Pynchon&Co bookstore hosts a Saturday noon event featuring a Kamishibai theater performance by Japanese artist and translator Makiko Bak.
Kamishibai, which translates to “paper theatre,” is a traditional storytelling method from Japan. It emerged in Buddhist temples during the 12th century and grew in popularity between the 1920s and 1940s as itinerant street performances traveled from neighborhood to neighborhood on bicycles, creating a lively, mobile theater culture.
The performance uses a small wooden stage and illustrated boards placed in sequence while the story unfolds. The audience watches the drawings as the narrator or storyteller presents the narrative, and the language of delivery shifts to accommodate the listeners. The stories presented are rooted in Japanese lore, and the show is offered in Spanish, Catalan, and Japanese depending on who attends.
Kamishibai thrives on audience interaction, inviting viewers to engage with familiar items and mythic themes through everyday objects. This dynamic exchange reveals ideas and symbols that may feel new to European audiences, and the experience is designed to delight people of all ages.
makiko voice
Makiko Bak was born in Kawasaki, Japan, and since 2009 has lived in Spain. Her travels and residencies have taken her to Ciutadella in Menorca, Valencia, Zaragoza, and Madrid, among other places. Presently, she continues her cultural studies in Catalonia and maintains a prolific artistic practice that blends words with performance. As a storyteller in the Kamishibai tradition, she also translates literary works, contributing to a body of published novels and performances.
Bak has presented her work across Europe, with appearances in Madrid, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Ibiza, Menorca, Lecce, and Brussels. Her performances weave together dance, poetic monologue, and music, creating a multisensory experience that invites audiences to step into stories and see ordinary objects through a mythic lens. In many shows, the narrator guides spectators through a sequence of images, triggering memories and emotions that resonate with listeners long after the final card is turned.
The Kamishibai art form expresses a shared human impulse: to tell stories that connect people across generations. It is a bridge between traditional storytelling and contemporary performance, offering a gentle doorway into Japanese culture for curious readers in North America and beyond.