As soon as the men would arrive on their big black bikes, children would cheer, set aside their toys and swarm around them even before they began sounding their wooden clappers. A signature large wooden box with openings and drawers was mounted on the back of their bicycles.
The clappers, gongs and bells signaled the imminent start of a performance of "kamishibai" (paper theater). The wooden box, when flipped open, became the frame for a series of colorful hand-painted scenes that were changed in succession as the men told a story.
Until the mid-1960s, kamishibai was a popular form of entertainment for kids, performed in parks and playgrounds throughout Japan. Today, supplanted by television and video games, traditional kamishibai performances are rare.