of holding
seminars in Vietnam. The first book makes the format and key features of kamishibai
understandable. Her theory turns out to have universal principles that apply anywhere in theworld. In her second book, she applies her theory to kamishibai performance. The essence ofher theory is expressed by the word kyokan in both books. It is good to know that mosttheories and books referring to kyokan (such as El Kamishibai, Taller de Kamishibai andKamishibai: de magie van het vertelkastje) are derived from Noriko Matsui’s publications.
Each year, IKAJA holds two large seminars in Japan: one in Tokyo and one in anotherregion. The number of participants in the seminar in Tokyo, which lasts two days, is about
200. We have repeated this kind of seminar for 16 years. In addition, we hold six-monthserial seminars, which focus on performing, for 20 to 30 people. Five years ago, IKAJA also
started intensive serial seminars on creating kamishibai. These seminars are limited to 10
participants, but the results have been greater than expected: four works created byparticipants have already been published. These seminars are spearheaded by IKAJA’s main
office.
In addition, regional movements are active because administrative members of IKAJA live
not only in Tokyo, but also in different prefectures such as Iwate, Miyagi, Saitama, Chiba,
Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Nagano, Aichi, Mie, Shiga, Wakayama, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagasaki
and Oita. Members organize regular regional gatherings, and they give performances atnurseries, schools, libraries and other venues in local communities.
The fruits of IKAJA’s study and activity may be found in the recent
book Kamishibai Mini-Encyclopedia (Kamishibai Hyakka), publishedin 2017. This book is easy to read, answers many frequently asked
questions, and contains essays by authors, librarians and educators
in Japan and abroad. It also offers an up-to-date and integrated
theory, as well as basic descriptions of the kamishibai’s history. In
addition, the book includes tips about how to perform and makekamishibai, and a useful list of IKAJA-recommended titles in fullcolor.
Finally, it offers samples of performance programs, for use at nurseryschools, elementary schools, libraries, community centers, andnursing homes for the elderly.
In making this book, we often asked ourselves why our new kamishibai movement isnecessary. Let me explain about the present situation of reading promotion in Japan to someextent.
Many volunteers are active in Japan reading picture books not only for children, but also for
adults, including the elderly. There are, however, many volunteers who do not understandthe difference between picture books and kamishibai. Some of them simply read kamishibai
to their audience, while it is not something to read: kamishibai is something to perform.

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The word perform, however, is also too vague. Volunteers as well as educators are
sometimes at a loss, and try to perform kamishibai over-dramatically as if acting onstage at atheatre. But if the performer becomes an actor or actress, the audience’s focus shifts to that
person, and the concentration on the kamishibai itself is lost. The need to find a balance
between reading and dramatic performance, is one of the urgent reasons why IKAJA
continues its movement, by giving seminars and imparting how to perform kamishibai basedon theory.
Kyokan Connects the WorldI have already mentioned kyokan, or shared feeling. But what kind of feelings should we try
to share, to live happily together on Earth? Indeed, we must perform and create stories thatelicit kyokan for living together in peace. This idea is based on our deep regret of the fact thatkamishibai was used heavily as a vehicle for propaganda during World War II.
IKAJA has held kamishibai seminars two times in France at Médiathèque Louis-Aragon: onetime organized by association Laissez-les lire directed by Geneviève Patte, another time byMarie-Charlotte Delmas, director of the médiathèque. French librarians understood ourphilosophy and shared our spirit. That is why they chose the title UN KAMISHIBAI POUR LA
PAIX (A Kamishibai for Peace) when we co-organized the First European Kamishibai
Meeting at UNESCO in Paris, with La Petite Bibliothèque Rond in 2012.
The program from this conference is available online:
http://www.crilj.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/kamishibai1.pdf
The photo below shows a performance of Never Again (Nido to), a kamishibai for peace,
which depicts the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the photo, Kyoko
Sakai performs in Japanese along with Marie-Charlotte Delmas, who performs in French. For
the French audience, translation into French was practically necessary, but the comminglingof languages also added a new layer of meaning. The heiwa kamishibai (kamishibai forpeace) performed in two languages elicited kyokan across borders and boundaries. It
showed us a new possibility for kamishibai: kyokan can connect people from different parts of
the world in striving for peace. Marie-Charlotte Delmas remarked, “Now that the world isthreatened with war and terrorism, it has become more necessary than ever to convey thevalues of peace and friendship to the children on Earth. Now that we are living in such anage, kamishibai is the strongest and most beautiful weapon that we have.”- 167 -

Geneviève Patte, honorary president of La Petite Bibliothèque Ronde, also once described
her encounter with IKAJA and its recommended kamishibai as “an encounter with a culturethat respects peace.” Further, Bùi Đức Liễn, who began creating kamishibai in NorikoMatsui’s workshops in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 1991, has since published kamishibaisuch as The Ivory Comb (Zoge no Kushi). His work conveys a love and a spirit of resistancespanning generations during wartime. This author continues to visit former battlefields, andhe performs kamishibai to encourage children still living with difficulties. According to him, it
is his utmost pleasure to create and perform kamishibai, because it helps the future of hisland. Such comments from beyond borders testify to the significance of pursuing peace in theworld through kamishibai.

IKAJA members have traveled to numerous countries to hold seminars and give
performances. We have visited not only France and Vietnam, but also Germany, Switzerland,
Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, India, China, Thailand, and Malaysia. Sometimes we travel
individually, sometimes in a large group. In addition to holding seminars, we are often invited
to international congresses to share information on kamishibai.
Kamishibai for a Peaceful Society
To conclude, I would like to describe one of my own experiences of kyokan. Eight months
after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011, I visited Ishinomaki,
a city that was destroyed by the tsunami. I brought many kamishibai titles, but among them I
dared not perform The Ocean of Kariyushi (Kariyushi no Umi), because many lives had been
lost in the ocean in Ishinomaki.
A boy of 10 years, however, said in a loud voice, “I want to see that kamishibai!” Then a girlof five years stood up and came next to me, to chant the pivotal phrase yugafu tabori—“mayhappiness come”—with me. When we said that phrase, all the people repeated after us.
When I pulled the sheet out slowly, the sad vacant sea gradually turned into the beautiful
ocean, full of life.

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And when that happened, I could see everyone’s
faces light up! I felt that the people in Ishinomaki
still loved the ocean, even if it had robbed thelives of their dearest. Most of them had strong
conflicts or hesitation in their mind. They wanted
to live their lives with the ocean, but they couldn’t
say so freely. By enjoying this kamishibai,
however, they could share their inner wish
together: “May happiness come.” They could
even change the ocean together. It was a genuine
moment of kyokan. After my performance, a woman came to me and whispered, “Thank you,
Etsuko. You performed that kamishibai at the right moment. We needed a way to share ourmemories . . . and our hope.”
Kamishibai has given great strength not only tochildren who survived the 2011 disaster, but also to
the adults who have tried to support them.
Kamishibai opens up people’s minds, and it makes
them receptive to thinking of others. This is why wemust pursue both excellent kamishibai works andheartfelt performances. Kamishibai can bridge thedifferences among us all: children, adults, thedifferently abled, immigrants, prisoners . . . perhaps
even friends and enemies. What we need are stories
we can share even with our diverse identities, languages and customs. I repeat it again:
kamishibai is a cultural form that brings out kyokan—the sense that we are happy living here
together. If we want to build a peaceful society, we cannot do so without kyokan. IKAJA
would like to call your attention to this matter, and we hope that all of us can think together
about the significance of kamishibai for a peaceful future.
This year IKAJA will launch a special day called World Kamishibai Day on December 7. On
this day, we will wish for peace on Earth as we share kamishibai in many places. To be partof World Kamishibai Day, please join those of us who love kamishibai by performing it
wherever you live in the world! We hope that this event will mark another small step toward
peace.

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Works Cited:
1. The Joy of Kyokan (Kyokan no Yorokobi) by Noriko MATSUI, published by
Doshinsha, 1983.
2. How to Perform Kamishibai Q & A (Kamishibai no Enjikata Q & A) by Noriko MATSUI,
published by Doshinsha, 2008.
3. Kamishibai Mini-Encyclopedia (Kamishibai Hyakka) edited by IKAJA, published by
Doshinsha, 2017.
4. El Kamishibai and Taller de Kamishibai by Carmen ALDANA JIMENEZ, published by
Leer-E, 2015.
5. Kamishibai: de magie van het vertelkastje by Karin WANROOIJ, published by NBD,
2006.
6. Never Again (Nido to) written and illustrated by Eiko MATSUI, published by
Doshinsha, 2005.
7. The Ivory Comb (Zoge no Kushi) written and illustrated by Bùi ĐứC LIễN, publishedby Nihon Vietnam Kamishibai Koryu no kai, 2003, and Doshinsha, 2006.
8. The Ocean of Kariyushi (Kariyushi no Umi) written and illustrated by Noriko MATSUI,
photographs by Kensuke Yokoi, published by Doshinsha, 1989.

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Uprizarjanje propagande. Kamišibaj v japonski petnajstletni vojni

Orbaugh Sharalyn

V predavanju bom analizirala dramske tehnike pri uprizarjanju kamišibaja, ki ga je japonska vlada med letoma
1932 in 1945 uporabljala kot propagandno sredstvo. V prvih letih petnajstletne (azijsko-pacifiške) vojne so se
uporabljale najrazličnejše tehnike uprizarjanja; kamišibaje, s katerimi so takrat slavili vojaške heroje in pomembne
bitke, so pisale in uprizarjale predvsem organizacije za gaitô kamishibai. Ko se je leta 1937 pričela vojna s
Kitajsko in je bila Japonska uradno v vojni, je nadzor nad kamišibajem prevzela vlada in tehnike uprizarjanja so sestandardizirale. Bile so povsem drugačne od tistih, ki so jih uporabljali izvajalci gaitô, vendar so pri tem poskušali
ohraniti bistvene elemente uprizarjanja v živo: toplino, neposrednost in izražanje čustev. Vlada je rekrutirala
izkušene izvajalce kamišibaja, da bi izšolali nov kader pripovedovalcev, med katerimi je bilo tudi veliko mladihžensk, ki so prostovoljno vstopile ali bile vpoklicane v vojsko. Revija Kamishibai, hišna revija kvazivladneorganizacije Nippon kyôiku kamishibai kyôkai, je objavljala članke, v katerih so poklicni umetniki, scenaristi,
producenti in izvajalci obravnavali pravilne tehnike uprizarjanja. Tudi če so se vojni kamišibaji uprizarjali doma, so
se v otroških in ženskih revijah spodbujale nove, propagandi primerne tehnike uprizarjanja. Na podlagi navedenih
virov bom v predavanju orisala in analizirala dramske tehnike, ki so se propagirale v teh okoliščinah.
***
Sharalyn Orbaugh se je s kamišibajem prvič srečala pred petindvajsetimi leti na bolšjem trgu v Kjotu, kjer sem
na stojnici naletela na neko dramo. Očitno je bilo, da je precej stara in da govori o vojni. Takrat sem pisala knjigoo japonskem leposlovju med letoma 1937 in 1952, zato sem dramo z naslovom Mumei no haha (Neopevanamati) kupila in jo odnesla domov za analizo. Tako se je začela moja obsesija s kamišibajem. Od takrat sem zbralaveč kot 150 dram, ki so večinoma nastale med letoma 1938 in 1944. Napisala sem tudi knjigo o kamišibaju kot
propagandnem sredstvu v drugi svetovni vojni – Propaganda Performed: Kamishibai in Japan’s Fifteen Year War(Brill, 2015), trenutno pa sem sredi pisanja nove knjige z enako tematiko. Najprej sem študirala literaturo, nato pa
trideset let poučevala sodobno japonsko literaturo na univerzah v ZDA in Kanadi. Trenutno sem profesorica na
Oddelku za azijske študije na univerzi University of British Columbia v Vancouvru, Kanada. V zadnjem času se
posvečam predvsem oblikam popularne kulture, kot so kamišibaj, manga in anime, ki vključujejo besedo inpodobo, kamišibaj pa tudi uprizarjanje.

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Performing Propaganda: Kamishibai in Japan’s Fifteen-Year War

Orbaugh Sharalyn

This presentation will analyze the dramatic techniques used by kamishibai performers during the years
when kamishibai was part of the Japanese government’s propaganda arsenal, 1932– 1945. A variety
of techniques were used in the early years of the Fifteen-Year War (the Asia Pacific War), whenkamishibai celebrating military heroes and famous battles were produced and performed primarily by
gaitô kamishibai organizations. When the China War started in 1937 and Japan was officially on a
wartime footing, kamishibai came under the government’s charge, and performance techniques werestandardized. These techniques were very different from those used by gaitô performers, and yet
attempted to maintain the significant aspects of a live performance: warmth, immediacy, and sharedemotion. The government recruited experienced kamishibai performers to teach the new cadre ofnarrators, many of whom were young women who had volunteered for or been drafted into wartime
service. The journal “Kamishibai”, the in-house magazine of the quasi-governmental organization
Nippon kyôiku kamishibai kyôkai, featured articles in which professional kamishibai artists,
scriptwriters, producers and performers discussed proper performance techniques. Even when
wartime kamishibai were to be performed at home, new propagandaappropriate performancetechniques were encouraged through articles in children’s and women’s magazines. Drawing together
information from all of these sources, this presentation will sketch out and analyze the dramatic
techniques advocated for use under these particular circumstances.
Keywords: Propaganda, Performance, Dramatic Techniques, Fifteen Year War, Kamishibai (Journal)

Sharalyn Orbaugh first encountered kamishibai about twenty-five years ago when, at a flea market in
Kyoto, where she found a play for sale. It was obviously quite old, and obviously had to do with thewar.SheI was at the time writing a book about the fiction produced in Japan between 1937 and 1952,
so she bought the play, “Mumei no haha” (“The Unsung Mother”), and took it home to analyze. This
started her obsession with kamishibai. Since that time she has collected over 150 plays, mostly
produced between 1938 and 1944, and she has written a book on the way kamishibai was used as a
medium of propaganda in World War Two: “Propaganda Performed: Kamishibai in Japan’s FifteenYear War” (Brill, 2015). Currently she is in the midst of a second book on the same topic. Originally
she was trained as a literature scholar, and has taught modern Japanese literature at universities in
the U.S. and Canada for thirty years. Currently she is a professor in the Department of Asian Studies
at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. But these days her primary interests are in
popular culture forms such as kamishibai, manga, and anime, which combine word, image, and, in thecase of kamishibai, performance.

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***
Article will be published in Amfiteater, Journal of Performing Arts Theory (ISSN 18554539 (printed edition), 1855-850X (online edition)), Volume 7, Number 1 in July 2019.

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Kamišibaj – pot v svet tujih jezikov

Rupnik Hladnik Tatjana

Naše delo Otroci so v času osnovnošolskega izobraževanja neprestano izpostavljeni (javnemu) nastopanju.
Učitelji igrajo pomembno vlogo pri ustvarjanju spodbudnega okolja, v katerem so učenci lahko sproščeni inustvarjalni. Zato kamišibaj uporabljam pri poučevanju nemškega in slovenskega jezika učencev od četrtega dodevetega razreda. Učenci se težko sporazumevajo v tujem jeziku, ki se ga šele začenjajo učiti. Zato jim sprva
predstavim preprosto izštevanko, ki se jo naučijo na pamet s pomočjo ritma in pantomime. Ko spoznajo glasovno
podobo pesmice, ustvarijo kamišibaj in ga predstavijo razredu. Tako lahko vizualno razmišljajo, ne da bi
uporabljali pisavo, ter nastopajo v nemščini brez strahu in s popolno izgovarjavo. Na višji stopnji učenci ustvarjajo
kamišibaje, s katerimi pripovedujejo pravljice in izvajajo moderno nemško poezijo. Na področju neliterarnih
besedil opisujejo same sebe, svoje družine, konjičke, nemška mesta itd. Lažje si zapomnijo besede, saj pridelovnem procesu uporabljajo vizualni material, pri izdelavi pa so še posebej aktivni. Če so na slikah napisanetudi ključne besede, postane kamišibaj ilustriran didaktični pripomoček za številne generacije. Likovna
nadarjenost ni predpogoj za ustvarjanje dobrega kamišibaja. Učenci, ki se ne marajo vizualno izražati, so lahko še
uspešnejši in bistrejši, saj poiščejo nenavadne in izvirne rešitve. Učenci cenijo, da kamišibaj spodbuja mišljenje, ki
presega omejitve šolskega učnega načrta in upošteva njihovo edinstvenost. Zato so motivirani celo, kadar njihovodelo ni ocenjeno. S prezentacijami se močno identificirajo. Tako zlahka premagajo tremo, pogumno nastopijo inse ob tem zabavajo.
***
Tatjana Rupnik Hladnik je profesorica slovenščine in nemščine. Na Osnovni šoli Poljane v Ljubljani že dvanajst
let poučuje slovenski in nemški jezik ter retoriko. Pri delu uporablja kamišibaj kot didaktični pripomoček ter kot
tehniko za (po)ustvarjanje leposlovnih in neleposlovnih besedil. Od leta 2015 izvaja svoj šolski projekt»Izmenjajva si kamišibaj« za drugošolce, v katerem starejši učenci igrajo vlogo učiteljev kamišibaja in mentorjev.
Leta 2016 je v reviji Šolski razgledi objavila članek o uporabi kamišibaja v razredu. V šolskem letu 2016/17 je bilačlanica Inovacijskega projekta Kamišibaj na Osnovni šoli 8 talcev v Logatcu. Oktobra 2017 je sodelovala na
mednarodni konferenci Izobraževanje talentov s prispevkom »Spodbujanje ustvarjalnosti s tehniko kamišibaj«.
Deluje kot mentorica nadarjenim učencem na področjih književnosti, vizualne umetnosti in filma. Njeni učenci sobili uspešni na številnih tekmovanjih v pisanju. Na tekmovanju Književnost na filmu, kjer udeleženci pripravijo
kratke filme na osnovi književnih del, so bile njene filmske ekipe še posebej uspešne. Deluje tudi na področju
širjenja večjezičnosti v šoli. Leta 2017 je pripravila predstavitev aktivnosti delovne skupine za tuje jezike na
seminarju o medkulturnih in večjezičnih pristopih – predvsem projekt Neprevedljive besede. Zanimajo jopovezave med umetnostjo in znanostjo. Kamišibaj uporablja pri vseh šolskih predmetih in za vse starosti
učencev. Sama nastopa na prireditvah kamišibaja za otroke in odrasle.

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Kamishibai – a Way into the World of Foreign Languages

Rupnik Hladnik Tatjana

Students are constantly confronted with (public) performing. Teachers can help them by creating astimulating environment where they can be relaxed and creative. That is why I use kamishibai whenteaching German language from 4th to 9th grade.
It is challenging for students to start communicating in a new foreign language. So first, I teach them asimple counting nursery rhyme. After getting to know the sound image of the poem, they createkamishibai to perform it in the classroom. They think visually without using writing and are able tospeak out without fear.
In advanced levels students create kamishibai to interpret fairy tales and perform modern German
poetry. In the field of nonfiction texts they describe themselves, their families, hobbies … It is easy forthem to memorise the words because in the working process they use visual materials and are
distinctively active while doing it.
Students appreciate the fact that kamishibai considers their individuality. That is why they are very
motivated and they identify with their presentations. Therefore, they easily overcome the stage frightand perform boldly and persuasively.
Keywords: Kamishibai, Primary School, German Language, Creativity, Performing

Tatjana Rupnik Hladnik is teaching Slovene and German Language at Osnovna šola Poljane
Ljubljana. At her work she uses kamishibai as a teaching tool as well as a technique of (re)creating
fictional and non-fictional texts. Since 2015 she has been performing a school project named Let's
exchange our kamishibai stories, in which older students play the role of kamishibai teachers andmentors.
In 2016 she published an article in the magazine Šolski razgledi about the usage of kamishibai inclass. She was a member of Innovation project Kamishibai at Osnovna šola 8 talcev Logatec. In 2017
she participated at the international conference Talent Education with an article about encouraging
creativity with kamishibai. She herself performs at kamishibai events for children and adults.
tatjana.hladnik@gmail.com- 175 -

***
1. Introduction
During primary school education students are constantly confronted with (public) performing.
We all consider performing to be one of the crucial skills in one’s life, so it is clear one needs
to practise it already in the school period. In addition, there is something that makes it evenmore difficult: “Speak out and perform – but in a foreign language! Auf Deutsch, bitte!”

Starting to communicate in the foreign language for the first time is challenging, stressful,often even frightening. Many questions go through the speaker’s mind: “Where do I have tostand? What am I supposed to do with my hands? Why are my arms so long? Who should I
look at? What if I make a mistake? What if I mispronounce that difficult word? What if theylaugh at me? What if I won’t be able to convince them?”
I believe that teachers take an important part in practicing performing by creating astimulating environment where students can be relaxed and creative. That is why I hardly
ever teach German with my students barely sitting and hearing passively. That is why I
choose kamishibai to help them start their way into the world of foreign languages.

A stimulating environment (all photos by T. R. Hladnik)

2. The Very Beginners
The first thing that I teach my students is a simple counting nursery rhyme Eins, zwei,
Polizei. We do it in a circle, standing, without notebooks, pencils, Internet or you-tube videos.
Students learn the poem by heart with rhythm, pantomime, gestures – using their voice, mind
and body.

After getting to know merely the sound image of the poem, I show them a couple of different
kamishibai performances. I often ask my older students to help me. Then it’s the children’sturn: they are to create their own kamishibai and perform it to their classmates.
My students start their kamishibai career with a small paper kamishibai (designed by Igor
Cvetko) with the sheets sliding up and down, not left and right as usually. All that students
actually have to do is draw eight interesting (possibly surprising) pictures and say the poem
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out loud. They think visually without using writing. The only writing they have to do are thetwo words on the title card (‘eins’ and ‘zwei’) and the 12 numbers.

“Elf, zwölf – kommen die Wölf’”

After only a couple of hours of learning German they are already able to perform without fear
and with impeccable pronunciation. Think about how surprisingly easy this is for the students
with dyslexia or the ones who have troubles writing! The process of making a kamishibai“does not involve the immediate hurdle of having to form words on a page.” (McGowan, The
kamishibai classroom 23) The students can all equally compete: “Which one of us will get thebest ideas?”
3. A Peek into my German Class
What follows is the illustration of how I use kamishibai as a teaching tool in my German
lessons on various levels.
In the first year of learning German I teach the students a poem that includes adjectives I
want them to learn (Ich bin Peter, du bist Paul, ich bin fleißig, du bist faul …). We agree towrite the main keywords on the sheets. So kamishibai suddenly becomes an illustrative
didactic accessory for the generations to come.
In advanced levels students create kamishibai to interpret fairy tales. In my last year’s project
they worked with a Grimms’ fairy tale Hänsel und Gretel. After singing and learning anarrative poem about Hansel and Gretel I gave them opportunity to make a little theatre
piece, a short movie, a stop-motion animation or a kamishibai. Two of the students, Astudents, decided to create a kamishibai and an interesting thing happened. The story about
Hansel and Gretel that end up in a modern pizzeria was quite interesting and wellsequenced. But in the field of drawing the students did not obey the rules of a goodkamishibai. What they made were plain picture book illustrations with a lot of details,
repeated scenes, without any suspense or climax. I told them to correct their drawings. You
should see how offended they were! They were used to get the A-grades immediately andthey have spent so much time creating. However, I insisted. After a week they came to classwith a really good kamishibai. Now they got their grade A. The classmates praised their workso they were radiant with happiness.

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The students also perform modern German poetry. We create kamishibai of a poem Wir,
written by Irmela Brender. It is distinctively dialogical, so my students all draw and perform inpairs. Another example is a poem by Ilse Kleberger titled Sommer: my older students have tointerpret, how we see, hear, smell and taste the summer – quite a challenge. In older groups
there are students who already have experienced creating kamishibai in previous years so
their kamishibai reaches to a much higher level.
In 2017/18 I had a project with my 13-year-old students based on a poem Du bist da und ich
bin hier. It consists of vocabulary based on the opposites (leicht–schwer, Tal–Berg …). Twogirls came up with the idea of an invention – “a double kamishibai”. They performed with two
butai stages that were verbally and visually connected to each other.

“Ich bin leicht und du bist schwer.”In the field of non-fictional texts my students describe themselves, their families, German
cities … If I grade their work, I give them specific instructions on what the obligatory elementsare.
I often let my students become teachers. That is why I perform a school project named Let's
exchange our kamishibai stories, in which older students play the role of kamishibai teachersand mentors. We have done this project for three times now. Each year both the students
and the mentors are quite excited about it.
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The mentors

The students

4. The Process of Creating
Students need to be active throughout the process of creating a kamishibai. First they get toknow the medium itself. That is an external motivation that causes their creative excitement.
They are willing to create something of their own. When it comes to memorising the words, it
is easy for them because they habe been using visual materials and were distinctively active
while doing it. Visual images are namely much easier to recall than words (Russel 94). In theworking process they identify strongly with their kamishibai. A student thinks: “I trust myself
so I will be able to convince you. You’ll see what I can do!” The result is a successfull
performance in which the student interacts with his schoolmates.

I strongly believe that a good kamishibai mentor has to have an experience of creating his
own kamishibai. He is then ready to listen, to encourage and above all to inspire by his own
enthusiasm. He likes the students to think differently, out of the box. His message is: “Yourknowledge and your experiences are important to me.” He always wants their students to try
a little harder and follows the criteria of kamishibai rules.

“Please, do think differently!”

Being a good fine artist is not a precondition for a good kamishibaya (McGowan, Developing
a visual idiom 6). Kamishibai promotes divergent thinking – thinking that goes beyond thelimits of the school curriculum and considers students’ individuality. Those of my students
who usually don’t like to express themselves visually can be even more successful and- 179 -

wittier because they find unusual and original solutions. They try to evolve their own visual
idiom. (ibid. 1) The most important fact is that kamishibaya gets self-confident while he iscreating. While performing he arrives at the element where he can achieve goals at hishighest levels (Robinson 101).

“Meine Ohren sind klein.”

5. To Conclude: Kamishibai as a Way to Fight School Boredom
I use kamishibai only once or twice a year in each group. Often it is an optional assignment
so it is not always obligatory for all. Through kamishibai I can easily accomplish
differenciation and individualisation within my classes that are mostly very heterogeneous. Inclasses where students sit, copy texts and reproduce their teacher’s knowledge there are no
exceptions, surprises or alternative solutions. Students get bored and they stagnate. Whatgets important is no more than numbers, grades, objective measurable results (Kukanja
Gabrijelčič 43–44). However, kamishibai eliminates the restrictions of productivity stance of
today's world. All students feel that they are being heard. That is why they are highly
motivated even if their work isn't graded. They identify strongly with their presentations.
Therefore, they easily overcome the stage fright, perform boldly and have fun doing it.

References:
Tara M. MCGOWAN: The kamishibai classroom : engaging multiple literacies through the artof »paper theater«. USA : Libraries unlimited, 2010.
Mojca KUKANJA GABRIJELČIČ: Nadarjeni in talentirani učenci. Med poslanstvom in
odgovornostjo. Koper : Univerzitetna založba Annales, 2015.
Ken ROBINSON, Lou Aronica: V elementu. Ko odkriješ svojo strast, se vse spremeni.
Ljubljana: Lectour, 2016.
Tara M. MCGOWAN: Developing a visual idiom through kamishibai.
http://www.kamishibai.com/spotlight/visualidiom.html (19. 3. 2017)
J. A. DYM: Kamishibai, what is it? Some preliminary findings.
http://www.kamishibai.com/resources/organizations.html (25. 3. 2017)
Noriko MATSUI: How to perform Kamishibai Q&A. Tokyo: Doshinsha, 2008.
Jure ENGELSBERGER: Likovna izdelava kamišibaja. Skripta. Slikovedke, 2016.
Peter RUSSELL: Knjiga o možganih. Ljubljana: Državna založba, 1987.

- 180 -

Tatjana RUPNIK HLADNIK: A questionary for students about the usage of kamishibai inschool. Ljubljana, 2017.
N. HOLC, S. Emeršič, H. Orešič: Učni načrt. Program osnovna šola. Nemščina. Elektronski
vir. Ljubljana : Ministrstvo za šolstvo in šport: Zavod RS za šolstvo, 2011.

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Kamišibaj, njegove glavne značilnosti in privlačnosti

Sakai Kyoko
uvodno predavanje mednarodnega simpozija
predstavitev v sodelovanju z: Nagase HinaZaložba Doshinsha je bila ustanovljena leta 1957. Od ustanovitve smo izdali že približno 2400 del kamišibaja in
600 otroških knjig. Doshinsha izvira iz študijske skupine za kamišibaj. Predstave kamišibaja so med drugo
svetovno vojno uporabljali kot propagando za spodbujanje bojnega duha, zato imajo negativno zapuščino. Ko je
gospod Kinji Muramatsu ustanovil Doshinsho, je izjavil: »Zdaj se poslavljamo od zgodb kamišibaja, ki so
razpihovale bojni duh, in pozdravljamo zgodbe, ki so mirne, spoštujejo človeška življenja in ljubijo otroke.« Dolga
leta sem urejala zgodbe kamišibaja ter slikanice za Doshinsho. Po petnajstih letih urednikovanja in desetih letih
predsedovanja sem zdaj predsedujoča članica. Kaj so glavne značilnosti in privlačnosti kamišibaja? Zgodba
kamišibaja se odvije, ko v leseni oder butai vstavimo serijo posameznih listov in jih menjavamo, medtem ko
beremo besedilo. Ker je ilustracija na sprednji strani lista, besedilo pa na zadnji, se mora nastopajoči obračati
proti občinstvu. Tako je format kamišibaja drugačen od slikanic. Strani slikanic so zvezane, tako da bralec gleda
slike, medtem ko bere besedilo in obrača strani. Ta razlika v formatu povzroči razlike v ključnih značilnostih
slikanic in zgodb kamišibaja. Delo kamišibaja se pojavi v odru butai in se razširi med gledalce, saj je treba med
predstavo menjavati liste. Občinstvo se osredotoči na nov list, ki se pojavi. Trenutek, ki ga nastopajoči porabi za
menjavo lista, je dragocen: občinstvu dovoli, da se posveti novi ilustraciji. Temu trenutku v japonščini rečemo ma(premor). Nastopajoči stoji poleg odra, ki vsebuje zgodbo, in bere besedilo, napisano na zadnji strani listov.
Nastopati začne z vsem srcem, sočustvuje z liki in se sporazumeva z občinstvom. Pozornost in komunikacija
občinstva ustvarjata kyokan (skupna čustva), ki zgodbo približujejo občinstvu. Obstoj kyokana je osnova za dobro
predstavo. Ker predstave kamišibaja ustvarjajo kyokan, je njihova vsebina pomembna: potrebujemo namreč
temo, o kateri želimo deliti svoja čustva. Ko predstavljamo dela kamišibaja, poskušamo uresničiti čudoviti svet
kyokana, s čimer ustvarjamo srečo in mir za vse.
***
Kyoko Sakai se je rodila leta 1946. Diplomirala je iz ekonomije na Univerzi Hosei. Postala je glavna urednica indeset let delala kot predsednica in direktorica založbe Doshinsha Publishing v Tokiu, ki je znana po izdajanju
otroških knjig in kamišibajev. Uredila je številna popularna dela, kot je slikanica Kazua Iwamure Štirinajstčlanskadružina (The Family of Fourteen). To delo je izšlo v trinajstih državah – po svetu je prodanih več kot desetmilijonov izvodov. Delo Mačka, ki rada slika (Cat Who Likes to Paint), ki ga je napisala in ilustrirala Kayako
Nishimaki, je leta 1987 zmagalo v kategoriji slikanic za nagrado Kodansha Publication Culture Award forChildren's Books. Kyoko Sakai je prav tako uredila delo Dogodivščina v omari (The Adventure in the Closet), ki je
doseglo rekordno prodajo. Uredila je številne čudovite kamišibaje, kot sta Vrabec s pristriženim jezikom (TheTongue-Cut Sparrow) in serija Robot Kamii (Kamii the Robot). Leta 2001 je postala ena od soustanoviteljic
Mednarodne japonske zveze za kamišibaj (International Kamishibai Association of Japan, IKAJA). Organizira
seminarje o kamišibaju in predava tako na Japonskem kot na Nizozemskem, v Franciji, Nemčiji, Švici, Indiji,Maleziji, Singapurju ter na Kitajskem. Obenem poskuša vzpostaviti teorijo kamišibaja, pri čemer sodeluje z NorikoMatsui. Njuno delo je zbrano v seriji vprašanj in odgovorov »Kako izvajati kamišibaj« (»How to Perform
Kamishibai Q&A«) in »Minienciklopediji kamišibaja« (»Kamishibai Mini-encyclopaedia«). Je revizorka fundacije
Iwasaki Chihiro Memory Cooperation Foundation, predavateljica na Nacionalnem rehabilitacijskem centru,
predsedujoča članica založbe Doshinsha Publishing ter predstavnica zveze IKAJA.
Hina Nagase se je rodila leta 1963 v Tokiu. V osnovni šoli je zelo rada brala otroške knjige. Že takrat je spoznala
kamišibaj, ki jo je zelo očaral. V času srednje šole je živela v ameriških zveznih državah Maryland in New Jersey.
Ko se je vrnila na Japonsko, je obiskovala Univerzo Sophia in leta 1986 diplomirala iz angleškega jezika na
Oddelku za tuje jezike. Po diplomi je delala za Japan Airlines kot stevardesa za čezoceanske lete. Potem ko je pri
letalski družbi dala odpoved, je začela študirati prevajalstvo, predvsem prevajanje otroških del. Njen prvi prevoddela Escape from Shangri-La, ki ga je napisal Michael Morpurgo, je izšel leta 2002. Takrat je tudi odkrila
Mednarodno japonsko zvezo za kamišibaj (IKAJA) in začela tam delati kot tajnica. Njena glavna prevodna dela so
Tiger Boy, Monsoon Summer, Rickshaw Girl (Mitali Perkins), Love, Aubrey (Suzanne LaFleur), Anna Hibiscus(Atinuke) itd. Zgodba Rickshaw Girl je bila leta 2010 izbrana za domače branje za petošolce in šestošolce. Delo
- 182 -

Love, Aubrey je uvrščeno na priporočilni seznam knjig japonske zveze šolskih knjižnic (Japan School Library
Association). Na Japonskem je večkrat predavala o kamišibaju ter nastopala z angleškimi predstavami kamišibaja
v Franciji, Indiji, Maleziji in Singapurju.

- 183 -

Kamishibai – its Key Features and Appeal

Sakai Kyoko
Introductory Lecture of the International Symposium
presentation in cooperation with: Hina Nagase

A kamishibai performance proceeds when you put a series of separate, illustrated sheets into a butai(wooden stage) and slide the sheets in and out while reading the text on the back. Since theillustrations are on the front of the sheets and the text is on the back, a performer is needed, and theperformer faces the audience. This is the format of kamishibai, and it is quite different than the formatof picture books. The pages in picture books are bound, so a reader faces a picture book reading thetext and turning the pages.
A kamishibai story emerges and extends to where the audience is through the sliding-out motion. The
audience concentrates strongly on each new sheet when it appears. The short time needed to slideeach finished sheet into the butai is a moment in which the audience concentrates fully on the newillustration. We call this ma (pause) in Japanese. If the performer performs wholeheartedly and feels
sympathy for the characters, they can communicate with the audience richly. The audience’s
concentration and their communication—both verbal and nonverbal, and with one another and theperformer—produce kyokan (unity or shared feeling) connected with the story.
Picture books are made so that a reader becomes immersed in the story and explores it as anindividual. By contrast, kamishibai moves along at the pace of the performer, and invites performer
and audience to explore the story world together, connecting with it and each other.
Keywords: Emerging and Extending, Concentration, Communication, Kyokan, Peace

Kyoko Sakai. Representative of the International Kamishibai Association of Japan; Chairperson of
Doshinsha Publishing Co. Ltd., which specializes in publishing children’s books and kamishibai. Kyoto
Sakai has edited popular Japanese picture books including The Family of Fourteen series, as well as
many classic kamishibai.
She has organized kamishibai seminars and given lectures not only in Japan but also in the
Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, India, Malaysia, Singapore, China and Slovenia. She
recently edited the book Kamishibai Encyclopedia. sakai@doshinsha.co.jp- 184 -

***The Dober dan. Hello. I am glad to have this space in which to discuss kamishibai’s key
features and appeal. Before doing so, I wish to share a kamishibai work. Grow, Grow, Grow
Bigger is the most popular kamishibai in Japan.
Written and illustrated by Noriko Matsui
Grow, Grow, Grow Bigger
1

Oink oink, Oink oink.
Here you see a small pig.
He wants to grow bigger.
When I count up to three, ichi ni no san,Text and illustrations © 1983
by Noriko Matsui

will you all say, “Okiku okiku okiku nare”,
which means “Grow grow grow bigger”?
2

Wow,
pig hasgrown
big!okiku nare!”Ichi ni theno san,“Okikuokiku
Oink oink, oink oink.

3

Look at this, an egg.
Everyone, say, “Okiku okiku okiku nare”
OK?
Ichi ni no san, “Okiku okiku okiku nare!”- 185 -

4

The egg has grown big!
But what’s happened?
It’s starting to crack.
What’s going to be born?

5

A baby dinosaur is born.
He cries GA-OON, GA-OON.

6

And what’s next?
It’s very small, isn’t it?
Shall we say, “Okiku okiku okiku nare”,
again?
Ichi ni no san, “Okiku okiku okiku nare!”7

Hmmm, has it grown enough?
No, it’s still a bit small.
If you call again in a bigger voice,it will surely grow much bigger. OK?
Ichi ni no san, “Okiku okiku okiku nare!”8

You see, it has grown so big…
A sweet cake. Let’s eat it together.
Ah, wasn’t that delicious? Thank you.
The end

No part of this kamishibai may be reproduced in any form, by print, photo print, microfilm or
any other means without written permission from Doshinsha Publishing Co., Ltd.

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The History of Doshinsha
I would now like to talk about Doshinsha, a publisher of kamishibai and picture books.
Kamishibai was born in the heart of Tokyo around 1930. Doshinsha, for its part, was foundedin Tokyo in 1957, as a publisher of kamishibai. (It is also said that Doshinsha has 10 years ofprehistory, as a kamishibai study group.) We recently celebrated the company’s 60th
anniversary. Over time, we have published about 2,200 kamishibai works, as well as 600
picture books.
During World War II, kamishibai performances were used as a means of propaganda inJapan, for whipping up the fighting spirit, leaving a tragic legacy. Therefore, when founding
Doshinsha, Mr. Kinji Muramatsu declared, “We now say good-bye to kamishibai stories thatwhipped up the war spirit, and hello to kamishibai stories that are peaceful, respect human
life, and love children.”I have edited kamishibai stories and picture books for Doshinsha for many years. I am now
the chairperson after being an editor-in-chief for fifteen years, and the president for ten years.
I am also the representative of IKAJA, the International Kamishibai Association of Japan.
One of IKAJA’s main activities is the study of kamishibai. Next, I wish to describe some ofwhat we have learned about kamishibai.
Kamishibai—Its Key Features and Appeal
Kamishibai’s format can be explained using another popular kamishibai work, entitled Father.
It is a telling of a Sumatran folktale from Indonesia. The story is about a father who tries tosave his son from a monster.

Illustration © 1968 by Seiichi Tabata

On each sheet of this and every kamishibai, the illustration is on the front and the text is on
the back.
To perform, you put a series of separate sheets into a butai (or wooden stage), slide thesheets out one by one, and slide them back in, while reading the text on the back. The
kamishibai story proceeds as you repeat this process. Since the text is on the back, you needa performer, and the performer must face the audience. This is the format of kamishibai,
which is quite different from picture books.

- 187 -

The pages of picture books are bound. So, a reader faces a picture book reading the text andturning the pages. If you can read by yourself, you don’t need another reader. The speed ofturning the pages depends on you, so you can go back as you wish, and you can also taketime on each page, as long as you like.
By contrast, kamishibai is moved along by a performer. The audience follows the pacecreated by the performer. Kamishibai is unidirectional, meaning you cannot go back.
Picture books are complete by themselves, but kamishibai are completed throughperformance.
Also, since both kamishibai and picture books have illustration and text, they may seem alike,but they are different in format. Therefore, their illustrations and text are also different, andthe way to go about creating them is different.
The difference in format leads to respective key features. Next, I would like to talk about key
features of kamishibai.
Two Key Features of Kamishibai
One key feature of kamishibai, is that the story emerges and extends to where the audienceis, through the sliding-out motion. The role of the butai is important here. Because of thebutai, the story world and real world are distinct. If you don’t use a butai, the story world
doesn’t stand out as much.

At the same time, the butai emphasizes the story emerging and extending into real time andspace. The waveform door further emphasizes this shift. Again, the first key feature is that inkamishibai, the story emerges and extends to the audience.
The second key feature is that when you slide out the present sheet, the new sheet appears.
With this change, the audience concentrates on the new illustration.

- 188 -

Then you slide the old sheet back in. The interval it takes to do this creates a precious
moment for the audience to concentrate on the new illustration. We call this ma (or “pause”)
in Japanese.
You stand next to the kamishibai when you perform and read the text on the back. When you
perform wholeheartedly, empathizing with the characters, you can communicate with theaudience naturally. Nonverbal communication happens among audience members, too.
There are two types of kamishibai works: audience-participation type and complete-story
type, and the kinds of communication elicited by each are different.

The work Grow, Grow, Grow Bigger, shared above, is an example of audience-participation
kamishibai. The communication in this type of kamishibai is very direct. The performer says
to the audience, “Clap your hands!” or “Say it out loud!” and they do.
On the other hand, the communication with the complete-story type is indirect. The performer
nods or makes eye contact with the audience and may seem to be a bit quiet.
But this too is an important kind of communication, and the story world enters deep into theaudience members’ hearts.

Scene 5 from “Father”
Illustration © 1968 by Seiichi Tabata- 189 -

Please look at this scene. When his son is snatched away by the monster, Father looks forhim desperately. The illustration consists of a close-up of Father’s face. The performer
sympathizes with his feeling and performs. Thus, his feeling reaches the audience, and thesame feeling of “I hope he can find his son!” moves between performer and audience, as wellas among the audience. Communication happens.
All this concentration and communication produce kyokan (or shared feeling) related to thestory. The focused concentration is the basis of kyokan, and communication among
everyone present strengthens it.
The kyokan in kamishibai is not directed toward the performer. This is important. Sometimes,
when you perform kamishibai and elicit kyokan, you tend to feel like you are the center andforget about the story.
The two key features mentioned above lead to how one performs. If you are interested in this
aspect, please kindly read the book How to Perform Kamishibai Q & A.

Japanese text and illustration © 2008 by Noriko Matsui
Translated into English by Etsuko Nozaka and Kara Yamaguchi

What kind of kyokan should we attempt to create? This is a fundamental question. Is it OK if
a kamishibai is funny? Is it OK if the audience laughs? Ultimately, we wish to performkamishibai for the happiness of people and to create the world of kyokan. And it would be
wonderful if this becomes the power to live. I firmly believe that kamishibai has that kind of
power, and I hope kamishibai will be loved by many people throughout the world.

Works Cited:
All published by Doshinsha Publishing Co., Ltd.
1. Grow, Grow, Grow Bigger, written and illustrated by Noriko MATSUI, 1983.
2. Father, written by Jun’ichi Yoda, illustrated by Seiichi TABATA, 1968.
3. How to Perform Kamishibai Q & A, written and illustrated by Noriko MATSUI, 2008.

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Interaktivni kamišibaj

Sever Vid

Naše delo Po besedah dr. Zdenke Zalokar Divjak imajo zgodbe moč nad nami, saj njihova vsebina odzvanja v
naši osebnosti ne glede na starost. S pomočjo zgodb bolje razumemo sebe in druge. V otroškem svetu zgodbe
otrokom pomagajo pri postopnem učenju razločevanja med slabim in dobrim, med svetlobo in temo. Dragocene
rešitve, ki jih ponujajo zgodbe, plahim pogosto dajejo pogum, zanemarjanim sočutje, šibkim pa nudijo moč. V
eseju Rabe čudežnega Bruno Bettelheim trdi, da je zgodba uspešna, kadar se otroci v občinstvu zabavajo, kadar
vzbudi njihovo zanimanje, kadar prebudi njihovo domišljijo. Kamišibaj je posebna skrivnost: samo kadar seodpahnejo in odprejo njegova vratca, lahko pokukamo v dogajanje – to je prvi korak opazovanja, raziskovanja in
odkrivanja povsem nove izkušnje. Pripovedovanje zgodbe, pravi Zalokar Divjak, je precej učinkovitejše kot samo
branje, saj je očesni stik najuspešnejša in najučinkovitejša oblika povezovanja z občinstvom. Pripovedovalec
lahko pripoveduje zgodbe, ki si jih ne le zapomni, temveč asimilira. Pripovedovanje je spontano in naravno, kar
mu omogoča, da ustvari vzdušje, ki je primerno za otroke v občinstvu. Napleta besede, ki omogočajo še boljšo
povezavo s poslušalci. Ko empatija med pripovedovalcem in poslušalcem doseže višek, smo dovolj sproščeni za
sporazumevanje, zato otroci postanejo del zgodbe. Včasih kričijo z mano (ali name), šepetajo ali pojejo. Čivkajo,
lajajo in tulijo. Plešejo, ploskajo in izvajajo kung fu. Po predstavi navdušeno klepetajo o zgodbi. Toda to ni več
zgolj moja zgodba – ustvarili smo jo vsi skupaj. Ta občutek interaktivnosti mi omogoča, da iz svojih zgodb
naredim še več. Kamišibaj omogoča več kot le branje zgodb otrokom. Dopušča nam, da vključimo vse njihove
čute, saj zgodbe spremljajo podobe, ki jih opazujejo, zvoki, ki jih poslušajo in ponavljajo, ter nastop, ki ga lahko
posnemajo. Rad jih vključim kot celoto. Ko odprem svojo »čarobno škatlo«, tega ne naredim, ker je v njej ujeta
zgodba, ki hoče uiti, temveč zato, ker gledalci čakajo, da jih spustim vanjo.
***
Vid Sever se je s kamišibajem prvič srečal med študijem japonologije na Filozofski fakulteti Univerze v Ljubljani.
Na prvem nastopu ga je zagrabila vročica – res je zbolel, a sta ga navdahnili preprostost lesenega okvirja inglobina zgodb, ki jih je napletal z njegovo pomočjo. Pripovedovalski slog so mu pomagale oblikovati izkušnje spouličnim in improvizacijskim gledališčem. Komunikacija z občinstvom, trenutne domislice in zdrava mera
energičnega zabavljaštva pomagajo oživiti zgodbo. Nastopal je na različnih dogodkih in festivalih, toda v zadnjem
času ga izobraževalno delo navdihuje za nastope na šolah, v vrtcih in drugih izobraževalnih ustanovah. Tam
otrokom kar najbolje predstavlja različne načine doživljanja pripovedovanja.
- 191 -

An Interactive Kamishibai

Sever Vid

In this day and age of interactive media, we kamishibai performers strive to delight as many people as
we can with our stories. The author strives to make his stories even more interactive by asking theaudience for help, co-operation and feedback.
Keywords: Kamishibai, Storytelling, Interactivity, Empathy, Performance Arts, Audience Contact

Vid Sever first came into contact with kamishibai while studying Japanology at the Ljubljana Faculty ofArts. The first time he performed, a fever entered his body – he got sick, yes, but also inspired by thesimplicity of the wooden frame and the depth of the stories it could help weave. His storytelling styleborrows heavily from his background of street and improvisational theatre – communicating with theaudience, making stuff up on the spot, and just a healthy amount of energetic showmanship all help
make a story truly come alive. He has performed at various events and festivals, but lately his work in
education inspires him to tour various schools, kindergartens and other educational facilities, where hedoes his best to present the children with a different way to experience storytelling.
vidsever90@gmail.com- 192 -

***The According to Fairbairn, storytelling is central to most of human life. We create windows
through the stories we tell, and in those windows our hopes can be seen, and our fears as
well. Stories can make us understand what kind of person we are, or perhaps even whatbeing a different person might feel like (53).
When I started performing, I delved deeply into improvisation, and being other people waseasy. The older I grew, the harder it became being myself. But I can be myself when I
perform kamishibai, and through the small wooden stage I try to invite the audience in.
When the empathy between storyteller and listener is at its peak, we’re relaxed enough tointeract, and so the children become part of the story. They might yell with me (or at me), or
whisper, or sing. They chirp and bark and howl. They have danced, clapped, done kung-fu.
They chatter about the story excitedly, after. But it is not my story anymore. All of us made it
happen.
It is that feeling of interactivity that allows me to do more with my stories. Kamishibai can beused for so much more than just reading to the children. It allows us to engage more of theirsenses, as the stories have pictures they can observe, sounds to listen to and repeat, aperformance they can imitate. I like to engage them as a whole. When I open my ‘magicalbox’, it is not because there is a story I need to let out – it is because there is an audience
waiting to be invited inside.
I believe that in this search for empathy, kamishibai performances must become moreinteractive. In the ways of the gaito kamishibaiya of old, those traditional performers thatwould ride into a village on a bicycle and basically peddle their wares – which were stories, ofcourse – and as the village children would flock to them, the listeners should flock to thekamishibai performer whose purpose is not to perform for the audience, but with them.
Let’s call this interactive kamishibai. Sometimes forsaking the story you’ve memorised,
forsaking the correct way for the way that feels right for the audience makes a whole world ofdifference. Now you have them leaning forward, their mouths opened, their eyes bright.
You’re pulling them in, bit by bit.
B is for banter. Cooper, Collins and Saxby described the importance of the introductorybanter between teller and audience at the beginning of a storytelling session that should
establish the mood, clarify unfamiliar words and stimulate audience interest. Data from the
project showed that the time spent in the introduction to each storytelling session helped tore-establish group dynamics and prepared the class for something different to the usual
lesson.
Contact with the audience is important when you want your performance to be interactive.
Most people on this planet like to tell you how they’re doing at almost any given moment, so
it’s perfectly natural (and very effective) to ask the audience how they’re doing. How they’refeeling, have they ever seen a kamishibai performance before. It’s a very effective gauge for- 193 -

what to expect from them during the show. Sometimes you get the ones that will gladly help
you when you ask them to, and sometimes you get teenagers.
But even teenagers can be turned to your side, if you ask them, and listen. Listening to thecrowd might just be the very first step of them listening to you later. Showing interest andinvestment in your relationship elevates the audience to a new level of co-operation that leadto the next step.
I is for interactivity. Just as modern teachers might accommodate different learning styles intheir classroom, so can the storyteller. Even better yet, a teacher-turned-storyteller mightutilize kamishibai as a potent tool in the classroom.
Learning styles classify different ways people learn and how they approach information. In
more complex terms, some experts define different learning styles as the preferred
processes students use when they learn, and some believe that, unlike intelligence, students'
particular learning styles are fixed (Sreenidhi, 17).
One of the most common and widely-used categorizations of the various types of learning
styles is Fleming’s VARK model (sometimes VAK - an acronym for the Visual (V), Auditory(A), and the Kinaesthetic (K) sensory modalities) which provides the learners with a profile oftheir learning styles, based on the sensory modalities which are involved in taking in
information (ibid.).
So there’s the good news – each of your listeners, child or adult, has a sensory modality thatlets him or her remember the story even better! And keeping in mind the part about
interactivity, it is completely up to you and your performance to weave their interests into theperformance. Auditory learners respond better to sound effects, wacky voices or songs thatyou might adapt for your story. They can help you as a sort of background chorus, providing
ambient sounds (like the wind blowing, the water bubbling, or sometimes just fart noises) ormaybe even just to repeat an important story element every now and then.
Visual learners will of course benefit to the very nature of kamishibai – its pictures captivate
so many people, and you’ll know them as they point to the images in wonder. It’s very easy
to pick them out and ask them about what they see or how they feel about it. Again, there areapplications in the classroom – smaller children might help you spell out words or count the
numbers out loud.
Even adults might discover something new in a picture that you’ve used to perform so manytimes, and better yet – they’ll probably happily tell you about it. If you like it well enough, you
can ask them if you can incorporate their discoveries into your next performance. Now that’s
something that really gets the empathy we talked about at the beginning flowing!
Kinaesthetic learners might be the most tricky ones of the bunch. Kamishibai covers thevisual and auditory prerequisites wonderfully, but for the kinaesthetic aspect to work, you’ll
truly need the co-operation of the audience. Thankfully, you are on stage, telling the story.
You’re vulnerable, and if you ask them for help, they’ll most probably oblige you. Telling thestory with your body as well as your voice might be frowned upon in some kamishibai circles,
but it’s just so nice seeing people getting into the spirit of performing with you.
- 194 -

You can ask them to mime along with you, or to act out a dance choreography, a fighting
sequence, they might help you imitate animals, people, even inanimate objects. Of course,
this will be harder to do in smaller venues, so you really do need the extra space. Ease theminto the action and show them how to do it yourself. You’ll be in excess of human props tohelp you tell the story in no time.
T is for tailoring the story. I first started tailoring when I was performing for children withintellectual disabilities. I would talk a lot, at first, but when I saw they couldn’t follow me, I
slowed down. I listened. When they asked: “Who is this guy? How is he important to thestory?” I decided to ask them: “Well, I dunno. Who do you think this guy is?” And we changed
the story just like that.
They were minor details, of course, since you’re pretty much dependant on your pictures
when you perform kamishibai. But you’ve probably told this story a million times. You know it
so well that sometimes it’s actually a bit boring to you. But they haven’t heard it before, so
you can easily ask them about parts of the story that might not change too much of it for you.
For them, changing the voice, name or history of a character might turn your story into theirs,
and in doing so, they remember it for a long time.
In order to create the applied stories, we refer to Gianni Rodari’s book, Gramática de laFantasía (The Grammar of Fantasy). This publication proposes numerous methods forcreating stories. In chapter 17, entitled Little Red Riding Hood in a Helicopter, the author
describes a storytelling method in which children are given a list of five words that evoke thisfamous fairy tale: “Grandmother”, “Woods”, “Wolf”, “Girl” and “Flowers”. However, then asixth word, “Helicopter”, is added, which breaks with this series of words (Ibanez, 56).
As Rodari explains, the purpose of this exercise is to create stories: “Through this gameexercise, the teachers or authors of this experiment measure the children’s ability to react toa new and unexpected element in a certain series of events; their ability to absorb the given
word in a familiar story; and their ability to make the familiar words react in a new context”(ibid.).
The bit (banter, interactivity, tailoring) by bit is highly situational – it depends on the venue,
the audience, the story. But most of all it depends on you. If you can, take a minute to meetthe people you're telling the story to. If you're relaxed, chances are they'll relax as well. And
then – well, you've got a magical box. And they're just waiting to make that trip together withyou.
According to Dr Zdenka Zalokar Divjak, stories have power over us, as their contents
resonate with our personality, almost regardless of age. They lead us to understanding of
oneself, and others. In a child’s world, they help them in the budding progress of discerning
right from wrong, darkness from light. The precious resolutions stories offer often provide
courage for the timid, compassion for the neglected, and strength for the weak.
Telling a story, says Zalokar Divjak, is much more effective than just reading it, as the eye
contact with the audience is regarded to be the most successful and impactful form ofconnecting with the audience. The storyteller is free to tell his tales, which are not- 195 -

memorized, but assimilated. The storytelling is spontaneous and natural, allowing him tocreate an atmosphere appropriate for the children of the audience, weaving words thatenable a greater connection with the listeners.
And in the end, we perform, and sometimes live, and breathe to make those connections.

References:
COOPER, P., Collins, R., & Saxby, M. The power of story. Macmillan Education Australia,
1994
FAIRBAIRN, Gavin J. “Storytelling, ethics and empathy.” Ethical Space: The International
Journal of Communication Ethics, letnik 2, številka 3, 2005, str. 48-54.
MARQUEZ IBANEZ, Ana.“Kamishibai: An intangible cultural heritage of Japanese culture
and its application in Infant Education.” Training and practice, letnik 15, številka 1, 2017, str.
25-44.
SREENIDHI, S. K., Tay Chinyi, H. “Styles of Learning Based on the Research of Fernald,
Keller, Orton, Gillingham, Stillman , Montessori and Neil D. Fleming.” International Journal for
Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Field, letnik 3, številka 4, 2017, str. 17-25.
Z. DIVJAK, Zdenka, Brez pravljice ni otroštva. Krško: Gora s.p., 2002.

- 196 -

Preseganje meja v zamejenem prostoru: dramaturški pogled na
umetnost kamišibaj gledališča

Sitar Cvetko Jelena
uvodno predavanje sklopa I.: Umetnost kamišibaja

Pripovedovalec zgodbe slika dogodke, prostore in junake v njih. Pripoved spremljajo čustva in občutki. Moč
neposredne žive pripovedi, stare kot človeštvo samo, pomaga ljudem razumeti sebe in svet. Medtem ko pripoved
zahteva čas, pa slika/podoba omogoča takojšen odziv. Sugestivnost podobe vpliva na čute, občutja in čustva
gledalcev. Moč podobe, stare kot človeštvo samo, pomaga ljudem do uvida. Ko želimo s slikami povedati zgodbo,ko želimo zgodbo prikazati (tudi to početje spremlja človeka v času), potrebujemo niz slik. Podobe v svojem
sosledju govorijo zgodbo. A zgodba se ne dogaja več nekoč (mukashi mukashi ali 'nekoč'). Dobila je svojo
podobo, dobi svoje telo (utelešenje). Vidimo jo. Besede in podobe, ki se v kamišibaju dinamično prepletejo inneločljivo povežejo, ustvarjajo sinergijo, novo umetniško bitje. Srečanje besed in slik se pri kamišibaju zgodi v
butaju, praznem pravokotniku, in robu, ki zgodbo uokviri in tako omeji sliko. Omejitev pa pomeni izvzetje: kar je v
okvirju, je iz-vzeto iz našega sveta, zato se v njem lahko zgodi karkoli. Kaj je torej ZA okvirjem? Nadaljevanjeslike? Svoboda? Vsekakor preseganje. Nov prostor, neznan svet, ki ga nikoli ne bi spoznali, če se ne bi odprla
vratca odra – butaja. Če okvir butaja omogoča ustvarjanje novega prostora – prostora zgodbe, pa vratca butaja
določajo čas zgodbe. Določajo, kdaj se bo ta začela in kdaj končala. Vmes si bodo v določenem ritmu sledili
dogodki. Ritem narekuje pripovedovalec. Določa čas in način, kako si slike sledijo. In pripoveduje. Pripoveduje otistem, kar vidimo, še bolj pa o onem, česar ne moremo videti, tistem zadaj. In potem nam pokaže tisto zadaj, ko
z odra potegne list. In zadaj je še en list … Potapljamo se v zgodbo, globlje in globlje: z vsakim novim listom, z
vsako novo sliko, z vsakim novim dogodkom. Kamišibajkar odstira in pripoveduje. Zgodba nastaja v njegovih
rokah in v njegovih ustih, na njegovem obrazu. On pozna zgodbo, on nas vodi v zgodbo, on sam postane zgodba.
On je med nami, je del nas. Če pa je del nas, je del nas tudi njegova zgodba. Kamišibajkar je animator, daje dušo
sleherni podobi, sleherni besedi. Podobe vstopajo v medsebojne odnose in se srečujejo med seboj ter s
pripovedjo. Med njimi nastane valovanje, ki preseže ritem sosledja dogodkov, prizorov, podob. Takrat jeanimirano tudi občinstvo, ki čuti, kar vidi in sliši, ter tako spozna modrost, ki stanuje v globinah vsake zgodbe.
Spozna pa tudi njenega avtorja, katerega duša posreduje zgodbo in se zrcali v duši gledalca. Kyokan.
***
Jelena Sitar Cvetko je dramaturginja in lutkarica, ki že trideset let prispeva k slovenskemu lutkarstvu. Raziskuje
predvsem komorno lutkovno gledališče kot režiserka, dramaturginja in umetnica. Podpisuje se pod več kotštirideset predstav v poklicnih lutkovnih gledališčih, med katerimi sta mednarodno najbolj znani Dr. Faust(Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana) in Ko je Šlemil šel v Varšavo (Lutkovno gledališče Maribor). Deset predstav je
ustvarila v lastnem lutkovnem gledališču Zapik, ki je znano po minimalističnem, interaktivnem in izvirnem pristopu
k lutkarstvu. V predstavah gledališča Zapik avtorja Jelena Sitar Cvetko in Igor Cvetko raziskujeta meje oblik
gledališča, kakršni sta uporaba prstnih lutk in kamišibaj. V njeni poklicni biografiji jo najdemo tudi kot urednico
revije Lutka, soustanoviteljico Hiše otrok in umetnosti ter umetniško vodjo Lutkovnega gledališča Ljubljana. Od
leta 2010 deluje tudi kot profesorica na Pedagoški fakulteti Univerze na Primorskem, kjer novim generacijam
učiteljev predstavlja čarobni svet gledališča, lutkarstva in kamišibaja.

- 197 -

Beyond Borders in Confined Space: Dramaturgical Perspective on
the Art of Kamishibai Theatre

Sitar Cvetko Jelena
Introductory Lecture of the Section I:
The Art of Kamishibai

The narrator paints events, spaces, and heroes with his story, evoking feelings and emotions. The
power of a direct live performance, old as humanity itself, helps the spectators understand themselves
and the world. The story takes time, but the painting/image allows for an immediate response. The
suggestiveness of the image influences the senses, feelings, and emotions of the public. The power ofthe image, old as humanity itself, helps people become more aware. When we want to paint a story
through pictures, when we want to show the story, as humans often have throughout our history, weneed a series of images. A sequence of pictures tells a story. But the narration is no longer set in thepast (mukashi, mukashi or “once upon a time”): it has acquired an image of its own, a true
embodiment. We can see it. The words and images in kamishibai intertwine dynamically and are
inseparably bound together, creating synergy, a new artistic being. The meeting of words and images
in kamishibai happens in the butai, the empty rectangle, and the border that frames the story and limits
the image. The limitation means an exclusion: what takes place inside the frame is excluded from ourworld, which is why anything is possible inside the frame. What happens behind the frame? Does theimage continue? Is it free? It certainly extends beyond the frame. It creates a new space, an unknown
world that we never would have discovered if the door of the stage-butai hadn’t opened. If the frame of
the butai enables the creation of a new space – the space of the story – then the door of the butai
determines the time of the story. The door determines when the story begins and when it ends.
Between the beginning and the ending, events play out in a certain rhythm. The rhythm is set by thenarrator, who sets the time and manner of the image sequence and tells the story of what we can see,but mostly the story of what we cannot see, of what is hidden behind the frame. The narrator thenshows us what is hidden by pulling the paper out of the frame. Behind it, another sheet of paper
appears…we sink into the story, deeper and deeper, with every new sheet, every new image, every
new event. The kamishibai narrator reveals and tells the story. The story is created with his hands, hismouth, and his face. He knows the story, leads us into it, and finally becomes the story. He stands withus, becomes a part of us – and if he does, then his story becomes a part of us as well. The narrator isan animator, he gives a soul to each image, each word. The images relate to each other, meeting thestory. They create an undulation that surpasses the rhythm of the sequence of the events, scenes,
and images. When that happens, the audience is animated as well, feeling what it sees and hears,
realising the wisdom that resides deep within each story. And it sees the author whose soul relates thestory and is mirrored in each spectator’s soul. Kyokan.
Keywords: Image, Word, Story Movement, Animation, Kyokan

Jelena Sitar Cvetko is a dramaturge and a puppet artist who has been contributing to Slovenian
puppetry for thirty years. She has mostly been researching chamber puppet theatre as a director,
dramaturge, and performer. She has signed over 40 performances in professional puppet theatres,
among which Dr. Faust (Ljubljana Puppet Theatre) and When Shlemil went to Warsaw (Maribor
Puppet Theatre) are best known internationally. Ten performances were created in her own puppet
atelier Zapik, which is known for its minimalistic, interactive, and original approach to puppetry. In- 198 -

Zapik performances authors Jelena Sitar Cvetko and Igor Cvetko research the borders of theatre
forms such as finger puppetry and kamishibai theatre. In her professional biography we also find her
as an editor of the magazine Lutka (Puppet), a founder of the Artistic Children’s Museum (Hiša otrok inumetnosti), and an artistic director of Ljubljana Puppet Theatre. From 2010, she also works as aprofessor at The Faculty of Education of the University of Primorska, Koper, introducing the magic
world of theatre, puppetry, and kamishibai to future generations of teachers.

***

More intensely we encounter kamishibai as researchers or creators, the more it reveals itself
in its complexity. It always offers us new challenges and opportunities. The creator and theresearcher are thus similar to the kamishibaya, or the spectator of the performance, who
perceives the images and their meanings one by one, thus snapping the layers of the story.
The feeling that "just heaven is above" (because each solution raises new questions) is
probably similar to the one that a kamishibaya creates through he has carefully planned.
One of the reasons for this "hovering" is a creative process with an indispensable part ofindeterminacy, while the other lies in the complexity of the syncretic art of the kamishibai. In
it, different arts sway, intertwine, create harmonious and disharmonic moments ... To makethe matter even more interesting, the results of this complex process must be simple in linewith kamishibai's commitment to minimalism.
The idea that it is possible to present and/or round up the complex nature of kamishibai onsome sides is consistently proving to be too optimistic. Obviously, the fact that answers to
many of the questions asked are waiting for us in the near and far future, if we continue tocreate and implement new kamishibais, analyze our work and work of colleagues, andconstantly seek out secrets for even closed covers that preserve knowledge.
Given the great and continuing growing popularity of kamishibai in Slovenia, which is
becoming almost "an epidemic", there has been a need for a manual that would be useful forthe creators of the tesukuri kamishibai, which prevails in our country. These days I delievred
it into print in cooperation with some of my closest kamishibai camaraderies, so in the article
I also briefly present some of my thoughts from the mentioned book related to kamishibai as
an art form.
There is a story between the picture and the word in the kamishibai. The painting is the basisof the visual image of the kamishibai, its aesthetics, as well as visual narratives. It is a onetime event: it comes and goes. This allows space for a new image and the continuation of thestory. He's not coming back. What the viewer saw from his place in front of the stage andwhat he could see at the time of its presentation, this was his/her contribution to the story,
nothing more. Therefore, the image in the kamishibai must be distinct and clear. The imageof full details and gentle shades will not fulfill its task and was drawn in vain.
In the kamishibai no picture is alone. They are all connected to the story and they breathewith the rhythm of their movements. Each picture is completed, but it is open on both sides ofthe sky, where it is trodden against its predecessor and successor, giving it the rightmeaning. The picture is connected with others at the level of the story, its content and its- 199 -

meaning, and it comes in intimate, physical contact with its neighbors. And neighbors havetheir neighbors. Pictures in the kamishibia are therefore not only a set of drawings that follow,
as the story flows, but a type of encounters, relationships and contacts. The image itself does
not contain a time component. Staying in time (life) is enabled by its outgoing and upcoming
neighbor. Give it the rise, the shine and her set. It determines the time of its operation andincorporates it into the time, the course of the story.
Two spaces, two worlds are encountered in the kamishibai: the world of a story unfolding inbutai and the real world represented by a kamishiabaya. When he pulls out a scrapped sheetof paper from the stage, a painted scene from the space of the story is transformed into thespace of the real world - into our space. (Matsui, 2006).
Two times are encountered in the kamishibai show: the one in which the story is written andthe one in which the kamishibaya tells the story. The first one is usually past ("Mukachi,
mukachi" - "Long time ago" and for many kamishibayas in the world a distinctive andmandatory sentence before the beginning of narration.) The time of the story can drag on for
centuries, the event can be happening in the past, in the future or in the present. The time ofthe story is also concrete moments or periods from the life of man or of mankind, but canalso be completely imaginary. There are stories that are happening outside time frames.
The second time is the one in which the story is told, now, that is, the time in which thekamishibaya performs. This is always present.
Kamishibai itself lives in two time dimensions. The time of creation of narration at the time ofcreation (drawing) is the potential energy of the kamishibaya, and the time of the performer's
presentation of the story to the audience represents the kinetic energy of the kamishibai. In
the performance, these two energies establish a dynamic relationship between the past timeof the story and the present time of the theater performance.
The movement of pictures in kamishibi connects this art with the art of moving images, a film.
Traditional Japanese narrative technologies, represented by painting, word and theater, inthe twenties of the last century decisively joined the art of moving pictures.
If we observe the development of artistic language of kamishibai, we realize that the previous
forms (for instance: utsushi-e and tachi-e) were theatre orientated. They used pieces of greatjapan theatre - kabuki and tried to perform its stories in a simple way to meet audience evenon street. Kamishiabi as we know it today (hira-e) doesn't want to be a little kabuki theatre.
(McGowan, 2010). It also doesn't want to be it's little brother, bunraku, famous puppet
theatre. It rather turns to big screen, film. The process of symplification was already wellknown from previous forms: the big stage/screen becomes little and movie projections get
replaced by paper pictures - simple, flat in golden ratio dimensions, a minified film screen.
But there is an important difference between film and kamishibai: In film pictures move,follow one another according the story development and obey the rules of framing andediting (the basics of film language) to follow the story. (Pelko, 2014). In Japan an oral
narration which was added to silent movie – performed by kastudo banshi, who added
missing words in the mouth of heroes and heroines and provided other important information.
In kamishibai that praxis changes: the kamishibaya doesn't follow the story like film narrator,- 200 -

he makes the story running with his own words and movements. He doesn't watch the story
and add the missing words to it, he crates the story.
Film with its 24 pictures in a second (in order to attain effect of continuous moving) invents
technology of changing pictures invisible to human eyes. Kamishibaya makes this change
visible and dramatic. The change of kamishibai cards is one of the most exciting and poetic
moments in the kamishibai show. It is a moment „in beetwen“ in which the freedom ofspectator‘s own interpretation gets into biggest consideration. The way of changing cards
becomes one of the most interesting and useful tools in creating/performing kamishibai.
There is one more important difference between film and kamishibai: movie images arerecorded, while kamishibai pitcures are created in unique happening. They come from thevery inner world of the artist that can lead its audience everywhere.
The kamishibaya also has to share space of the words with space of the pictures. Opening
this relationship to the direct involvement of the audience causes many unexpected
situations where spoken improvisation creates another big magic of kamishibai.
All this live event in front of spectators connects the kamishibai with the theater: The picture
and the word are shared in the kamishibai by the way of the theater (shibai - the theater,play). The kamishibaya is the "agens" of the performance, which makes the pictures moveand "is" a kamishibai theater himself. He is a narrator and a screenwriter. He never plays arole as the player does. No one he imitates, therefore, does not use one of the basic
principles of the theater: the mimetic. The truth represented by the kamishibaya is not thetruth of the hero as with the actor, a kamishibaya tells the truth of the story, which is also thetruth of the world. Since he chose the story himself, this is again his own truth.
Kamishibaya also differs from a classic storyteller, who makes the images with his/ herwords. Kamishibaya shares his/her words with images. At the side of kamishibaya there is amagnificent device - butai with a picture story on cards waiting in a row to be moved
according to the time of their appearance. Kamishibaya makes the story run, he has to makethe heroes live, he has to make them think, feel, move ... That's the animation. It differs
significantly from the animation of puppets in a puppet show: the kamishibaya animates thewhole story.
Tezukuri kamishibaya, who performs his stories (or has been intensively involved in theircreation), differs from the kamishibaya who carries the story of another author (or a printedone) to the way of a productive creator from a reproductive one. A reproductive artist sculpts
and carries out the substance through his psycho-physical apparatus, adds his own
emotions, thoughts and skills, and interprets the author. A tezukuri kamishibaya is the author
himself. The process of preparing for the show covers the whole way from the idea throughthe creation of drawings to show to the audience. Tezukuri kamishibaya connects with hisstory in all the aforementioned times, while the reproductive kamishibaya connects only withthe time in the story and the time of the story.
Rhythm in kamishibai is another imporatnt artistic tool. Just think about the measure theJapanese get with their famous inhale and exhale techniques and philosophy. Because there
are several arts present in kamishibai, we also have several rhythms, which are meaningfully- 201 -

complementary. In the artistic sense, we have the repetition, development and escalation ofartistic elements. On the rhythm of the visual part of the performance there is also a methodof framing, which determines the soft or sharp changes in the frame. After all, the rhythm isthe whole story. Their rhythms have individual acts, individual scenes, individual drawn andspeech parts. The rhythm of both the content and the art of the story can be graphically seenon the storyboard. Of course, within this general arrangement of the kamishibai there is abunch of inner tension and relaxation, which also gives a rhythm to the performance. Also,
the relationship between the image and the word gives the kamishibai its own rhythm.
Finally, the kamishibaya gives the final rhythm to the performance by draging the picturesfrom the stage now quite slowly, now in stages, now hearsay. A characteristic rhythm is also
created by proper mechanics, where the sequential drawing (and insertion) of images gives a
special action ritual touch.
An important rhythmic element is also the pause (ma). Most often, we do not attach enoughimportance to it, but it has a significant impact on the performance of the kamishibai. In thepause, the audience can gather and regulate their attitude to the story. The pause gives theaudience the opportunity to engage in a story: at the moment of withdrawal of the picturefrom the stage and the arrival of the new one, spectators themselves create a bridge
between one and the other picture. Given the limited number of pictures in kamishibai, in
most of the stories, between one and the next event, a certain amount of time is repeatedly
taken. The pause is an appropriate tool to reach this goal. Finally, the pause is also an
excellent means of creating the rhythm of the story.

Literature:
MCGOWAN, T. (2010). The Kamishibai Classroom, engaging multiple literacies through theart of “paper theater”. California. Libraries unlimited.
MCGOWAN, T. The Many Faces of Kamishibai (Japanese Paper Theater) Abuot
japan.japansociety.org/integrating-kamishibai-performance-across the curricullum
MATSUi, N. (2006). How to perform Kamishibai Q&A. Tokyo. IKAJA.
PELKO, S.(2014). Filmski pojmovnik za mlade. Maribor. Aristej.
SAY. A (2005). Kamishibai Man. Boston MA. Houghton – Milton.
SITAR, J (2018) . Umetnost kamišibaja. Maribor. Aristej. (in printing)- 202 -

Kako kamišibaj sprejema francoska popularna kultura? Kulturna
primerjava francoskega in japonskega kamišibaja

Tsuno Yuiko

Francija je ena prvih držav, ki je uvozila kamišibaj. Danes ljudje v Franciji kamišibaj razvijajo z lastno kulturo – s
pripovedovanjem zgodb, marionetami, klovnovskimi predstavami ... Sem japonska umetnica, ki živi v Franciji,kamišibaje pa ustvarjam in izvajam od leta 2014. Predstavila bom položaj kamišibaja v Franciji in razmišljala otem, kako je kamišibaj, ki izvira iz japonske popularne kulture, sprejet v francoski. Kamišibaj se je v Francijiuveljavljal na več načinov. Izvedela sem, da so člani Mednarodnega združenja Japonske za kamišibaj (IKAJA)
leta 2002 obiskali Francijo na povabilo Geneviève Patte, ki si prizadeva za uveljavitev kamišibaja že od
sedemdesetih let prejšnjega stoletja. Ena najbolj priljubljenih knjig na temo kamišibaja je Kamishibai, la boîte
magique, ki jo je leta 2007 napisala Edith Montel. Od leta 2014 sem spoznala veliko ljudi, ki se ukvarjajo skamišibajem. Ob fotografijah bom predstavila njihovo prakso: publikacije, predavanja v knjižnicah, predstave,
prakso v šolah ... Med kamišibajem na Japonskem in v Franciji je veliko razlik. Grafika, pozicija in vloga
pripovedovalca, videz butaja ... Razlike so tako velike, da Japonce včasih presenetijo, vendar francoski kamišibaj
v Franciji postaja vedno bolj priljubljen in tu je to še vedno »kamišibaj«. Zakaj je v Franciji prišlo do transformacije
kamišibaja in kako se je absorbiral v francosko kulturo? Ko določen pojav uvozimo v tujo kulturo, ga skušamo
razumeti s primerjavo z lastno kulturo, ki jo poznamo. Naj navedem nekaj primerov iz francoske kulture:marionete, pripovedovanje zgodb, klovni in nouveau-cirque. Ko razumemo kulturni kontekst, lahko razumemotudi, kako ga Francozi sprejemajo in zakaj ga radi izvajajo. Kamišibaj je preprost, a nam ponuja številne možnosti.
Kot Japonka, ki živi in se s kamišibajem ukvarja v Franciji, si želim razumeti obe kulturi, drugo drugi pojasnjevati
in upam, da bomo skupaj lahko ustvarjali temelje za prihodnost kamišibaja.
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Yuiko Tsuno je avtorica in ilustratorka, ki je do svojega tretjega leta živela v Franciji. Zdaj spet živi tam, ustvarja
in se ukvarja z dejavnostmi, ki so povezane s kamišibajem. Po študiju slikarstva v Tokiu (Univerza umetnosti
Tama, diploma iz slikarstva z oljnatimi barvami leta 2008 in magisterij iz slikarstva leta 2010) je sedem let
poučevala slikarstvo in risanje na umetniški šoli v Kanagawi (Japonska). Udeležila se je tudi usposabljanja ozgodovini in izvajanju kamišibaja v okviru Mednarodnega združenja Japonske za kamišibaj (IKAJA). Sama je z
ustvarjanjem kamišibaja pričela leta 2013. Ustvarja, riše in pripoveduje svoje zgodbe pa tudi avtentične japonske
kamišibaje. Leta 2014 je prišla v Francijo, da bi se ukvarjala s kamišibajem. Prestavila se je na japonskem Expu,v kulturni ustanovi Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris, kulturni ustanovi Maison-Atelier Fujita ter v številnihknjižnicah, šolah, kulturnih centrih in na festivalih. Organizira tudi delavnice kamišibaja za otroke; sodeluje sšolami, obšolskimi programi, pri dejavnostih v kulturnih centrih itd. Leta 2017 je organizirala konferenco Kyoko
SAKAI (direktorica založbe Doshinsha, predstavnica združenja IKAJA) na temo kamišibaja v ustanovi La Maisonde la Culture du Japon à Paris. Ob tej priložnosti je organizirala festival kamišibaja in tja povabila francoske injaponske umetnike iz ustanove Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris. Nekateri njeni kamišibaji so v Franciji tudi
izšli: Les Parapluies Magiques (Kamishibais Editions, 2015), La poule brune et le renard fûté (Kamishibais
Editions, 2016), Le Chapeau Charmant (Kamishibais Editions, 2016) itd.
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How is the Kamishibai Accepted in French Popular Culture?
Cultural Comparison of French Kamishibai and Japanese
Kamishibai

Tsuno Yuiko

France is one of the first countryes that imported kamishibai. We can see many differences between
kamishibai in France and kamishibai in Japan. The graphics, the position and the role of thestoryteller, the appearance of the butai … In fact, these defferences are so siginificant that theysometimes surprise Japanese people, but in their own way, and for them, this is also kamishibai.
Why has kamishibai been transformed in France, and how has it been absorbed into the French
culture ? When we import a foreign culture, we try to understand it by comparing with our own wellknown culture. I will cite some examples of the French culture; storytelling, puppetry, picture book…
By understanding the cultural context, we can understand how kamishibai is accepted by the French,
and why they love to perform kamishibai.
Keywords: France, Japan, Cultural Difference, Storytelling, Practice by General Public

Yuiko Tsuno, after studying painting in Tokyo, she thought painting and drawing for seven years in anart school in Kanagawa (Japan). Since 2014, she has been living in France and practices kamishibai
there : creates, draws, and interprets her own stories, as well as the authentic Japanese kamishibai,
she organizes workshops for children, the kamishibai conferences and the festival. Some of her
kamishibai have been published in France.

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***
1. Preface
Kamishibai is practiced more and more in many countries of the world. Thanks to its
simplicity, many people can start to do kamishibai easily. I started doing activities aroundkamishibai in 2014, and I see more and more people practicing kamishibai in France. They
are either teachers in kindergartens or primary schools, librarians or professional artists inthe field of performing arts, who use it as a sort of children's show such as storytelling or
puppetry. Today, kamishibai is very popular in France, and the name "kamishibai" isimported directly from Japanese just like "sushi" and "kimono".
Seeing this situation, we, Japanese people tend to be happy by thinking that kamishibai, aJapanese culture that was born in Japan, is appreciated internationally in different countries,
such as manga, cartoon, tea ceremony or judo. However, there is the big difference between
kamishibai as one of the Japanese cultures that the Japanese have long loved by deepening
with nostalgia and reflection, and kamishibai which is practiced in other cultures as a newtechnique for telling stories by showing several images in a box with windows and doors. It isdifferent because people from other countries are not Japanese. They have nothing to dowith Japanese history, and they have their own cultures and history. The technique ofkamishibai is adopted in their cultures, and their own kamishibai culture is just being made. I
think it is necessary to know and understand objectively this fact, to establish more peacefuland creative communication in this international world.
2 .Question
During the past 4 years that I have been in France, I have met many people who were doing
kamishibai, but among them, very few practiced the theory of IKAJA. What I was shown as"Kamishibai" was very varied; Kamishibai with pantomime, accompanied by musicians, on abicycle etc. and often in pedagogical practice, the reader was hiding behind the butai, andthe illustrations were very delicate and detailed. The kamishibai that IKAJA offers is
considered the "traditional Japanese kamishibai" even though the theory was established at
the dawn of 21th century. Sometimes I hear that the French are not Japanese, so they don’t
want to follow the rules of traditional Japanese kamishibai. I asked myself; Why is thekamishibai in France so different from the kamishibai that I know?
Then I started my research in order to understand this difference between French andJapanese kamishibai.
3. Kamishibai in JapanTo begin, I will briefly explain the brief history of kamishibai in Japan. As its root, it has
Monogatari-e (book with the page of illustration and the page of texte, the audience looks
only at the illustration, and the reader reads aloud the text) which appears on the Emakimono(rolled paper with text and illustration that one can read by himself) of Genji Monogatari
Emaki of 12th century (Kamichi 12-17). There was also an art called Etoki (art of storytellingwith images) in the Middle Ages, especially for the buddhist preaching. In 18th century, there
were Kage-e (shadow theater), Utsushi-e (magic lantern), Tachi-e (paper puppet theater)and Hira-e (storytelling with paintings, the style of kamishibai of today), and Ebanashi- 205 -

(storytelling with illustrations on the rolled paper or suspended paper)(21-32). In 20th
century, there were Emonogatari (book with a lot of illustration, a specific term of the 1940sin Japan). Kamishibai ressembles them, but it has its specificity as Masao Kubo (1925-2005),
a painter writes “If the kamishibai painting loses the dramatic side, it would become an
Emonogatari or a kind of play”, to precise the specificity of the painting of kamishibai (Kubo
98-99).
Kamishibai was born in the streets in 1930 (Kamichi 33). There was no television, no manga,so the kamishibai artists who came to parks were one of the only entertainments for thechildren. The story was rather dramatic, full of adventure and suspense. The artists lived on
this art by selling sweets as the entrance fee, so each time the show ended at the criticalpoint to make the children come back to the next session. Kamishibai were very popularamong children, but among parents and teachers, there were people who were worried
about kamishibai, because in the stories there was everything; Little cute stories, folklores,
quiz, but also violent, erotic and grotesque stories (39-40).
During the world wars, the Japanese government used kamishibai for propaganda because it
worked very well for children and adults. Authors and illustrators were forced to create
propaganda stories, despite their true intentions. It deeply hurt people who were doing
kamishibai, even traumatized them. That was why after the war, they literally tried to "rebuild"the kamishibai, swearing that now the kamishibai should really be for the hearts of children,and for Peace (92-94).
Among them, there were ancestors of IKAJA, the International Kamishibai Association ofJapan. Doshinsha, a publisher company that has created many masterpieces of kamishibai
is at the heart of this association (International Kamishibai Association of Japan, 138-144).
That's why according to the kamishibai theory that IKAJA members completed after a longand immense search at the beginning of the 21st century, there are so many rules that would
seem strict for people from elsewhere: Use the butai (the box of kamishibai) in a sober way,
put the butai on a support covered by a black fabric, have a black background, the performer
dresses the most sober as possible, start with the delicate opening of the three doors of thebutai, do not use music, do not do the performance next to butai, do not use different voices,
etc (40-43). There are basic rules for the creation of the work too, like the simple anddynamic illustration, the text with many dialogues etc (62-69). Perhaps these rules seem too
demanding, but everything is very reasonable to convey the soul of the work that proclaims
the joy of life and to live together, and the beauty of peace, through performing, without any
obstacle, to the children. To keep the transmission direct, they removed all the decorations
that were too much.
I grew up with kamishibai like all Japanese children, so I knew kamishibai since I was a child.
But I really learned kamishibai by IKAJA, and I love their idea and their theory. I appreciate
all the souls who are dedicated to searching for the essence of kamishibai and creating thetheory. In addition, as my dream is to create a masterpiece of kamishibai as an illustrator, I
respect the theory of IKAJA because it allows no cheating at work, so that it shines in thescenery completely sober.

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4. Kamishibai in France
How did the kamishibai arrive from Japan to France ?
In 1965, in Clamart, a city next to Paris, a library named La Joie par les Livres, which is today
La Petite Bibliothèque Ronde. This library invited many trainees from around the world, andduring the 1970s, there was a Japanese trainee (a translator), Tomoko Yamaguchi, who had
come with kamishibai. She started doing kamishibai at this library. And at the same time,
Seiichi Horiuchi, a representative illustrator of Japan, lived in Paris and introduced kamishibai(Internationa Kamishibai Association of Japan 24-25). Geneviève Patte, the director of thislibrary since its opening, has become one of the FIRST people who discovered kamishibai in
France. Patte explains about kamishibai in her book titled “laissez-les lire !”(leave them
read!) published in 1987 in France ;Japan once invented a process similar to the magic lantern, it is the Kamishibai, usedby street mongers to attract onlookers and sell them any junk. Kamishibai is a kind of
portable theater. The small wooden frame leaning on its bycicle, the storyteller presents
a succession of images, strong line and often caricatural, made to be seen at a
distance. The storyteller has before him, on the back of the image that has just beenpresented, text and instructions, intonation and rhythm corresponding to the image thatthe child is seeing. This very popular custom is rediscovered by Japanese libraries. It is
now introduced in English and French libraries. English books are transposed into
Kamishibai, like those of Pat Hutchins with a clear, obvious and cheerful design, withskilful cutting. Children enjoy this type of story, which is also a natural part of fairs,
parties and the streets (Patte 75).
Thanks to Geneviève Patte and Marie-Charlotte Delmas, the director of the media libraryLouis-Aragon in Bagneux, the members of IKAJA could come to France in 2002 and 2006 to
give the training of Kamishibai (the internship and the conference with the representation). In
2012, La Petite Bibliothèque Ronde in partnership of IKAJA organized the First European
Kamishibai Meeting at the UNESCO Hall in Paris, and many people participated(International Kamishibai Association of Japan, 48-49, 52).
Afterwards, Marie-Charlotte Delmas left the office, but in succeeding her vocation, Michèle
Valentine took the responsibility for the project of La Petite Bibliothèque Ronde. She
organizes workshops of kamishibai, performs Japanese kamishibai, and lends thekamishibais recommended by IKAJA and the butai.
This is the only road that tries to import and spread kamishibai as a culture that was born inJapan.
In France, there was another entrance of kamishibai. It is Édith Montelle, a librarian who
wrote the book “La boîte magique - théâtre d’image ou kamishibaï [The magic box - theaterof image or kamishibai]” in 2007 by the publishing company Callicéphale, which is today themost famous publisher of Kamishibai in France. (In 2014, this book was updated andrevised.) Édith Montelle and Pierette Hartmann, both were librarians of the Children’s Libraryat La Chaux-de-Fond in Switzerland, discovered Kamishibai in 1976 in Bologna, on theoccasion of the International Childrens' Book Fair. It was at the stand of Holp Shuppan, aJapanese publishing company, as they were presenting the work of Pat Hutchins, theEnglish illustrator: Changes! Changes!. After coming back to their library, Hartmann wrote to- 207 -

Holp Shuppan to obtain more information. In 1978, Josiane Jeanhenry brought to the libraryof La Chaux-de-Fond the butai which was borrowed by the library La Joie par des Livres (LaPetite Bibliothèque Ronde of today), where she took a training of Kamishibai (Montelle 2829).
Montelle presented the Kamishibai at Carouge in Switzerland to the editors of a publishingcompany Lied. Passionated, they asked her to prepare a text. She adopted a traditional
folktale of the region La file des deux pigeons (from the collection of Jules Surdez), it was
illustrated by Jean-François Barbier and this work became the first Kamishibai created andpublished in French. This publisher Lied has become La Nacelle of Geneva. La Nacelle has
published many kamishibais, and they presented it to Jean-Luc Burger and his wife
Dominique Siegel, a couple who have taken over the children’s bookstore , La Bouquinette in
Strasbourg, France. After some years, when they decided to start publishing Kamishibai, La
Nacelle was already bankrupt, but they bought all their stocks of kamishibai from Suisse
distributor Servidis in Geneva and the publishing company Seuil in Paris. Then, theychanged their name to Callicéphale, and their first kamishibai was published in 2000 (31-33).
Today Callicéphale publishes many kamishibais. We can find also the guide in French for
use and implementation in the classroom (*1). Of course, there are many other publishers
now in France, but Callicéphale is the central one.
There are also live performance artists who perform the Kamishibai, in the style of Gaito
Kamishibai (Street kamishibai). Jean-Claude Pommier of Association Pokkowa-Pa! is one ofthe pioneers of Gaito style kamishibai in France. He lived in Japan for more than 4 years,
and now he performs many shows and workshops (*3). Also, thanks to the internet, it is notdifficult to find photos and videos of the Japanese Gaito Kamishibai performers.
5. What is Kamishibai for French people?
I have met several professional artists in Francheville, the city next to Lyon that has the great
tradition of puppetry (Marionnette). We made a group of kamishibai, and with the city ofFrancheville, we have a kamishibai project as a citizen’s movement. I did an interview withthese artists; illustrators, actors, puppeteers. Here, I quote a small excerpt from thisinterview.
Q1. What is kamishibai for you?
A: Kamishibai is a tool that allows me to mix the visual arts and theatrical practice. I’m very
interested in traditional story telling. The possibility of adopting story telling, being in the play,
and then being able to create illustrated boards, and to be able to consider taking this little
magic suitcase, and depart like that !
B: It’s telling stories with pictures. That’s really it. By making the kamishibai by myself, I
realized the need to follow a certain number of the rules. Because otherwise, it becomes
illustrations. But here, we are not in the illustration. We’re in something that we’ll share withthe audience. So it changes a lot compared to a book, which is something individual. There,
we set off to the collective. (…) Originally, of course it’s Japanese, but many countries haveadopted it… I’ve seen the videos made in Spain, in Portugal, in Brazil… It’s really auniversal tool and which can correspond to all.
C: It’s an art of storytelling in a shorter time, in which comes illustrations, images who speak
as much as the text. They are two complementary arts, actually. One of the image and oneof the word. (…) We have a Guignol in Lyon, there is interactivity. He adresses the audience- 208 -

saying “Ah ! You have not seen Gnafron ?” and all the children participate in the show, by
saying “He’s there !”D: For me, it’s a mix between storytelling, theater, film, and picture book.
E: There is another dimension than telling a story. It’s really a medium between the little
puppet theater and the storytelling. (…) It’s pretty universal, isn’t it ? It exists for a long timein Japan, and it can really refer to the little puppet theater we have here. I would never haveguessed it was really Japanese.
F: It’s the way of storytelling in a pretty lively way. We’re not alone because there is an actor
in a box, and who gives life to the story. It’s a tale in images but a little different from the tale
anyway. Because it’s the images who speak, above all, and us, we just put the words toserve these images.
I would explain that it’s like a puppet booth, except that inside, instead of puppets, there are
pictures.
G: I think it looks a lot like a puppet, actually. Because there are images who tell the story.
We had always the small puppets in all the houses. At school, every year we had puppet
shows. It’s quite nice to make an object live, to give it life…
Q2. What is the charm of kamishibai ?
A: It’s immediacy. There is a story coming out, and something happens !
B: Be able to do shows, go with my kamishibai, go in the street, go to a school, at a family
party…
anywhere we can see opening this box, and then start a show, a story…
C: I like to do it in a rather traditional way, without microphone for exemple. To do it really inthe streets of the countries of the world. It’s a little bit OF a travel tool for me. I translated mykamishibais into English and Spanish to be able to travel with them. I like the spontaneousside of the encounter, to go where people don’t expect me.
D: It’s precisely “sharing”. To share my own stories. It already exists in France, there arestorytellers who share the story, but it’s by the word. But here, it’s quite another thing. It’sboth speech and images.
E: It’s what tells the line and the colors, at the same time as the voice. Because at the sametime it’s a fixed image, but in fact, which allows to reconstruct in his imagination all theanimation thanks to the rhythmic voice. I find it magical ! And everything that happens when
we draw the image ! I think it’s great !
F: An apparent simplicity. It sounds very very simple, but it works very well.
(Interviewed by Yuiko Tsuno on 2018-01-21 at Francheville,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yeky999c88o, accessed 2018-08-17.)
The themes they used to explain the kamishibai - Storytelling, Picture book, Puppet show are the French popular arts that has a very long history and culture. Kamishibai is explained
which lies between these traditional arts, but a little different. To understand the French
culture that has become the soil to welcome kamishibai, we will now look at each art
separately.
6. Storytelling (Contes)
According to Patte, in 1924, the first librarians who established the time of storytelling in thelibrary, named it L’Heure Joyeuse (Joyful Time). However, in the 1960’s, still many librarianand teachers considered that the storytelling was irrational and retrograde. Thanks to theireffort at the library, from 1970’s, many festivals of storytelling began to be held in France,- 209 -

often by the libraries. She quoteS an article of Margaret Meek in a magazine La Revue desLivres pour enfants n.95 (1984).
Telling a story is a natural act of the spirit. It is just there, as the life itself, intentionally,trans-historically and trans-culturally. It is a custom that we never abandon because, as
Ursula Le Guin says, anthropologist, writer of science fiction for adultes and of the
mythological stories for the children, we tell the story to avoid dissolving ourselves inwhat surrounds us.” (qtd. in Patte 179-180).
By explaining the practice of storytelling in the library, Patte proposes kamishibai to thelibrarians as one of the supports of storytelling;
Warmed by the voice, the words of the tale are enough and leave freedom to theimagination. But it is also possible to recover with different supports that help theattention: images of the book projected on a screen thanks to an epidiascope,
succession of slides, fixed or animated films, kamishibais, even discs. These supports
can also reassure the one who tells, because the necessary preparation is less long,the effort of memorisation smaller and this releases a part of the attention of thestoryteller, that of the children being already facilitated by the darkness and captured byimages (183).
Before the arrival of kamishibai, in France, there was the practice of storytelling. But in thestorytelling, traditionally, the teller has nothing with him except his voice and body to invite
the audience into the imaginary world. While with kamishibai, considered as one of the
supports, the reader is more reassured. Montelle writes too, that “storytelling and kamishibai
are two complementary technics of narration. They are economic, easily practiced anddirectly usable, without great technical deployment.” (Montelle 48-49.)
On the soil that has been enriched by the storytelling, the technic of kamishibai arrived withmore facility and accessibility. This is why the kamishibai is becoming popular in France too,
as it was in Japan. In 1956, Kyoiku Kamishibai Kenkyukai (Society for the study ofPedagogic Kamishibai) wrote that the kamishibai’s popularity is constituted by these threepoints ; Facility, Familiarity, Perspicuity. Facility because it can be performed by everyone,
every time and everywhere. Familiarity because there is interactive communication between
the reader and the audience. Perspicuity because they can understand the story by the ears
and eyes (Kyoiku Kamishibai Kenkyukai 24-25).
The picture book of Aren Say, The Kamishibai man (*5) is translated into French and was
published in France in 2009. This book shows the charm of Gaito Kamishibai, with a heartfulstory about a man who was once a storyteller of Gaito Kamishibai. He is retired, but on thisday, he decides to go again into the city to tell the stories with his bicycle. In the city,
everyone watches TV, but when he begins to do kamishibai, people gather one by one andremember the human communication of the old times. This is a very beautiful story whoshows us with nostalgia, the beauty of human sharing. With this book, actually we can see
the storyteller who tells stories by using pictures.

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6-2 Picture Book
As in many countries, in France too, they read aloud very often the picture book in the libraryand schools. There are two types of reading ; Accompanied reading and group reading.
Originally, the picture book was made for individual reading. The reader opens the book,then by turning the page, he reads and he enters the imaginary world. (International
Kamishibai Association of Japan 31-32). If someone reads the text instead of a child, it isbecause the child can not read the text yet. Afterwards, as soon as he learns to read, he will
be able to read the book by himself.
Patte writes that “the reading aloud of the picture book with an adult is an education of eye, alearning of the reading of the image.”(Patte 188). But not only for the educational purpose,but also for the warm communication between the child and the adult, the reading aloud has
been practiced and loved in the libraries;
In readings with others, thanks to the reflections, to the exchanges, to the exclamations
which they arouse, sometimes highlight the compensating details of the text and theimage. Children and adults watching together an album light up each other. They share
their pleasure by revealing their discoveries (189-90).
When Montelle explains the difference between the picture book and kamishibai, she writes
that in the picture book, the text and the image are indissociable, and the reader lives theindividual experience alone. She describes also about kamishibai, that thanks to this technic,“two senses are stimulated ; hearing and sight.” We can see the same purpose as reading
aloud of a picture book, written by Patte. Montelle continues;
The storyteller slides the boards, following a studied and varied rhythm, and adds
sound effects, music, songs, creating a movement and a drama. He provides
explanations, and he feels that the listeners have not understood something (Montelle49).
Thanks to this explanation, we can understand why there are many people who readkamishibai with music and performances in France. The kamisihibai has arrived on this soil
enriched by the reading of picture books, which has as one of its purposes, to stimulate thesenses; hearing and sight.
When IKAJA explains the difference between kamishibai and picture book, the Kyokan(sharing of the feeling) is indispensable. In the picture book, “the reader enters into the book,and he gets the imaginary world by his individual existence. Thanks to this joy, his individual
sensibility is enriched.” As for the kamishibai, “The imaginary world of the work comes out
and extends into the real world. In this dynamic, the audience gets the imaginary world
thanks to Kyokan. Thanks to this joy, the collective sensibility is nourished.” The existence ofthe reader who faces the audience is indispensable to make the intermediary between theimaginary world and the real world. With the gesture of pulling and putting the board back,the audience focuses on the kamishibai, and this concentration causes the Kyokan to theaudience. Thanks to Kyokan, the audience can get the imaginary world of the work inhimself. (International Kamishibai Association of Japan 30 - 35).

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Michèle Valentine, the responsible person of the project of kamishibai at La Petite
Bibliothèque Ronde shareed her experience in November 2015, A few days after the attackin Paris, she performed the kamishibai at an elementary school;
The Tuesday after the attacks, we found the elementary school unsure and hesitant. But
one thing we knew with certainty: we could trust kamishibai to offer children a moment ofpeace and new breath. (…) Story followed story, with each bringing the same silence, thesame attention, the same smiles and laughs. We ended with Everybody Clap!. I had
never felt kyokan this strongly before. We were one single group with one heart,
misfortune, we offered children a moment of calm and hope. (Valentine, 17)
Kyokan or the sensitivities of the senses, maybe it would be the biggest difference between
French and Japanese Kamishibai, notably of IKAJA. In their theory, this Kyokan is one of theessences of kamishibai, which allows the reader and the public to live together the moment
as Valentine wrote. On the other hand, Callicéphale invite the reader to read the text hiding
behind the butai so that the audience can concentrate on the image. Also, the reader draws
the image but he doesn’t return it in the butai, but puts it on the table to read the text (*2). So
the audience doesn’t see the face of the reader, and he listens to the voice and looks at the
picture. There are many other kamishibai publishers in France, but to my knowledge, there isno one that practices Kyokan. As of August 2018, the theory of IKAJA is not published in
France, except the little quote in the book of Édith Montelle (42-43). But there is no mentionof Kyokan.
6-2 Puppetry (Marionnette)
Kamishibai is very similar to the puppetry, a traditional French popular art. In France, atCharleville-Mézières, there is École Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette(National upper school of the art of puppetry), and every year there is the World Puppet
Theater Festival which is appreciated internationally. The traditional puppet in France(Marionnette) is the glove puppet. Especially Guignol, a character born in Lyon in the 18th
century is still much loved today. We use a small theater called castelet, and the player hides
in the theater.
In the history of puppetry in Europe, there was the “Paper Theater” in the 19th century. It's achildren's toy, and that's exactly the direct translation of kamishibai (Kami = paper, Shibai =theater). I suppose that this is why the word kamishibai is not translated into French “théâtre
de papier (theater of paper)” but “théâtre d’image (theater of image)”, because they alreadyhad their paper theater. At the Gadagne Museum in Lyon, we can see many Paper Theaters,
and it looks a lot like Kamishibai (as of 2017).
Patte writes that in many libraries in France, the librarians used the puppets to tell a story of
the book or invented story (Patte 204). Montelle resumes the difference between Marionette
and kamishibai ;The puppet theater includes a high castelet closed by a red curtain, behind which hides
the puppeteer who evolves figurines, easily recognizable, in front of interchangeable
sets. (…) The story is simple to be understood directly by everyone, regardless of theage of the listeners, the scenes do not necessarily succeed in the order provided by theshowman who adapts to the remarks of his audience. The puppet theater is for a group.
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The spectators, trained by a phenomenon of crowd, answer collectively to the questionsof the puppeteer. (…) The theater of images uses a two or three-door wooden casket
that concretely depicts the separation between reality and fiction, such as input formulasand fiction, as well as the formulas for entering and leaving fairytales. The storyteller isvisible; he describes and animates the boards. Interactivity, calm and concentrated, iscreated between the storyteller, the audience and the images. The plot is very framed
and follows a clear frame, imposed by the succession of images. There is a symbiosis
between text and image that respond perfectly. (…) Puppet theater and image theater
are both intended to be viewed in groups, in a shared concentration and with friendly
listening (Montelle 50).
As Montelle clarifies, there are common points between puppet shows and kamishibai, andthere are differences. Kamishibai has arrived on this rich culture, which has been loved andpracticed from a long time ago. When ABC association of Bruxelles replaced the three doorsof butai with a red curtain (*4), or Jean-Claud Pommier made his butai in the form of an
Asian house with A beautiful curtain (*3), it would have been the reference to the traditionnel
puppet theater .
7. Conclusion
We looked at the three different arts that were already very popular in France before thearrival of kamishibai: storytelling, picture book, and puppetry. Each art has common points
with the kamishibai. When the children or adultes gather around the small butai, they would
remember these arts which were engraved in their memories and hearts. If the kamishibai
were only a typical Japanese art, it would never have been so popularly spread. Everyone
finds their childhood in this art, because it ressembles these popular arts. They imported thetechnique, and it is united with their culture and history. This is what the French people call“kamishibai” or le théâtre d’image, the theater of image.
I think it is important to know and understand this difference and the cultural context ofFrench kamishibai to establish friendly and creative communication between different
cultures. If Japan is the country where kamishibai was born, we should take the role not todeny the new challenges, but to be ready to share all knowledge and experiences whenother people need, for exemple in French language in France, about especially the force ofKyokan which is not known yet.
Even though each culture is different, the heart to love kamishibai is the same. Michèle
Valentine told me when I visited La Petite Bibiliothèque Ronde in April 2018 ;“It’s also our role, for the librarians, to tell children, even if times are complicated anddifficult, and even if we do not understand everything, to remember very simple things. I
do not mean simple as without interest, simplistic but beautiful and profound, and without
artificial, without glitter, and these things, are what feeds the most. And which when it
goes bad, warm the heart and later, maybe they will remember small animals together
can overcome the injustice … as in The duck king (Doshinsha).”I love kamishibai because it has this force. Kamishibai gathers the people together. Thanks
to kamishibai, we can meet each other, live and share the moment together, and we candream about the future. Our future, but also the future of the children who listen to and see- 213 -

the story. It is wonderful that kamishibai is spreading all over the world, and for its more
fruitful development, it will be more and more important to know and understand eachdifferent culture, mutually.
I would like to thank Etsuko Nozaka who provided helpful comments and suggestions.
Special thanks also go to Michèle Valentine whose comments made enormous contribution
to my work, and Aislinn Delmotte for her generous help for my English text. The responsibility
for the final formulation, and any errors that it may concern, are entirely mine.

Notes:(1) Maurice Carême, Dorothée Duntze, Callicéphale. Le Kamishibaï en Classe - Application
Pédagogique - [The Kamishibai in Classroom - Pedagogic Application].
2016,https://www.mediatheques.strasbourg.eu/userfiles/parcours_thematiques/centre_illustr
ation/pdf/biblio/2017/dossier_pedagogique_kamishibai.pdf, accessed 2018-08-17.
(2) Callicéphale. Pratique [Practice]. 2018, https://www.callicephale.fr/pratique/, accessed
2018-08-17.
(3) Pokkowa-pa!. Kamishibai. 2003, http://pokkowa-pa.pagesperso-orange.fr/contents1.html,
accessed 2018-08-17.
(4) Association ABC. ABC Kamishibai. 2018, http://www.abc-web.be/abckamishibai/?lang=fr, accessed 2018-08-19.

Work Cited:
INTERNATIONAL KAMISHIBAI ASSOCIATION OF JAPAN. 紙芝居百科[Encyclopedia of
Kamishibai]. Tokyo: Doshinsha, 2017. Print.
KAMICI, Chizuko. 紙芝居の歴史 [The History of Kamishibai]. Tokyo:
Kyuzansha,1997. Print.
KYOIKU KAMISHIBAI KENKYUKAI (Society for the study of Pedagogic Kamishibai). 教育
紙芝居 [Pedagogic Kamishibai]. Tokyo: Shinhyoronsha, 1956. Print.
MASAO, Kubo. “紙芝居の絵画 [The painting of Kamishibai]”. 紙芝居 演じ方のコツと基礎理論のテキスト [Kamishibai - the textbook of the know-how of performance and thebasic theory]. Ed. Kodomo no bunka kenkyujo (Institut of Children’s culture). Tokyo: Isseisha,2015. Print.
MONTELLE, Edith. La Boîte Magique - le théâtre d’image ou kamishibai - [The Magical Box the image theater or the kamishibai]. Strasbourg: Callicéphale, First Edition. 2007. Revised.
2014. Print.
PATTE, Geneviève. Laissez-les lire ! les enfants et les bibliothèques [Leave them read !
the children and the libraries]. Paris: Enfance heureuse, 1987. Print.
SAY, Allen. Le bonhomme kamishibai [Kamishibai Man]. Translated by Agnès Desarthe,
Paris: l’école des loisirs, 2009. Print.
VALENTINE, Michèle. “Kamishibai at the Library La Petite Bibliothèque Ronde inFrance”. Translated by Marion Moulin. Kamishibai Newsletter Vol.12. Ed. International
KAMISHIBAI ASSOCIATION OF JAPAN : Tokyo: International Kamishibai
Association of Japan, 2016. Print.
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Kamišibaj in možnosti za celostni pristop k razvoju veščin pri
predšolskih otrocih

Ulić Jovanka

Kamišibaj oziroma papirnato gledališče je oblika uprizoritvene umetnosti, edina oblika, pri kateri obstaja
neposreden stik med sporočevalcem (umetnikom) in prejemnikom (v našem primeru otrokom). Ta živa povezava
lahko vpliva na otroka in poleg estetskih občutkov in globokih čustev v njem vzbudi tudi empatijo, ki pripelje doduhovnega razvoja osebnosti in njegove biti. Lav S. Vigotsky (Лев Семёнович Выготский) v svojem delu
Otrokova domišljija in ustvarjalnost (Child's Imagination and Creativity) izpostavlja, da dramska ustvarjalnost
najučinkoviteje in najneposredneje povezuje umetniško ustvarjalnost z otrokovimi osebnimi izkušnjami. Odrskoizražanje je torej bolj kot katera koli oblika ustvarjalnosti povezano z igro, ki je osnovna oblika obnašanja za
predšolske otroke. Srednjeevropska oblika papirnatega gledališča, ki je bila prvotno zasnovana kot oblika zabave
za otroke ob zimskih večerih, je v nekoliko spremenjeni obliki sicer še vedno prisotna pri delu s predšolskimi
otroki, toda kamišibaj je v srbskih vrtcih skoraj popolnoma neznan. Integrirani pristop k razvoju in učenju
predšolskih otrok, ki izhaja iz holistične narave otrok, temelji na prepričanju, da je otrok edinstveno, aktivno,
interaktivno in ustvarjalno bitje. Kamišibaj ima poleg svoje osnovne vloge, torej pripovedovanja zgodb, še
potencial za razvoj vseh izobraževalnih aktivnosti v vrtcu (govorni razvoj, likovna umetnost in glasba, usvajanjeosnovnih matematičnih konceptov, raziskovanje okolja). Tako neposredno vpliva na razvoj splošnih veščin
predšolskih otrok. Prednost gledališča kamišibaj je vsekakor možnost, da otroci sami »ilustrirajo« znane zgodbe,
pravljice ali basni oziroma sami ustvarijo besedilo in pripovedujejo svoje zgodbe. Ta oblika scenskega izražanja ješe posebej privlačna, ker so različni materiali za izdelavo prosto dostopni. Posebnost kamišibaja je oder, butai, ki
ga zlahka ustvarimo iz navadne škatle. Poleg klasičnih umetniških tehnik – risanje in slikanje – lahko otrociuporabljajo kolaž, praskanke pa tudi preproste tehnike tiskanja. Za otroke je gotovo najpomembnejši prav razvoj
ustvarjalnosti pa tudi občutek sreče, ko končajo predstavo in ugotovijo, da so se za nastop močno potrudili, zdaj
pa so nagrajeni z aplavzom. Tako posameznik pridobi samozavest. Treba je poudariti, da kamišibaj koristi tudi
izobraževalnim delavcem, saj z njim razširijo svoj repertoar izobraževalnih aktivnosti (uporabljajo nove oblikedela, pridobivajo nove izkušnje, se bolje sporazumevajo z otroki), se učijo o ustvarjalnem potencialu otrok in seobenem sami spodbujajo in razvijajo.
***
Jovanka A. Ulić se je rodila leta 1960 v Novem Sadu v Srbiji. Diplomirala je na Umetnostni akademiji v Novem
Sadu in si na isti akademiji po opravljenem podiplomskem študiju prislužila še naziv magistrice. Deluje kot
profesorica umetnosti na Višji šoli za predšolsko vzgojo v Novem Sadu. Organizirala je že petnajst samostojnih
razstav in sodelovala pri več kot 150 skupinskih razstavah doma in na tujem. Jovanka Ulić je sodelovala na
mednarodni delavnici Kamišibaj v grafiki v Izoli, ki sta jo organizirala društvo Zapik in umetniški klub FolarT.

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Creativity of Kamishibai and its Possibilites in Integrative Approachto the Development of Skills in Preschool Children

Ulić Jovanka

Kamishibai, or original paper theatre, is a form of performing art, and it belongs to the unique form ofart in which there is a direct contact between the sender of the message (the artist) and its receiver (inour case, the child). This live connection is what can affect and stimulate a child, a part from causing
aesthetic feelings, deep emotions, and empathy which leads to spiritual development of personality
and being. In the book Child’s imagination and creativity, Lav S. Vigotsky (Лев Семёнович
Выготский) points out that theatrical drama most efficiently and directly connects artistic creativity withthe personal experience of a child itself, and that it is precisely the stage expression more tough thanany other form of creativity related to game, the form of functioning of pre-school children. While
Central European form of Paper Theatre, originally intended as a form of entertainment for children
during winter evenings, is in its amended form still present in the work with preschool children,
Kamishibaih as unfortunately been almost unknown in kindergartens in Serbia. Starting from theholistic nature of children, an integrated approach to the development and learning of preschool
children is based on the child's understanding as a unique, active, interactive and creative being.
Kamishibai, apart from its basic role - story telling, has the potential to practice all educational activities
in kindergarten (speech development, fine arts and music, adopting basic mathematical concepts,
exploring the environment) and thus directly affects the development of the overall skills of children at
pre-school age. The advantage of the Kamishibai theatre is that children can not only "illustrate" wellknown stories, fairy tales, fables, but they can also create the text themselves and tell their own
stories. What gives charm to this form of scenic expression is the availability and easy accessibility to
the most diverse material for its realization. The uniqueness of the Kamishibai is a stage called “butai”
which can easily be made out of an ordinary box. Using the classical art techniques such as drawing
and painting, children can use create collages, and also use simple graphic techniques. Certainly thebiggest benefit for children is development of creativity, followed by the feeling of immense happiness
when they finish the show, realize that they have made great efforts for its realization and are
rewarded with an applause. In this way, an individual gets self-confidence. Furthermore, the benefit
that educators have from using Kamishibai is that they broaden their repertoire of activities in
educational work (applying new form of work, gain new experiences, establish better interaction withchildren), they get acquainted with children's creative potentials, and encourage their development.
Keywords: Kamishibai, Kindergarten, Skills Development, Integrative Approach

Jovanka Ulić was born in 1960 in Novi Sad, Serbia. She graduated from the Academy of Arts in Novi
Sad and completed post-graduate studies, earning a magister title at the same Academy. She works
as a professor of Arts at the Preschool Teachers’ Training College in Novi Sad. She has organized 15
solo exhibitions and participated in well over 150 group exhibitions home and abroad. Jovanka Ulić
participated in the international workshop Kamishibai in graphic in Izola, organized by Društvo Zapik
and Umetniški Klub FolarT. stabloliki@gmail.com- 216 -

***Pre-school institution "Radosno detinjstvo"

Kamishibai, initially called the paper theatre, is a form of performing art, and it belongs to theunique form of art in which there is a direct contact between the sender of the message (theartist) and it’s receiver (in our case, the child). This live connection is what can affect andstimulate the child, next to aesthetic feelings, deep emotions, and empathy, leading tospiritual development of the personality and its being. In his book Child’s imagination andcreativity, Lav S. Vigotsky (Лев Семёнович Выготский) points out that the theatrical drama
most efficiently and directly connects artistic creativity with personal experience of a childitself, and that the stage expression is strongly connected to play, which is an essential formof functioning of the pre-school aged children.
The Integrative Approach In The Development Of Preeschool Children Skills
Traditional education with a curriculum based on methodical areas, separated from life
experiences, is still present in the process of education of children in Serbia, andconsequently in the education of educators. In this way, disconnected learning does not only
lead to real, applicable and functional knowledge, but also to the process of collecting
information.
Unlike the traditional, integrated approach is the process of creating links between concepts
and experiences, which contributes to the understanding of complexity of a topic, problem ora situation. In this way, "the big picture" is seen instead of acquiring individual knowledge(Pavlović Breneselović and Krnjaja, 2017:25).
Understanding the child as a unique and comprehensive being involves active, interactive
and creative approach, which is the basis of an integrated approach. The physical learning
environment should provide rich and carefully chosen materials and resources for play andactivities for children, which enables the diversified movement of children, manipulation ofdifferent means and materials, research, detection, experimentation, problem solving,
constructing knowledge and understanding.

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The goal of the integrated approach is to encourage the creativity and intellectual curiosity ofchildren, enabling them to adopt functional knowledge; involvement of children in theplanning, preparation and implementation of the process; increasing the satisfaction ofchildren and educators; allowing team work of children, teachers, parents and professional
associates; strengthening the competencies of teachers and children.
The Paper Theater

Papirni teatar, p. 10

Paper Theatre is one of the traditional forms of storytelling and it is intended for children. The
history of Paper Theatre in Europe relates to the period when the traveling theatre families
began to fade, and the dominance was taken over by permanent city theatres. The need fortheatre art to be available to citizens (at the end of the 19th century) and in places where
there were no permanent theatres led to the birth of a paper theatre, a miniature theatre
world, which, in a fascinating way, repeated the game, the image and the sound of “great”
theatres (Lazic Lj. 2006).
The term "paper theatre" itself was created in the middle of the 20th century, and until thattime there were expressions such as - children, domestic, table or room theatre.
The material used for scenography and figures was hand-painted graphic sheet which wascarved and glued to a cardboard. The real impression of a three-dimensional stage wasobtained by installing individual flat parts in space. The whole family, children and adults
participated in the carving and building. In addition to classical theatre texts, there were also
stories for children on the repertoire. Apart from the purpose of being fun, paper theatre hadan educational character – a child was able to get acquainted with history, geography,
technical sciences, architecture and other fields of science, which in the 19th century
received their foundations (Lazic Lj. 2006). Only in the 1930s, the paper theatre became adidactic material in schools.
"Theatre in House and School" is a guide book which was published in Vojvodina in 1934.
The publication provides textual and pictorial explanations for the creation and installation ofa cardboard miniature stage. In addition to the materials and instructions, there are also
dialogues for four children's plays, as well as suggestions for games in children's homeentertainment (Lazić Lj. 2006).
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The Kamishibai Classroom, p.11

The paper theatre in Europe was mostly non-professional and home-made, which was not
the case with traditional Japanese paper theatre that functioned as a traveling ticket. In
addition to this, there is also a difference in the appearance of figurines: in the Japanese
paper theatre, figures are surrounded by black see-through backgrounds and drawn twosided so that on one side we see the figure in one position and from the other side we see itin a different position. By turning the figures, the dynamism is created. The figure in theEuropean paper theatre is shown as a two-dimensional painted silhouette whose movement
evokes movement of the figurine itself (which seems static).
The European form of the paper theatre was originally conceived as a fun activity for children
during the winter evenings. Today it is still present, but is has a new purpose in the work withpreschool children. Until now the Kamishibai type of Paper Theatre was unfortunately
unknown in kindergartens in Serbia.
KamishibaiCommunication within a child-child and child-adult relation is a very important factor in thedevelopment of pre-school age children. Daily communication provides the possibility ofenriching the children's world in different visual and auditory means. The child at pre-school
age is active, playful and examines everything that the senses can perceive. The child lives,
thinks and expresses him/herself through movement, music, drawing etc.
The essence of all different forms of art (i.e. visual, dramatic, musical) lies in communication
which enables the child to, through tactile, visual and audible signs, express the thoughts
and experiences of the world that surrounds him. And that is exactly what Kamisibai, which
unites verbal (sound - voice and sound effects) and non-verbal (image) communication,
provides us with. In addition, Kamishibai unites the traditional method of telling the story with
this, for us new, method of presenting the story.
Adults, and the team of educators, often reach out for literary texts as a means ofencouraging children's communication, creativity and skills. However, the child at that age isa specific type of "a reader" because he or she has not mastered reading yet. The preschool
teachers/adults are those who interpret the text. The child is in the listener's position, with thepossibility of not understanding the text. Using visual (illustrations) and audible (expressive- 219 -

voice) aids, we enable the child to more easily adopt new concepts, to understand different
emotions and to "experience" the read text.
A child adopts bits and pieces of literary work thanks to the explanation of adults and he/she
is not inclined to analysisor the search for abstract messages. The right way to tell a story ora poem to a child so that it can permanently permeate child’s thought and fantasy is to well
prepare and provoke appropriate experience during listening of the narration, followed by theprocess of processing through communication with other children and adults and theexpression through media of other arts (Dotlic - Kamenov 1996).
The challenge of kamishibai is precisely in the correct setting of the visual and the verbal:
first form of communication should be visual, to be subsequently supplemented and"animated" by verbal information (Mc Gowan, T. 2010).
The advantage of Kamishibi a lies in an unlimited number of styles of performance,
dimensions, narratives and without age limits for the audience. It is a universal form limited
only by imagination, and it is characterized by the endlessness of two parallel worlds - thestory and the reality.
What makes Kamishibai unique is that the form of storytelling is the link between illustrationand the spoken word itself, where the illustration leads us from one scene to another,
providing the possibility of a more complete visual experience of the text by the child, and thestage - butai - creates the illusion of the stage expression "a form of art in which there isdirect contact between the sender of the message - the educator and the child –the receiver."What do we develop in children using Kamishibai?
• Creativity, imagination, visualization, concentration;• Understanding the story;• Speech development and narration skills;• Adopting elements of stories - character, nature, emotions, conflict;• Self-confidence, when they are able to create and tell their own story;• Highlighting details;
The beauty of Kamishibai is in constant contact with the audience!
Kamishibai in Kindergardens

Pre-school institution "Mladost"- 220 -

Apart from its main purpose– story telling, Kamishibai has the potential of being practiced inall educational activities in kindergartens (e.g. speech development, fine arts and music,
adopting basic mathematical concepts, getting to know the environment), thus directly
affecting development of the overall skills of pre-school aged children.
In October 2017, the project "Kamishibai in kindergarten" was launched in the framework of
two educational courses of "Scene Art and Puppetry" course at the Preschool Teachers’
Training College in Novi Sad with the aim to highlight the mixture of emotional, aesthetic andspiritual feelings.
The aim of the project is to enable future educators to use Kamishibai in their lectures as aform of integrative approach of connecting art, speech and musical skills in order to masternew concepts of different areas of children’s’ interest.
Two preschool teachers have been involved in the process: Olivera Kulesevic, the preschool
teacher at Pre-school institution "Radosno detinjstvo" in Novi Sad, and Aleksandra Marcikic,
the preschool teachers at Pre-school institution "Mladost" in Backa Palanka. The reason why
preschool teachers got involved in this educational project is firmly linked to their valuable,
immediate experience in working with children, which gives students the opportunity to see
the importance of Kamishiba and its potentials.
Work on the project was divided into three phases:
1. Working with preschool teachers
2. Working with children in kindergarten
3. Working with students
The preschool teachers and students attended a workshop in which they were introduced to:• The history of Kamishibai;• Using the butai (stage) the traditional Japanese fairy tale was presented, as well as thestory and poem which is used in our pre-school institutions;• They are acquainted with the rules of drawing illustrations in accordance with texts andpossibilities of Kamishibai when it comes to working with children;• The preschool teachers and students performed illustrations using the already familiar text,
and then using their own Kamishibai, they were creating a story that unites different areas ofchildren's interest.
The Realization of the Project in Kindergardens
Pre-school institution "Mladost"
The preschool teacher Aleksandra Marcikic began working on the project by presenting butai
to the children and asking the question of what they think it is. Some of the answers were: acloset, a drawer, a house, a door, a play, a theatre, a television, and the first illustration of thechildren's comments were: “it is a story”, “maybe it will start singing”, “it is just like a TV there are small people” etc.
The story was presented to the children and it was followed by a discussion about the story
and the illustrations. For children, this was a new way of telling the story. Because they
reacted positively and were showing the desire to try themselves, they were offered to maketheir own Kamishibai story. To involve all children in the group, each child made an- 221 -

illustration on the selected story and in the end they presented their Kamishibai to thechildren from a younger age group.
Pre-school institution "Radosno detinjstvo"
The preschool teacher Olivera Kulesevic presented the Kamishibai to the children, and also
introduced them to the Japanese culture. Expanding the use of Kamishibai in other areas,
the children had the opportunity to learn and adopt a new recital “How it would look like”
written by Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj; they sang along with the music the words of the poem
“Spring”; mastered the concept of a number, a one-member, two-member and multi-member
sets; got acquainted with different types of vegetables; practiced by observing the movementof a drawn boy and a drawn girl.
By talking with children and preschool teachers about their observations on Kamishibai, we
also noted a few comments.
The children's comments:• I like it because it has nice pictures;• I love when I draw pictures, it's fun;• I like when we draw together;• I love when there are other children are there so we watch it together;
Observations of the preschool teachers:• Children's attention is focused at the activity;• It encourages the cooperation and interaction;• It encourages the development of children and preschool teachers ideas, through creative,
visual and verbal techniques;• Children cross the path from the promoter, the active implementer to the demonstrator;• Children take the role of a leader;• The preschool teachers directs, follows, watches, engages and documents everything;
The Realization of the Project With Students

Students, PTTC Novi Sad

Through the integration of two courses, Scene Art and Puppetry, students had theopportunity to get to know and explore different forms of stage expression. Through teamwork and with the full support of professors Ivana Ignjatov Popovic and Jovanka Ulic, they
adapted the selected text to the scene, made all the necessary equipment - scenery, dolls,
costumes etc., practiced with selected puppets and animation puppets, prepared and- 222 -

realized puppet shows and performances in which they acted as "live" actors, as well as the
shadow theater. This way, the students were educated about the significance of the stage
expression, planning, and "releasing" from the redundant details, with the overwhelmed fearof public appearance, and are able to understand and apply the new knowledge provided by
the Kamishibai.
The sophistication of visual arts itself and the similarity with animated film (the shifting frames
according to the text) encouraged us to start training students for the use of Kamishibai whenworking in kindergartens. In addition to the opportunity for students and creators to express
themselves creatively through their artistic and literary works, we have been encouraged by
the incredible possibilities of using Kamishibia in working with children.
Divided into pairs, students selected one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals as their theme for their first Kamishibai. Familiar with the rules of text writing, students
adjusted the subject and illustrations to children of pre-school age. The completed
Kamishibai works were presented to their colleagues. Working in groups or couples, students
were given the opportunity to understand their own and others' individual abilities; develop
creativity; note the importance of linking different educational disciplines such as art,
literature for children, but also music and to get to know the environment. Support provided
by professors gives students an additional motivation for the challenges ahead; and with thepossibility that the acquired knowledge in practical work with children (sturdy practice) students become aware of their competences.

Students, PTTC Novi Sad

Student`s work

Conclusion
Kamishibai theater provides children with the opportunity to "illustrate" famous stories, fairy
tales, fables, but also to create texts, to tell their stories, to create their own hand-madeKamishibai. The specialty of Kamishibai is a butai stage that can be easily made from a
regular box, and besides classical art techniques - drawing and painting, children can use
collage, and also other simple graphic techniques. Certainly the biggest benefit for children is
not only the development of creativity, but also the feeling of immense happiness when theyfinish the show; realize that they have made great efforts for its realization and being
rewarded with applause. This way, an individual gets self-confidence. However, it should beemphasized that the preschool teachers have the benefit of the use of Kamishabai - by usingit, preschool teachers broaden the repertoire of their activities in educational field (i.e.
applying new forms of work, gaining new experiences, establishing better interaction with- 223 -

children), they are learning about children's creative potentials, and also stimulate theirfurther development.

Literature:ДОТЛИЋ, Љубица, и Каменов, Емил. (1996). Књижевност у дечјем вртићу. Нови Сад:Змајеве дечје игре – Одсек за педагогију Филозофског факултета
HAMRE, Ida. (2010). Estetski i socijalni potencijal pozorišta animacije (Pozorište animacije:šire shvaćeno pozorište lutaka). U: Theathre for children – Artistic (a collection of papers),
Vol. 1, Novi Sad – Subotica: Theatre Museum of Vojvodina – International Festival ofChildren’s Theatres – Open University Subotica, 23–36.
HART, H. Craig, Burts, C. Diane, and Charlesworth, Rosalind. (1997): Integrated Curriculum
and Developmentally Appropriate Practice – Birth to Age Eight. State University of New York
Press.
JURKOVSKI, Henrik. (2010). Čovek s obe strane pozornice. U: Theatre for children – Artistic(a collection of papers), Vol. 1, Novi Sad – Subotica: Theatre Museum of Vojvodina –International Festival of Children’s Theatres – Open University Subotica, 37–50.
LAZIĆ, Ljiljana. (2006). Papirni teatar. Novi Sad: Muzej grada Novog Sada.
MCGOWAN, M. Tara. (2010). The Kamishibai Classroom – Engaging Multiple Literacies
Through the art of „Paper Theatre“. Santa Barbara: An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC.
PAVLOVIĆ Breneselović, Dragana, i Krnjaja, Živka. (2017): Kaleidoskop – Osnove
diversifikovanih programa predškolskog vaspitanja i obrazovanja. Beograd: IPA Filozofski
fakultet
SAY, Allen. (2005). Kamishibai Man. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
VIGOTSKI, Lav. (2005): Dečja mašta i stvaralaštvo. Beograd: Zavod za udžbenike inastavna sredstva.

- 224 -

Kamišibaj – novi narativni kontekst ustnega izročila pri delu spredšolskimi otroki

Vidović Schreiber Tea-Tereza
zunanje sodelovanje

Ta prispevek temelji na prepričanju, da kamišibaj kot poseben jezik umetnosti odpira nove narativne možnosti za
realizacijo ustnega izročila za predšolske otroke. Na podlagi relevantne in dostopne literature bomo pokazali, daje bil kamišibaj zgodovinska oblika japonskega pouličnega gledališča in pripovedovanja. Lahko ga uporablja pravvsakdo. V kontekstu dela, ki kamišibaj vnaša v izobraževalni proces, to pomeni, da lahko učitelji zgodbo ali katerokoli drugo obliko ustnega izročila otrokom približajo s pomočjo kamišibaja. Pripovedovanje je v tradicionalni kulturi
definirano kot postopek oblikovanja in vzpostavljanja podobe nastopa s pomočjo govora. Pripoved kot povezansistem govora tako zahteva večjo leksikalno iznajdljivost in višjo raven konceptualnega mišljenja za dobro
oblikovanje pripovedi. Ker je ustno izročilo živa govorna in narativna aktivnost, se zastavlja vprašanje, kako (in spomočjo katere pripovedne tehnike) lahko animiramo zgodbo, če se zanimanje za kamišibaj skriva predvsem v
posnemanju, glasu in podobi. Kamišibaj je torej interdisciplinarna umetnost. Prav takšen pripovedni model odpiramožnosti za celo vrsto improvizacij in novih načinov učenja pripovednih veščin. Obenem vzpostavlja določene
okvirje, ki so v osnovi usklajevanje števila podob in besed, natančneje, s skladnim dopolnjevanjem slike inbesede. Ta prispevek poskuša pokazati pomen otroške pripovedi s posebnim poudarkom na ustnih književnih
zvrsteh: frazah, ki zapletejo jezik, pesmih, molitvah, basnih, pravljicah, legendah, anekdotah, življenjskih zgodbah,
zgodbah iz otroštva itd. Izvirajo tako iz narodne kot svetovne dediščine v kontekstu kamišibaja, ki spodbuja
jezikovno in literarno dediščino kot enega od izrazov identitete in razvija občutek sprejemanja drugih kultur incivilizacij.
***Dr. sc. Tea-Tereza Vidović Schreiber je diplomirala iz hrvaškega jezika in književnost na Filozofski fakulteti v
Zadru, podiplomski magistrski študij pa je končala na Filozofski fakulteti v Zagrebu. Naziv doktorja znanosti
humanističnih ved, področje književnosti, je pridobila leta 2011. Od leta 2016 dela kot višja predavateljica na
Oddelku za zgodnjo in predšolsko vzgojo Filozofske fakultete v Splitu. Področja njenega strokovnega inznanstvenega dela so hrvaška izročila, tradicionalno in sodobno pripovedovanje, otroška književnost, sodobna
hrvaška književnost, lutkarstvo ter scenska in medijska kultura pri izobraževanju vzgojiteljev otrok zgodnje inpredšolske starosti ter magistrov primarnega izobraževanja. Je članica Matice hrvatske, Hrvaškega filološkega
društva, zveze društev Naša djeca, kulturnoumetniškega društva Napredak in Sveta za kulturo mesta Split. Do
zdaj je objavila znanstveno knjigo Mitski med besed, pesniški zbirki Duša in telo ter Gnezdo brez zvoka in
skupinsko zbirko Oblaki. Lektorirala je več znanstvenih monografij in zbirk. Piše in objavlja strokovne inznanstvene članke s področja književnosti ter scenske in medijske kulture. E-pošta: tea.vidovic@gmail.com;
tea.vidovic@ffst.hr- 225 -

Kamishibai – a New Narrative Context of Oral Literature in Working
with Children of Preschool Age

Vidović Schreiber Tea-Tereza
External Participation

This paper starts with the assumption that Kamishibai, as a special language of art, opens up new
narrative possibilities in the realization of oral literature for children of early and pre-school age.
Using the relevant and available literature, it will be shown that historically Kamishibai used to be aform of Japanese street theater and storytelling, thus offering the possibility of being used by“everybody”. In the context of this paper, which includes Kamishibai into the process of education, thiswould refer to educators who would, through the use of Kamishibai, be able to bring the story or any
other piece of oral literature closer to children.
Storytelling in traditional culture is defined as the process of shaping and establishing the appearanceof an event through speech, thus naratio as a system of linked speech requires a greater lexicalinventory and a higher level of conceptual thinking in order to establish a narration process.
Precisely because of the fact that oral narration is a live storytelling and retelling activity, the question
arises as to how and through which storytelling techniques we can animate the story, if the typicalcharacteristics of Kamishibai are mime, voice and image. Thus, Kamishibai is an interdisciplinary art,and exactly this kind of storytelling model opens up a whole range of improvisations as well as new
possible ways of learning the storytelling skills. Yet, this includes certain frameworks, which primarily
relate to reduction of both images and words, more precisely, the image and the word are
harmoniously complemented.
This paper tries to point out the importance of childhood narrative with a special emphasis on oral
literary forms (tongue twisters, poems, prayers, fables, fairy tales, legends, anecdotes, life stories,
childhood stories, etc.), both from the national as well as from the world's traditional literature in thecontext of Kamishibai, which preserves the linguistic and literary heritage as one of the expressions ofidentity, and develops the feeling of acceptance of other cultures and civilizations.
Keywords: Oral Literature, Stories, Narration, Kamishibai, Pre-School Child

Tea-Tereza Vidović Schreiber graduated in the Croatian Language and Literature from the Faculty ofPhilosophy in Zadar, while she finished her postgraduate studies and obtained a Master's degree atthe Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. In 2011, she got her PhD degree in thescientific area of humanities and the scientific field of literary studies. Since 2016 she has beenworking as a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Split at the
Department of Early and Pre-school Education. Her field of professional and scientific interest includes
Croatian oral traditions, traditional and contemporary tales, children's literature, contemporary Croatian
literature, puppetry, stage and media culture in educating teachers of early and pre-school education
as well as primary school teachers with master's degree. She is a member of Matrix Croatica, Croatian
Philological Society, the Union of Societies “Naša djeca”, the Culture and Arts Society “Napredak” andthe Cultural Council of the City of Split. She has published a scientific book entitled Mitski med riječi
along with books of poetry entitled Duša i tijelo and Gnijezdo bez zvuka. Furthermore, she is a coauthor of the book of poetry Oblaci. She has proofread several scientific monographs and papers. She
writes and publishes professional and scientific articles in the field of literature, stage and media
culture. tea.vidovic@ffst.hr- 226 -

***
1. Introduction
Oral literature is a type of spoken communication, which emerges when an individual as apart of her/his folk feels able to shape certain narratives worth to remember. She/he is a
gifted individual who feels the power of words and within the spoken language of a certain
community makes selection to appropriately express her/his moods and transmit them tolisteners. The newly created structure lives in the performance of all the others who receive it
as their own product and thus continue to perform it as a part of their own speech acts, thatis, their own version of the text, a version that is shaped according to their own spiritualityline (Botica 1995). Therefore, one of the new possible performances of the spoken structure
in working with children in Croatia and beyond would certainly be Kamishibai. In this new
narrative text it is possible to perform all preserved oral and literary texts as to prevent themfrom falling into oblivion. Although many texts are preserved in written form, a completely
new media, it is necessary to introduce new generations with this part of cultural heritage,
especially today in times of major migration. Oral literature lives as long as its community
lives and sees functionality and purposefulness of the content. Therefore, we start with thefact that the narrator does not have to be the text creator as well, but is the master of thewhole narrating process, who with the skills such as improvisation, gesture, mime, vocal
timber and pitch can enlarge or narrow down the storyline so that listeners can receive it as
theirs (Botica 1995). Kamishibai is the method of storytelling that combines the use ofdifferent visual effects and drawings (created by different techniques) with engaging narrationof the live narrator, therefore being also a unique medium that combines verbal, visual andprinted forms of literacy. Oral form of literacy in Kamishibai is recognized in telling anddramatizing stories in front of the audience and thus contributing to the development of oral
skills. Kamishibai is directed towards the recipient and as such it includes the audience andthe performer who tells the story.
2. Different narrative contexts of oral prose types for children
2.1. Choosing stories for preschool children
A story for children covers everything that is taken from the treasury of oral tales as well as
all artistic texts, mostly prose, drawing on oral narratives or including an enchanting element
expressed in a different way (Crnković 21). The stories that children listen to together withadults can be more clearly defined, with regard to their feelings associated with the given
texts (Hameršak 245). Therefore, when choosing a story for children, we must keep in mind
that children can enjoy a story and identify with it when the narrator delivers the world fromthe perspective of the child, respecting the uniqueness of the child's world, that is, when thestarting point for the narration is children's reality while still not going to extremes and not
distorting the world by adapting it to children, knowing that children and adults do live
together (Velički 51). Furthermore, the corpus of author and oral literature for children is
extremely rich in all nations, yet there are many versions of the stories that are not displayedin the original form, which means that they can be delivered in illustrated forms (e.g. various
picture books), and which do not match the content of the story. It is important for a narrator
or a performer of Kamishibai to have a good knowledge of children's literature so that theworld filled with ancient symbols is adequately presented and that unguided contents are nota stimulus for a future creative act (e.g. pictures in Kamishibai). Also, as Velički notes, the- 227 -

language of many stories is archaic, but it is not necessary to simplify it, as it contributes tofabulous and enchanted atmosphere of the narrative (51).
Interest for the story comes in the fourth year of child’s life, in the so-called “classic period for
fairy tales”, thus at that age children need fairy tales that will encourage them, since in fairy
tales children are depicted as heroes. It is good to start with shorter fairy tales with a clear
plot developed from one motif, with a simple beginning and ending and just a few characters.
Examples of such fairy tales are The Golden Key by the Russian writer Tolstoy, The StarMoney by brothers Grimm, or the English story The Three Little Pigs. From the age of five,the child is ready to listen to longer stories that consist of multiple episodes, that is, scenes,
and may include certain fun elements or unusual plot twists as in the Croatian fairytale The
Little Fairy. A five-year-old child looks for challenges and is ready for greater independence,but at the same time struggles with the fear of separation. That is why at that age importantare fairy tales and tales that talk about the mentioned issues as well as tales whose main
heroes are children or animals, as in Little Red riding Hood or The Wolf and the Seven Little
Goats by brothers Grimm. Fairy tales for six-year-old children contain many basic,
interwoven motifs. The plot can take place in a parallel way, but also in different places. For
example, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White, Rapunzel by brothers
Grimm or folk fairy tales from children’s cultural circle. Children over the age of six can readartistic, i.e. author fairy tales by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, Hans Christian Andersen, KarelČapek and others (54). It is apparent from the above that a child aged 4 - 7 mostly believesin the fairy tale plot. Since in the development period they still have no idea of the world andreality, fairy tales represent an excellent means of enjoying the unusual, imaginary world(Grgurević and Fabris 157).
The development of children's literature in Croatia passes through different phases, frompure folk tales - through art folk tales - followed by art tales in more or less visible relation
with folk tales to fantastic stories (Crnković and Težak 195). Therefore, in the context of theemergence of artistic prose, the origin must first be sought in mythical creations of oral
literature, on the one hand, then in Old Greek philosophy, rhetoric, and historiography, intheir elaborate and refined expression, developed in the direction of the rigor of reasonable
proof and persuasion, drawing, on the other hand, in themes and inspiration also, from thesources of oral tradition (Solar 160).
Today, in parallel with written literature, oral literature develops. Although the social
conditions in which oral literature emerged saw radical changes, yet it continues to be an
ongoing source for its paraphrasing and parody. Thus, both types of literature belong to one
system, yet their performance is different (Hranjec 231).
Oral stories include: fairy tales, fables, narratives, short stories, anecdotes, jokes andlegends, along with today’s life stories and childhood stories.
Each particular form, according to Jolles (in: Velički 18), corresponds to a particular spiritual
preoccupation. Contents of spiritual preoccupation in fairytales are not always identical.
Noteworthy in storytelling are narrator's words, her/his personal contribution, as well as
audience's, and not just the words of that very form.

- 228 -

To interpret the terms in a simpler way, on a global level, Dragić analyzes the variety of oral
tales through their names in various languages. In old Greek a myth, apologos (short story);in Latin fabula; in English story, legend; in German Märchen, Sage, Legende, Novelle,
Schwank. It is interesting to note that oral tales in Slovenian, Slovak, Czech and Bulgarian
were called povesti. In the Portuguese language they are called: fabula, historia, lenda, casoetc. For example, oral tales in the Italian, English, American philology are called legends. In
Croatian, we have the following: priča, pripovijetka, pripovijest, bajka, basna, kazavica(kazalica), vjerovanja (Dragić 249).
Namely, the categorization of the narrative prose into different genres depends on therelation of the respective culture with stories as well as on folk taxonomy of oral tradition,
therefore in the process of spreading from one culture to another the stories can go from one
narrative form to another.
2.1.1. Fairytale
Though initially not intended for children, due to their simple poetic imagination, humor,
exceptional personalities, objects, enchanting events, the interest in interpreting the basic life
experiences, the richness of symbolism, and the focus on the great moral ideals, nowadays
fairy tales have become a genre intended specifically for children (Diklic, Težak and Zalar
69). Croatian fairy tales include also metamorphoses, e.g. plants or animals transformed into
people, while the ugly and the miserable at the beginning of the story become beautiful andhappy in the end. Also, there are no specific place and time settings of the plot, there areconstant numbers and typical attributes, transition from the real to the unreal is unexpected,
storytelling is simple, figuratively depleted. The narrative of fairy tales represented the entire
social life, through which people expressed their difficulties and problems searching for theirsolutions (Težak 10).
Artistic fairy tales can be read to children along with those from oral literature. What children
are attracted to in fairy tales are certainly the enchanting worlds which they open up, followedby black and white techniques in portraying the characters, i.e. the struggle between goodand evil. They play a positive role in the upbringing of children, while some elements ofcruelty are experienced by children like stylistic props, rather than life phenomena theyshould be afraid of (Zalar 7). Characters in fairy tales are polarized, being either good or bad.
Punishing criminals is not just a moral issue, but a question of survival as well. Therefore,
there must be a difference between good and evil, between the one who endangers and theone who tries to stop it. In fairy tales, one brother is stupid and incompetent, another cleverand competent, one sister is beautiful and good, the other one is ugly and vile (Grgurević andFabis 157).
Moreover, positive characters have their assistants, who help them to fight against evil, while
negative characters show supernatural traits. This is the so-called polarization of characters,
and is acceptable to children.
To understand the fairy tales in a better and clearer way, it is necessary to link them withtradition and the cultural thematic circle, since fairy tale is shaped only in its own culturalcontext. Most famous authors of fairy tales (Andersen, Grimm brothers, Brlić Mažuranić andothers) have built their fairy tales on the sources of oral literature. To understand thesymbolism of fairy tales and interpret their meanings, it is helpful to match them with Biblical- 229 -

symbols (dragon, white dove, mother, ashes, etc.). Fairy tales as a part of the oral corpus
have been transmitted through the oral channel, thus some common motifs can be found in
our various regions and beyond (in Europe). Reading the world fairytales, the child also
becomes acquainted with the psyche of other people. For example, the people of Asia andAfrica, whose national creativity is their sole capital. With fairy tales’ respective differences,the child will see how everywhere the same or similar motifs appear (Crnković 29).
According to Velički, the human cultural heritage finds its expression in fairy tales andprecisely through fairy tales this expression of cultural heritage is transmitted to the child. For
children, fairy tales mediate what a child needs: an experience. Fairy tales are moving in thecreative language field, which brings joy and which is the creative act itself. This joy isespecially noticed in a small child who is just learning to speak. The child plays with thelanguage, repeats it, receives it, and mediates it with the whole being. Children live in oral
speaking time, in the pre-reading culture and fairy tales are moving in the creative language
field, which is a creative act in itself, thus the role of the storyteller is very important because
she/he contributes to fairy tale reception. Fairy tale can be called a story that develops into astate that can be said to be triggered by itself. It combines two features that are today
separate, namely sentimentality and intellectualism. Sentimentality speaks of feelings behind
which there is no sense, and intellectualism speaks of abstract concepts beyond which there
are no feelings. Feelings and thinking in fairy tales are not contradictory, but everything
makes sense and everything can be felt. If children grow up without fairy tales, i.e. the quality
literature and spirituality, they will begin to share their thoughts and feelings too early in theirdevelopment. Fairy tales do not speak at a rational level, but on the level of feelings and it isimportant to emphasize the feeling of pleasant mood. Furthermore, Velički points out that
one of the aims is also understanding the child's interpretation of fairy tales and the meaningof fairy tales in the child's life as well as discovering the possibilities of their quality mediationin the contemporary world. The child remembers the events, the actions of the people, theatmosphere, and the content of that memory will determine his or her relationship towards
the self and others (17-37).
2.1.2. Fable
Communication with a literary and artistic text, i.e. fable, can be a stimulus for creative
expression when working with children of early and pre-school age. The importance of fairy
tales in the educational system is confirmed by the fact that as early as in 1813 the LatinistĐuro Ferić translated in Croatian. A fable has a moral in the end and has a didacticalcharacter. It is a kind of story in which non-humane heroes substitute humans in everything,and in oral literature this type is parallel to the equivalent literary phenomenon on the worldlevel. In a simple story, allegorical speech and, in general, a powerful figurative inventory,these characters speak instead of humans about specifically human perspectives,
aspirations, and doubts, offering a discreet moral that is beautifully shaped, pointed,
figurative, stylistically paremiological and aphoristic so that respective fables are most often
remember by their morals. Given the amount of the figurative, the theoreticians of this form
have found that the stylistic complex of fairy tales has risen so much that they are called
polygon of stylistic figures. All fables in European culture are fundamentally based on
Aesop’s fables, both folk (oral) and artistic ones, that were especially nurtured during the
Enlightenment, Classical Period and Romanticism. The Croatian national fables include
characters, especially animals, which correspond to the Croatian environment and show alocal mark at all levels (Botica 453- 454). Children accept them for their shortness and- 230 -

simplicity. It is also interesting that fables can easily be adapted into plays due to theirdramatic character (dialogs, relationships between characters, etc.). In order to tell or, in thiscase through Kamishibai, to show a fable, it is important to first choose it. It is also importantthat we like it. Due to the shortness of its content, a fable is easy and quick to remember,which is important since good knowledge of this kind of story largely influences the beautyand quality of our performance.
2.1.3. Oral tales
Oral tales as a literary expression is the result of human's wondering over the irrational. It is
the result of the penetration of questions about irrational in everyday life. In simple literary
forms of oral literature, it is seen how literature is one of the most important activities ofhuman's self-preservation (Katičić 240). As a form of oral literature, oral tales is extremely
vital and productive. It can be told without formally elaborate compositions, as a brief
statement, an event report, as information, as an integral part of the spoken word. It is
concise, fragmentary, full of elliptical and unfinished sentences, but it does not show its
deficiency, rather it confirms its style that is appropriate to the content and the mood in which
it emerges (Marks, The Distinct 91). It is interesting that oral tales are believed to be truthful,which is shown by stories and naming in different cultures. Compared to fairy tale, oral
tradition in its essence requires trust, both from narrators and from listeners, while fairy taledoes not pose this claim, at least not differently than any other product of conscious poetics.
The truth of fairy tales lies in the other domain than the truth of oral tradition; the tradition,
appropriate to its own consciousness, belongs to the world of reality, the knowledge of thepeople, while fairy tale even for narrating folk belongs to the world of poetry, and is early andrather primitive fruit of conscious, artistic and creative imagination (Biti 41). In terms of its
composition and style, oral tradition is very simple. Most often the theme is the belief insupernatural beings or the origin of phenomena and things (Bošković-Stulli, Usmene 18), it ischaracterized by an unstable story concept and its aesthetic function is not important, it iscompletely related to everyday life and is used in colloquial speech (Vidović-Schreiber 56).
Given that in the literary theoretical description this narrative form was given different
meanings, Jolles observed it in the threefold meaning:a) as “speech activity”b) as a general statement that is being toldc) as “a verbally extended report on something, news about something” (61).
2.1.4. Legend
It is a story about a supernatural event, determined by the religious system. The miracle in
the legend is not seen as a core, but rather as a sign of holiness, signum, the gift of God.
Orally transmitted legend, even when it comes from written sources, is often regionally andlocally defined and spatially limited. It addresses small, ordinary people who, in contact withthe saint or a miracle, become themselves a part of the legend. They are close to oral
traditions, but they give descriptions of the lives of saints, Christian martyrs, apostles.
Although they are largely based on written sources, apocrypha, medieval lives of saints, stillin the process of transmission they were folklorized (Marks, Hrvatske 7).
2.1.5. Anecdote
Anecdote is a short story of a humorous and poignant content, with a two-part structure. It
begins with the presentation of the main hero in a specific situation, immediately followed by- 231 -

a specific situation in which that hero is shown. Without bigger retardation and episodes,
dialogues depict a situation that completely reveals the hero and defines her/him (Botica
456).
2.1.6. Life stories
Life story is a specific form of oral literature that has gathered much of the general structuralfeatures of the narrative in the discourse of oral literature and is realized in various stories
about everyday situations. Botica uses interpretation of life stories according to Maja
Bošković-Stulli, who argues that the story begins there where the report of an event shapes
into a plot, where it gets even a simple structure, where the narrator tries to entertain
listeners and capture their attention, the story rises from conversation as a formalized unit, bywhich the conversation makes an immediate context. The base of life story includes
childhood and youth, traveling abroad, local and tragic events, unusual past events, episodes
from local life, etc. ( 461-462).
3. Storyteller and Kamishibai Performer - Similarities and Differences in Interpretation of theStory
3.1. Narrating and Storytelling
The terms of storytelling, narrating and retelling are often considered synonymous, yetnarrating is a wider term and includes both storytelling and retelling. Narrating is a complex
linguistic ability that requires the structuring of the story in the cognitive plan. Narrating refers
to live oral presentation of the original content, while retelling is an oral interpretation of theread or heard content (Velički 41). Peteh and Duš wrote about the way in which literarycontent can be delivered through narration, expressive reading, but also through a
combination of narration and reading, depending on the place and purpose. Expressive
narration or expressive reading is the result of educator's work, activities andexperiences. Listening to expressive reading or narrating presents a nice experience not only
for the adult but also for the child. For children of preschool age, the correct pronunciation ofeach word is important. Voice pitch must be normal. Low but comprehensible voice should
be used only in exceptional cases. Vocal timber changes so that the child can recognize
whom the story is about. The story is not narrated nervously, quickly, but rather a pleasantnatural atmosphere should be created through interpretation; the children will then follow andexperience the content better. Narration must be clear, not monotonous, boring, tired,recitative (12).
Furthermore, in narration sound elements can be used, as well as the supporting illustrative
material:
1. a picture that refers to the title or some essential content and element of the story,
2. comic - pictures or drawings that depict individual stages in plot development,
3. applications for school pin board that are set up as to illustrate the stages in the plot,
4. figures or models that can be placed in a shallow sand box; the sand can be shaped
in relief and with a few additional elements (twigs, parts of painted glass etc.) turned
into a small stage where the addition of the figures depicts the storyline; such an
improvised little stage must be visible to all children,
5. it is even more efficient to use puppet theater,
6. a contemporary variant is the story told in the film language (Došen-Dobud, 21).

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3.2. Oral narrator
According to Botica, narration is a process in traditional culture which forms and sets theappearance of an event through speech. When in the process of speaking more language
resources are used, words are chosen, combined, having in mind a possible recipient - astory is generated (385). The works of oral literature are realized as improvised
performances in the natural situational context, as Bošković-Stulli points out, and asinterpretations of creative performers with the interaction of audience, they are always
associated with the extratextual elements including performer’s voice, mimes, gestures, song
melodies. In the written, as well as the recorded text, the significant qualities of such acomplex, syncretic and materially uncatchable piece of art are lost (Bošković-Stulli, O
usmenoj 184). Furthermore, Maja Bošković-Stulli thinks that the text formed of words is abearer of the basic layer of a piece of oral literature. After recording, however, the text is nolonger identical to the oral performance, but still continues its life on a new level - losing
certain qualities and values and getting new ones, still keeping in touch with the folk, verbal
basis (if the text recording is faithful). Authentic sentences produced by an oral narrator canbe conveyed in a written form with less or greater success and written texts can suggestively
contain reflections of the former context of oral performance (185). It is well known that theoral language differs significantly from the written due to its reductions and ellipticality, butwith regards to the language of oral literature or theater, as noted by Yuri Lotman, “oralartistic speech - from the improvisation of folk singers to stage speech - is built on the basisof normalized and full, not shortened variant of speech”, thus facilitating the transition fromoral to written form. It is also known, states Bošković-Stulli, especially after the structuralist
discussions of Jakobson, Mukarovsky and others, that in art and especially in poetry, theaesthetic or poetic function is determinative, dominant, yet is not the only function. On theother hand, all other areas of human activity, language included, can be the aesthetic
function bearers, but there this function is subordinate and subsidiary. Also, the oral work,
after being written and published, is equalized by the communication marks and by its
function with other pieces of literature; distanced readers will receive it in a much different
way than in the circle of the original small group, yet its suggestiveness will still be drawn
from the preserved features of the oral work (188-189). At first sight it could be said how
improvisation, the most beautiful value of oral creation, disappears during recording. Oral
performance or folk literature, according to Juraj Lotman, belongs to aesthetics ofequivalence, where the rules for the choice of words, for the construction of metaphors, forthe ritual of narrative procedures, for the combination storyline, for the general toposes,
constitute a special art system, as for performers as for the audience (Bošković-Stulli, Žito7). Unnecessary repetitions in a sentence introduce an expressive rhythm, emphasize thestatement and thus enhance gradation. The dynamics of the event is expressed by parataxis,
which is a typical oral method of linking sentences, thus achieving a more expressive
rhythm. Declarative connectors are often omitted, sentence inversion is used, verb tenses
change, as well as direct and indirect speech in the same sentence. A functional way of
expression is also reflected in the change of the first and third person and through theomission of the declarative verb which differs from the grammatical norm. The declarative
conjuction “that” is used often in the wrong places, this way of grammatical misuse allowing
the storyteller to enter the subjective note into objective performance.
3.3. Kamishibai
Kamishibai is a form of narration or performance of stories that emerged in Japan in the late
1920s, gaining its greatest popularity in the 1950s. In Japanese, Kamishibai (kah-mee-shee- 233 -bye) means a paper drama or a more popular paper theater. A narrator of the street
Kamishibai stories was a man who would travel by bike from one village to another, one town
to another, carrying a wooden box that would serve as a stage for the performance ofstories. In that box, he would bring cards with big pictures, which he would change to follow
his story. Hitting the wooden sticks, he would invite the children to gather aroundhim. Namely, his main task, in addition to entertaining children and adults, during the thengreat economic crisis in Japan and due to the consequences of the Second World War, wasthe sale of hand-made candies. The narrator, with a great sense of story dramatization, kept
the attention of the listeners and often recounted the stories in series so that they would
always come to the following performance, full of suspense and desiring the new activities
and events (Sirotić 4-5).
3.4. Comparison with a doll
Kamishibai builds its expression on the image, the performer's mime and the voice, or the
speech interpretation, while the doll creates its stylized communication on the visual and thevoice level as well, but also at the level of the movement, thus enriching the narrative context(Ivon 31).
Therefore, what puppet show and Kamishibai have in common is a stage expression,
narration, visual expression, voice and mime, performed by actors or others. Given that theKamishibai is a story rendered through the image and the word, the image being reduced, so
the word has to be reduced too. It is therefore important to skillfully articulate character traits
through the visual and the spoken. Puppet is characterized through its walking, appearance,
attitude, movement, voice, etc., in short - through animation. Furthermore, apart from thespace being in the move, the time context in Kamishibai is also achieved by changing thepictures while in other narrative situations that is not the case.
3.5. Kamishibai and oral literature (childhood stories and life stories)
A personal or personalized story is a text that depicts events from the very life of the author
and the events she/he remembers. In oral literature such a form of the story is called life
story and childhood story. In addition to various fairy tales, fictional stories, a personal story
can also be a good basis for making Kamishibai performances. What makes the climax ofevery Kamishibai is a dramatic event or some kind of incident the audience is
expecting. Sirotić states that Tara McGowan writes precisely about the creation of a personal
story, and the use thereof, through the Kamishibai narrative technique. Thus in apersonalized story, the main character, of course, is the person who writes it. Often there isan emotional component, touching past memories, and there are other characters that are
involved in the story. When the key moment is established, characters as well, what follows
is the location in the story that is significant in the illustration of the Kamishibai. The locationmust be in the middle of the stage to point out where the key event occurred. When daily
routines are established, the story goes slowly in a certain direction, it is time for someaction, conflict, an incident that makes the story seem tense and interesting (Sirotić 20).
4. Conclusion
In addition to various narrative contexts (educator's and puppet narration) of oral prose forpreschool children, in the case presented here Kamishibai is offered as one of narrativemodels as well.

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It is important to point out that in Kamishibai important are the scene, narration, visualexpression, voice and mimic realized by different performers. Furthermore, Kamishibai is astory conveyed in the image and the word, the image being reduced, so that the word has tobe reduced as well. Therefore, it is important to know and verbally interpret the content of thestory, which opens up a series of improvisations and new ways of learning narrative skills.
Moreover, when we talk about a reduced image, it is quite clear that often the illustrated
content can be symbolic, which develops child’s abstract thinking.
Therefore, when a child plays a role of a Kamishibai performer, introducing feelings into thecharacters, she/he realizes integration on a deeper plan of her/his personality. Performing a
Kamishibai play, which remains a game for a child, through the destiny of heroes she/hesearches for meaning in her/his own life and life in general. It can therefore rightly beconsidered that in a “Kamishibai game” the child develops specific mental operations thatparticipate in the personal system of knowledge.
The context of narrating through Kamishibai performances creates the conditions for twocomplementary processes of child's speech and language development: learning by model
ensuring the maintenance of basic speech patterns and the language activity of the game inwhich the child tries the variations of language and speech behavior and introduces
novelties.
This paper once again points out to the importance of narration in childhood with special
emphasis on oral literature (fables, fairy tales, traditions, legends, anecdotes, life stories,
childhood stories, etc.) both from national and world traditional literature. In the context ofKamishibai, linguistic and literary heritage is preserved as one of the expressions of identity
while at the same time developing the feeling of acceptance of other cultures andcivilizations.
Finally, we witness the times of big migrations, and what people carry with them and inside ofthem is certainly a story, thus in the year of European cultural heritage it is important once
again to emphasize that the story does not know the boundaries, because, as it is known, it
occurs in a series of its variants.
Oral story moves, travels, transmits, encountering the new narrator, receiving her/his
personal expression, so at the same time it belongs to her/him but also to everybody. In the
narration process the story is given to all future narrators and their personal interpretations.

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