Oral History Program Motoko Interviewed by Michael Thompson 16 March 2021 Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Motoko Interviewed by Michael Thompson 16 March 2021 Copyright © 2022 by Weber State University, Stewart Library iii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. The working files, original recording, and archival copies are housed in the University Archives. Project Description The WSU Storytelling Festival was implemented by the Friends of the Stewart Library in 1992. The library sponsored and managed the annual festival until 1998, when the festival was moved to the Department of Teacher Education, with the Library continuing as a sponsor. The three-day festival entails storytellers from all over the nation, including youth storytellers. The events are made up of workshops and presentations, a fund-raising banquet, and a wrap-up of wonderful stories from gifted performers. This interesting collection includes oral history interviews with visiting storytellers, discussing how they became interested in storytelling and where they receive their inspiration. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management This work is the property of the Weber State University, Stewart Library Oral History Program. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Motoko, an oral history by Michael Thompson, 16 March 2021, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. Motoko 18 March 2021 1 Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Motoko, conducted on March 18, 2021, via Zoom, by Michael Thompson. Motoko discusses her life, her experiences during her storytelling career, and her memories of the Weber State University. MT: This is an oral history being conducted with Motoko as part of our oral history project documenting the Weber State University Storytelling Festival. It is March 18th, 2021. My name is Michael Thompson, and I will be conducting the interview via Zoom. To start, how did you become interested or involved with storytelling? M: All right, it's sort of a long story. I have been doing this professionally, meaning all of my income coming from storytelling for nearly 30 years. I grew up in Osaka, Japan. Osaka is a funny place, we have a rich tradition of oral, I guess you can say, entertainment. We have this tradition of Rakugo. Rakugo is a Japanese storytelling tradition that's 400 years old. And that's, you know, one person telling the traditional stories, but they are almost always funny. So I grew up watching and listening to those stories and I always knew that I somehow wanted to be on stage I guess. That was the first charm. So then I got into theater in high school and college and when I was in college, I discovered mime. And when I first saw someone doing mime, you know, I think it was a wall. I said, "That is wonderful. I want to do that for the rest of my life." So that's what I pursued, but even truly I got tired of being stuck in the proverbial box. So I decided to come out and run my mouth. I ran stout into storytelling and you know, found that American storytelling audience are very kind. 2 MT: You mentioned you've been doing it for 30 years professionally. How long before that had you been doing storytelling? M: Oh, before then, like I said, I was a mime. I came to the United States, I came to Massachusetts as an exchange student to University of Massachusetts and that's where I first experienced mime. And so I was trying to do that professionally for a few years, and then I became a storyteller. I got into storytelling because of my partner, Eshu Bumpus. He and I were featured tellers at the Weber State Festival back in 2012; long time festival lovers would know this. He was the one who got me into storytelling and so since then, we've performed some together. Mostly we are sold separately, you know, him telling African American and African folktales and me telling a lot of Asian folktales as well as personal stories. MT: What part of storytelling brings you the most joy or satisfaction? M: That’s a good question. I've been thinking about this question. Really all of it. I love daydreaming, thinking about new stories, you know, and I take notes. Sometimes those notes, the ideas, how do you say, grew in my mind for years. And I like the part of actual writing and getting ready to tell and then sharing. I like all of it. To some extent, I enjoy the marketing. That's because that's another form of communication. Getting and contacting my sponsors. A lot of my work is in schools. School teachers are my important colleagues and I love communicating with them. So really, I enjoy all of it I think. The only part that I did not enjoy so much was driving. But, after this pandemic and I haven't 3 left my house for an entire year, I think I wouldn't even mind the driving or flying again. I will never take a live audience for granted, I swear. MT: Which type of audience do you prefer? Do you prefer telling stories to children, adults, or both? M: I like them both and I have different stories for each group so to speak. I'm not a big preschool person. Although, I have told plenty of stories to preschoolers. One time, I remember I told a story to a classroom of preschoolers and I told them what I thought was my best story. And they all went, "Oh, that was long." I said, "Would you like to hear another one?" And they said, "Oh no thank you." And they all ran away. So preschoolers are tough, but I like all of the other groups. MT: What are the qualities of a good storyteller? M: That'll be easier if I was a good one. No, just kidding. There's no such thing as one good way to be. So this is just my opinion. The ones that I think are good, the ones that I like, are the ones who are courageous; who have courage to communicate their deepest souls, you know, bear themselves. They are generous enough and courageous, brave enough to share the part of their souls. That's what I like the most. You know, that not only do you get the story, but also understand who this person is. You know, what his life has been, that's the most important part. And of course, a good storyteller in my mind, is a caring person, who is working hard to make connections. Because if you don't do that, then what exactly is the point? Right? So, you know, those are the most 4 important things. Just like other things, you think about what and how, but also why. So what stories you tell and how you tell them must be supported by why you are telling them those stories. So, as long as that why part is clearly communicated, then I don't really even care about the what and how. What stays in people's heart is "why". Does that make sense? MT: Yes, that does make sense. What elements are required for a good story? M: Again, that's a good question. There are many good stories and of course, you know, there's a great personal taste involved. Some people just like funny personal stories, some people just like old folktales and fairytales. And I like you know, all kinds of stories. I'm thinking my favorite types of stories are the ones that have a surprise in it. And I don't mean like surprise, you say, "boo" at the end. But something surprising that makes you look at the world in the new way. Really, every story, whether traditional, personal, or historical, is a metaphor for something else. And when that metaphor works, then the story not only entertains you for the moment, but gives you something to chew on, long after the occasion ended. I think a good story is a story that entertains you for the moment, but also gives you something to think about and dream about a long time afterwards. One time, there was a wonderful storyteller named Pat Neice. I think she lives in Florida. And it's not even that I know her very well or anything. But one time she was telling this story about a pair of socks. A pair of socks in a laundry machine going round and round in the dryer. A pair of socks and eventually one of them got lost. And the other one was missing the partner, you know. People are laughing, and all of a sudden it dawned on me that this was a 5 metaphor for a married couple. A married couple. Eventually one of them died, and the other one had to overcome this sadness and grief and find meaning in life just by being herself. And I was just awestruck. It's just a pair of socks but it's a metaphor for something much bigger and deeper that has everything to do with our lives. So those are the stories that stay with me forever and that's a good story. You know, an example of a very good story. MT: What is the main difference between Japanese storytelling and American storytelling? M: Good question. Japanese storytelling means many things. There is a nearly dead or dying tradition that some people are trying to resurrect and those are the hearthside. The fireside storytelling traditional, most likely an old lady sitting by the fire, telling children stories. And there are some people who are trying to resurrect that tradition, just like how people have been doing that in this country. And then there are professional storytelling entertainers, like the one I said, Rakugo, which is a 400 year old tradition that has a lot of what they call classical repertoire; a lot of us are familiar with. And some of the young tellers are writing new and contemporary stuff, but within that traditional style. You know, so there are those. And then there are of course, many storytellers like me who tell stories to children for educational purposes. So Japanese storytelling is not just one thing. I guess the biggest difference I see is that in the United States, this boom of personal stories, you know, more style tellings, or even people like Donald Davis you know, people who have great oral literature about their own lives. That is rare in Japan. And that may have to do with the 6 fact that in Japan we are more group oriented; that it's not considered a virtue to say, "Me! Me! Let me tell you about me.” That's not what Japanese people are about. So of course people are writing novels and essays, but this type of personal storytelling I consider to be quintessentially American. People in Japan do not do that very much. MT: It is very interesting to see that difference. Thank you for sharing that. M: It is, isn’t it? MT: Do you think our current pandemic environment has had an impact on the importance of storytelling? M: Of course! It has impact on everything. I'm so glad the vaccine is on the horizon. I'm hoping to get one soon. Although, I'm not essential in anyway. I may be lucky to get it by Christmas. But I'm willing to wait for my turn. I mean, there's just ever more demand and need for people to not just listen to each other, but also tell their own stories. You know, listening to each other is such an important part of it. And there's online storytelling events that are flourishing, right? And not just all of the prerecorded stuff like the Weber State Festival which turned out to be great. But also a lot of live Zoom telling. I mean, any day of any hour, there are three or four things that are going on. And most of which I don't even have time to attend. I think it's a good thing that we can connect and not just curl up and die just because of the pandemic. But there is a little bit of a danger in this type of online telling and also prerecorded video stuff. It's hard for us tellers to get the immediate audience reaction. I mean in Zoom, people are 7 telling right in the chat, but all of the people who write are my friends. And they are conditioned to say nice things about me. But normally when I face a room full of kind audience, it's obvious whether I did a good job or not. Just by looking at the audience, but on Zoom telling, it's hard. Our art form, by its nature, is powerfully influenced by the audience reaction. In fact, that's half of our job, you know, it's the catch ball; playing catch with energies. And that is just very hard. So what that means is that us tellers have to be mindful that we don't grow without live audiences. Every time we face live audiences, we grow as tellers by leaps and bounds. But when we tell on Zoom, our growth has to do with, "Oh I know how to share a screen, or disable chat, or whatever, you know?” I'm not sure if we are becoming better storytellers by doing this. This is just a desperate measure during a desperate time. But our real art form is based on live audience reaction, and we need to remember that. MT: Where do you see storytelling in the future? M: Good question. I have been very lucky. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to do this as my own livelihood for 30 years. And where we are going is a good question. But I figure even after the pandemic, this Zoom telling and video telling will remain. So we will have a three pronged approach. People are waiting to get out there and be with each other and enjoy live performances. That is my biggest hope. But also, this Zoom telling will remain and so some of us are trying to figure out how to make that interesting. To create this online space where people feel welcome without leaving their house, and how do we make this little proscenium screen more interesting. You know, 8 we can do different things; trying to make the screen more interesting. I refuse to become a talking head. There's the rest of me that I want to use to enrich my telling. And so that's one thing. The videos, like we did for the Weber State Festival, again, we are creating something new. It's not a movie, it's not a TV show, it's a new art form of its own. And we each of us have to learn something about the language of the camera. Does that make sense? The camera is the audience's eyes and by using the camera language, you empower the audience. So for the recorded stuff, to me, it's not really just me doing things and the audience watching from one angle, one camera. If you can move the camera, and incorporate shots and stuff like that, then you are empowering the audience to enjoy what you do more. And that's something that many storytellers are beginning to grasp, and I think that art form will stay too. MT: How long have you been involved with the Weber State University Storytelling Festival? M: Actually, 2012 was my first time there, and I enjoyed it. Then they didn't call me for 8 years, and here I am. I hope they enjoyed me as much as I did them. So this is my second appearance such as it is. And I think the videos worked. I hoped the videos would reach, in a way, more people all over the world. So that way it's good. MT: What are some of your favorite memories from the festival? M: I remember being there with my partner and that was fun. I remember the Egyptian Theater has a big auditorium where I told the stories to a family 9 audience. I told a story about Sumo Wrestling, and I remember this one boy and his mother, they got so excited about Sumo Wrestling. They came up to me and asked me questions and I thought that was kind of interesting. Another thing, I was just looking at my old notes. I went to Tolman Elementary School, in Bountiful, Utah, as part of the outreach. And the outreach of the festival is something that I have always enjoyed; reaching more school children is good. It's a lot of fun. Without the festival, it's not so likely that I go from Massachusetts all of the way to Utah to visit schools. So this was a rare and pleasurable opportunity. MT: What advice would you give to future storytellers? M: Good question. I wish I could say, "Yes, come on into the field and the water is fine." But no, that's a mixed metaphor. It's hard, if you want to do this professionally. It's very hard. It takes a lot of hustling and it may take you many years to be able to just depend on this for your income. But, nowadays, all of us, myself included, you do videos, you do live telling. I do a lot of school work as well as libraries and museum and big festivals like Weber State. So you have to kind of diversify your venue. You will find your own niche. Like for me, telling to the school children is what I do most. And the more you do it, the better you get at it. But your niche may be something different. Your niche may be a museum, or a senior center. It could be anything. I have storytelling friends who have done important work in prisons. So you will find and develop your own sort of venue and see what works. And just be patient and develop good stories. Good stories meaning a story that doesn't just entertain, but has deeper 10 meaning behind it that the audience can go home with. So those are the things; it's hard, but it's very rewarding. MT: Thank you for your time. It has been a pleasure to interview you and hear about your experience as a storyteller. M: Well thank you, Michael. I hope this was helpful. MT: It was. Thank you!