WiK member Sydney Solis has a longstanding interest in kamishibai, the Japanese art of picture story telling. She has created and published six titles of her own which can be found here. One of them was based n a Japanese folktale about the Grateful Crane.

Last year, following her move to Japan, she did a performance of her own creation, Storytime Yoga, at an English language cafe in Osaka. It was through her interest in the art form that she came to make contact with the International Kamishibai Association of Japan and participate in the event described below, courtesy of NHK….

(To learn more of Sydney’s personal story, and her interest in myth and yoga, please take a look at this page.)

Two women have begun to use “Kamishibai” picture theater to depict the tragedy of the atomic bombings and spread the message of peace. One of them is an American whose grandfather was a prisoner of war of Japan during World War ll. The other is a Japanese woman whose grandfather was also incarcerated because he sounded a warning that his country would be defeated.

The Japanese woman, Eiko Matsui, produced “Never Again,” Kamishibai on the importance of peace.

Eiko Matsui (left) instructs Sydney Solis (right) how to perform Kamishibai.

Sydney performs the English version of “Never Again” in front of a Japanese audience.