Step right up and have a look….It’s time for Yamishibai.
Every October, close to Halloween, I encourage the Japanese Pop Culture Thread denizens to check out Theatre of Darkness: Yamishibai. This year, I thought, hey, why not share it with the whole site and maybe at the start of the month so people can watch all the way up to Halloween? I’m smart!
Capturing the style of kamishibai (紙芝居) told by traveling kamishibaiya (紙芝居や), these short, spooky tales are inspired by Japanese folklore and urban legends. There’s also one live-action season, if that’s more your thing. You can find them on Crunchyroll1And it looks like you can watch quite a few on YouTube, and I highly recommend them! While they aren’t all terrifying horror stories, they are entertaining and some have definitely sent a chill down my spine. There are now 15 seasons of spooky tales to watch, so if you’re brave enough, follow the call of the 紙芝居や。。。
Bonus mini Japanese language and culture lesson: Yamishibai (闇芝居) is a little bit of wordplay on the original, changing the first part kami (紙 paper) to yami (闇 dark). So paper dramas becomes dark dramas. Spoooooky 👻 Curious to see what actual 紙芝居 look like? Check out this video to see a contemporary 紙芝居や at work!
Have a nice night/day! 🌙