A2 RW Ch3 L3 · A Traditional Kamishibai Story 🎴

1Once upon a time, there was an old man and woman who lived in a small village. They were poor and made hats to sell in town. One night before New Year's Day, the old man went into town to sell hats so he could buy supplies such as fish and rice. However, when he got there, everyone was too busy, and he couldn't sell any hats.

2That evening as he was walking home, it started to snow. Soon the snow covered everything, including the six statues of Jizo — a Buddhist guardian who protects people — standing just off the road. The old man stopped, brushed the snow off the statues, and put hats on their heads. But he only had five hats. "What can I use for the last statue?" he asked himself. And then he remembered his scarf. He took it off and used it to make a hat for the last statue.

3"How was your visit to town?" the old woman asked when the man got home. He told his wife that he didn't sell any hats and what he had done with them instead. She didn't mind that he gave away the hats. Instead, the couple sat around the fire, drinking hot water, eating pickled vegetables, and singing songs about their hopes for the new year.

4That night, after the couple went to bed, the old woman woke and shook the old man. "Can you hear that? It sounds like singing!" she said. When they looked outside, they saw that the Jizo statues were alive! They were singing as they walked toward the road. In front of the couple's house were food and gold coins. After that, the old couple lived happily ever after.

5Years ago, stories like "Hats for Jizo" were often told by a kamishibai performer. Kamishibai was a type of Japanese storytelling tradition. A kamishibai performer traveled from town to town on bicycle. The performer sold candy and told stories to attract and entertain the children. While telling a story, the performer would show cards with pictures of what was happening. This explains the name kamishibai: paper drama. To guarantee future customers, the performer would stop the story midway and continue it the next day. Kamishibai was most popular from the late 1920s to the 1950s. But then television, which was first called denki kamishibai (electric paper drama), came along. As a result, many kamishibai performers turned their talents to other story types, like manga or anime. And even though kamishibai is not as popular today, there are still festivals to celebrate this traditional Japanese storytelling art.

1Once upon a time, there was an old man and woman who lived in a small village. They were poor and made hats to sell in town. One night before New Year's Day, the old man went into town to sell hats so he could buy supplies such as fish and rice. However, when he got there, everyone was too busy, and he couldn't sell any hats.

2That evening as he was walking home, it started to snow. Soon the snow covered everything, including the six statues of Jizo — a Buddhist guardian who protects people — standing just off the road. The old man stopped, brushed the snow off the statues, and put hats on their heads. But he only had five hats. "What can I use for the last statue?" he asked himself. And then he remembered his scarf. He took it off and used it to make a hat for the last statue.

3"How was your visit to town?" the old woman asked when the man got home. He told his wife that he didn't sell any hats and what he had done with them instead. She didn't mind that he gave away the hats. Instead, the couple sat around the fire, drinking hot water, eating pickled vegetables, and singing songs about their hopes for the new year.

4That night, after the couple went to bed, the old woman woke and shook the old man. "Can you hear that? It sounds like singing!" she said. When they looked outside, they saw that the Jizo statues were alive! They were singing as they walked toward the road. In front of the couple's house were food and gold coins. After that, the old couple lived happily ever after.

5Years ago, stories like "Hats for Jizo" were often told by a kamishibai performer. Kamishibai was a type of Japanese storytelling tradition. A kamishibai performer traveled from town to town on bicycle. The performer sold candy and told stories to attract and entertain the children. While telling a story, the performer would show cards with pictures of what was happening. This explains the name kamishibai: paper drama. To guarantee future customers, the performer would stop the story midway and continue it the next day. Kamishibai was most popular from the late 1920s to the 1950s. But then television, which was first called denki kamishibai (electric paper drama), came along. As a result, many kamishibai performers turned their talents to other story types, like manga or anime. And even though kamishibai is not as popular today, there are still festivals to celebrate this traditional Japanese storytelling art.

1Once upon a time, there was an old man and woman who lived in a small village. They were poor and made hats to sell in town. One night before New Year's Day, the old man went into town to sell hats so he could buy supplies such as fish and rice. However, when he got there, everyone was too busy, and he couldn't sell any hats.

2That evening as he was walking home, it started to snow. Soon the snow covered everything, including the six statues of Jizo — a Buddhist guardian who protects people — standing just off the road. The old man stopped, brushed the snow off the statues, and put hats on their heads. But he only had five hats. "What can I use for the last statue?" he asked himself. And then he remembered his scarf. He took it off and used it to make a hat for the last statue.

3"How was your visit to town?" the old woman asked when the man got home. He told his wife that he didn't sell any hats and what he had done with them instead. She didn't mind that he gave away the hats. Instead, the couple sat around the fire, drinking hot water, eating pickled vegetables, and singing songs about their hopes for the new year.

4That night, after the couple went to bed, the old woman woke and shook the old man. "Can you hear that? It sounds like singing!" she said. When they looked outside, they saw that the Jizo statues were alive! They were singing as they walked toward the road. In front of the couple's house were food and gold coins. After that, the old couple lived happily ever after.

5Years ago, stories like "Hats for Jizo" were often told by a kamishibai performer. Kamishibai was a type of Japanese storytelling tradition. A kamishibai performer traveled from town to town on bicycle. The performer sold candy and told stories to attract and entertain the children. While telling a story, the performer would show cards with pictures of what was happening. This explains the name kamishibai: paper drama. To guarantee future customers, the performer would stop the story midway and continue it the next day. Kamishibai was most popular from the late 1920s to the 1950s. But then television, which was first called denki kamishibai (electric paper drama), came along. As a result, many kamishibai performers turned their talents to other story types, like manga or anime. And even though kamishibai is not as popular today, there are still festivals to celebrate this traditional Japanese storytelling art.

1Once upon a time, there was an old man and woman who lived in a small village. They were poor and made hats to sell in town. One night before New Year's Day, the old man went into town to sell hats so he could buy supplies such as fish and rice. However, when he got there, everyone was too busy, and he couldn't sell any hats.

2That evening as he was walking home, it started to snow. Soon the snow covered everything, including the six statues of Jizo — a Buddhist guardian who protects people — standing just off the road. The old man stopped, brushed the snow off the statues, and put hats on their heads. But he only had five hats. "What can I use for the last statue?" he asked himself. And then he remembered his scarf. He took it off and used it to make a hat for the last statue.

3"How was your visit to town?" the old woman asked when the man got home. He told his wife that he didn't sell any hats and what he had done with them instead. She didn't mind that he gave away the hats. Instead, the couple sat around the fire, drinking hot water, eating pickled vegetables, and singing songs about their hopes for the new year.

4That night, after the couple went to bed, the old woman woke and shook the old man. "Can you hear that? It sounds like singing!" she said. When they looked outside, they saw that the Jizo statues were alive! They were singing as they walked toward the road. In front of the couple's house were food and gold coins. After that, the old couple lived happily ever after.

5Years ago, stories like "Hats for Jizo" were often told by a kamishibai performer. Kamishibai was a type of Japanese storytelling tradition. A kamishibai performer traveled from town to town on bicycle. The performer sold candy and told stories to attract and entertain the children. While telling a story, the performer would show cards with pictures of what was happening. This explains the name kamishibai: paper drama. To guarantee future customers, the performer would stop the story midway and continue it the next day. Kamishibai was most popular from the late 1920s to the 1950s. But then television, which was first called denki kamishibai (electric paper drama), came along. As a result, many kamishibai performers turned their talents to other story types, like manga or anime. And even though kamishibai is not as popular today, there are still festivals to celebrate this traditional Japanese storytelling art.