“Kamishibai” Picture Shows Bring Stories from Disaster-Hit Noto

Kamakura, Kanagawa Pref., Jan. 1 (Jiji Press)–Natsuko Nakatani creates “kamishibai” picture shows that bring to life stories drawn from myths and the experiences of people in areas devastated by the major earthquake that struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula on New Year’s Day 2024. “I want to record the emotional experiences of disaster victims and pass them on to the next generation,” said Nakatani, born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. Now based in the city of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, Nakatani has been a kamishibai creator for about 15 years. She crafts shows inspired by Japanese myths and traditional tales, presenting them at festivals and nursery schools nationwide. A month after the 7.6-magnitude Noto Peninsula earthquake, Nakatani visited Shika, a town in Ishikawa, where her parents’ family homes are located. “I was shocked to see the town collapsed as if trampled by a monster,” she said. “I, who have roots in Noto, also have to do my best,” she recalls. In March 2024, she began presenting kamishibai shows at shelters in the town of Noto and other locations, deciding to create a series of shows based on stories from each disaster-stricken municipality in the prefecture. In July, she saw “Abare Matsuri,” a local festival, and was inspired by people determined to keep it alive, later making it the subject of her first story. In the tale, a deity mourns earthquake damage but protects the people so the festival can continue. At a shrine event, children smiled, saying, “It’s amazing that our festival appears in the story.” For the second story, she focused on the city of Suzu, but in September 2024, a rain disaster heavily hit the northern part of the peninsula. Responding to residents’ lament, “Are there no gods or Buddha?” she revised the story to include a god in a local mountain mourning the rain damage. Nakatani is now working on the third story, set in the city of Wajima. She always ends her works with “To be continued,” symbolizing that the spirit of recovery lives on. “Through my kamishibai, I want to pass on both the despair of disaster victims and their positive attitude toward reconstruction to the next generation,” she said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]