Japanese drama Bible app
The Japanese Drama Bible is a free app in which the whole Bible is performed in the style of a radio drama. Over 150 actors portrayed the more than 1,300 characters in the Bible. It was widely discussed even before its official release; when the app was released in trial format on September 30, it was downloaded over 4,000 times. [It was officially released on Nov. 18, 2019.]
Before the official release, the Christian Shimbun spoke to B.J. Moon (President of the Grace & Mercy Foundation Japan) and Masako Uchino (Content Development Consultant).
How it all began
Moon explained how the project to create the Drama Bible app in Japanese came about. The project first took root in the US at the Grace & Mercy Foundation that was founded by Bill Hwang (a famous billionaire). Hwang is a Korean American whose parents are both pastors. Some time ago he began feeling an agonizing conflict between his faith and his billionaire status. One day, as he was listening to the radio in the car, he heard The Word of Promise, a dramatic retelling of the Bible produced in Hollywood. Something gripped his heart and gave him confidence. It was then that he made a decision before God to “help others . . . through the Word of God, and to use my financial assets for the Lord.”
As a Christian he knew the Bible, but admitted to being unable to read it regularly or to take its words to heart. He thought that there must be other Christians like himself who struggled with reading the Bible and he wondered, What if there was a Bible that everyone could listen to? This is how he came to establish the Grace & Mercy Foundation in the US ten years ago. Three years later the Foundation was also established in Korea and the Korean Drama Bible was released.
Initially there were plans to release a Chinese version of the Drama Bible, but three years ago, while visiting Japan, Hwang contacted Moon who was then pastor of the Tokyo Onnuri Christ Church. Through conversations with Moon, he learned that less than one percent of the Japanese population was Christian. He was shocked to learn that, despite Japan being a developed country, the spread of the gospel was very slow. Hwang decided to go ahead with the Japanese version of the Drama Bible first. Two years ago, the Grace & Mercy Foundation Japan was established.
Production of the Japanese version
As the project took off in Japan, a production team was formed. Uchino, the associate pastor at Onnuri Church, played a large role in development. Hiroshi Kawabata, a non-Christian who had 40 years of experience as a producer for TV Tokyo was brought in as the director.
Both Christian and non-Christian professionals took part in the project. During production, it was necessary to provide guidance and advice to the non-Christian staff. Uchino explained the characteristics of each of the roles to the actors, as well as providing biblical and historical background, and geographical information. She prayed for each actor before recording.
“A lot of the actors did thorough research. Some even drew a family tree for the part they were going to act, or listened to sermons online,” Uchino recalled. “It is easy for one to disapprove and say, ‘it is being read by a non-believer,’ but it is my hope that the actors’ voices touch people’s hearts.”
The sound effects also play a large part in bringing the Bible to life. Kawabata also recruited a non-Christian sound technician. He used sounds that perfectly fit each scene and situation.
The app has already received positive feedback, and has inspired increased outreach from Christian groups to blind communities. Moon would like to see people gather just like they did in the early church to read and listen to Scripture together.
From Christian Shimbun, October 27, 2019
Translated by Grace Koshino