Kamishibai Storytelling Performance by Mr. Toshiki Mori
2020/3/14
On March 5 – 7, Mr. Toshiki Mori, a Japanese comedian and Kamishibai storyteller performed Kamishibai (pronounce kah-mee-she-bye) storytelling in Ottawa. Mr. Mori, based in Toronto, has been performing Kamishibai storytelling at various locations in Toronto including schools, public libraries, seniors’ homes, the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre and the library of the Japan Foundation for this 2 years.
Kamishibai storytelling emerged around 1930 in Japan and is a theatrical entertainment show mainly targeted at small children. In recent years, Kamishibai storytelling has gained more popularity around the world, not only among children but also with many performances enjoyed by adult audiences.
During his stay in Ottawa, Mr. Mori visited a total of seven locations, namely the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), a Japanese language class at the University of Ottawa, a seniors’ home, the Ottawa Public Library, the Ottawa Japanese Language School, the Ottawa Hoshuko and “Japan Festival” organized by the Carleton University Japanese Association (CUJA).
He performed stories which are well-known in Japan, such as “The Inch-High Samurai”, “The Bamboo Princes”, “The Tongue-Cut Sparrow” and so forth. Along with the stories, Mr. Mori also performed traditional Japanese songs by including “Mt. Fuji”, “Oborozukiyo (Misty Moon Night)”, ”Chatsumi (Tea-picking)”, “Nogiku (Wild Chrysanthemum)”. Mr. Mori fascinated the audience with his storytelling and it was a great opportunity to increase public interest in Japanese culture.
On the last day, Mr. Mori was interviewed by Contact Japan, a local community television programme on Rogers community television. Contact Japan also recorded one of his stories which will be aired in the coming month.
Kamishibai storytelling emerged around 1930 in Japan and is a theatrical entertainment show mainly targeted at small children. In recent years, Kamishibai storytelling has gained more popularity around the world, not only among children but also with many performances enjoyed by adult audiences.
During his stay in Ottawa, Mr. Mori visited a total of seven locations, namely the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), a Japanese language class at the University of Ottawa, a seniors’ home, the Ottawa Public Library, the Ottawa Japanese Language School, the Ottawa Hoshuko and “Japan Festival” organized by the Carleton University Japanese Association (CUJA).
He performed stories which are well-known in Japan, such as “The Inch-High Samurai”, “The Bamboo Princes”, “The Tongue-Cut Sparrow” and so forth. Along with the stories, Mr. Mori also performed traditional Japanese songs by including “Mt. Fuji”, “Oborozukiyo (Misty Moon Night)”, ”Chatsumi (Tea-picking)”, “Nogiku (Wild Chrysanthemum)”. Mr. Mori fascinated the audience with his storytelling and it was a great opportunity to increase public interest in Japanese culture.
On the last day, Mr. Mori was interviewed by Contact Japan, a local community television programme on Rogers community television. Contact Japan also recorded one of his stories which will be aired in the coming month.
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| Japanese language class at the University of Ottawa | Seniors’ home |
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| The Ottawa Public Library | Mr. Mori performs a Japanese song at the Ottawa Japanese Language School |
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| The Ottawa Hoshuko | "Japan Festival” organized by the Carleton University Japanese Association (CUJA) |
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| The performance is being recorded by Contact Japan | Mr. Mori being interviewed by Contact Japan |