Instant Kamishibai

A web-based application for traditional kami-shibai street-performance paper cut-out storytelling improvisations. The performer uses photographs of children taken on the spot combined with images such as their favorite animal obtained through application program interface from the Internet, and incorporates these into templates upon which a story is improvised. The creator, with ‘a device utilizing the Internet to create an individualized experience for public entertainment’ as his concept, is an experienced “kami shibai” performer seeking out ways in which the form can evolve. With the support of Kunitachi City, Tokyo, his ‘Kunitachi Kami Shibai’ performance, accompanied by the sale of cheap sweets to children, uses this application on the street for a hands-on exploration of this traditional form adapted to the present day.