Overview
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Tale of Warazu
Presented as part of the 1st OSAKA DANCE EXPERIENCE, a festival that ran for 6 years from 1995 to 2000 with the aim of re-exploring butoh. The butoh group Kobuzoku Arutai (Altaic), led by Kuritaro, had moved from Hokkaido to Kansai the previous year when Kuritaro moved to Tamba. 'Warazu' means 'straw' in the local Tamba-Sasayama dialect. While working in agriculture and construction, Kuritaro wanted to make a piece themed around peasants and the countryside, and created this work about seeking inner salvation from the inescapable reality of such a life.
- 1st OSAKA DANCE EXPERIENCE: Performance by Kobuzoku Arutai (Altaic)- Performer(s)
- TORII HALL
- Director/Choreographer
- Kuritaro
- Venue
- TORII HALL
- Year performed
- 1995
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Takazashiki
This piece is based on the image of a falconer in northern Japan, and this image in turn comes from when Hijikata Tatsumi brought a live turkey to 'Shiokubi', the opening performance of Hoppo Butoh-ha in Yamagata in 1975. It was kept in the rehearsal hall, where it died. Hijikata changed the entire choreography and Yuki Yuko, who played the role of hawk as well as falconer's wife, recalled that the performance was so driven it was as though Hijikata's spirit had possessed her.
- Bishop Yamada Butoh Performance: Hearse of Four Seasons Part 1 - Spring
- Performer(s)
- Hoppo Butoh-ha
- Director/Choreographer
- Bishop Yamada,Tatsumi Hijikata
- Venue
- Sogetsu Hall
- Year performed
- 1984
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TABULA RASA
Solo dance developed around the theme of "returning to a blank slate", accompanied by a live accordion symbolising breath. First performed in 2005, two versions were then developed in 2006 (one with live music, the other with recorded music) for presentation in Portugal. It was performed again in Tokyo in 2008, then revised for a 2011 performance as a memorial for the Great East Japan Earthquake. The documentation here is from the 2011 version.
2006: Invited by 'a sul' International Contemporary Dance Festival Portugal to perform in Faro and Loulé (Portugal).
-IKUYA SAKURAI DANCE SOLO
- Performer(s)
- Ikuya Sakurai
- Director/Choreographer
- Ikuya Sakurai
- Venue
- plan-B
- Year performed
- 2011
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A Table, or A Dream of Fetus
A group dance piece first performed in 1980 by Kazuo Ohno and some of his students at the same Nancy International Theatre Festival where Ohno had made his international debut. It is thought to have been performed to a select few people after returning from the month-long tour at Ohno's studio in Yokohama, but the date of this performance is unknown.
The cast as listed in the programme for the performance at the Nancy International Theatre Festival is as follows:
Fetus / Horse: Kazuo Ohno
Grim Reaper: Tokuji Ikebe
The Sun: Moritsuna Nakamura and Minoru Hideshima
Madwoman who gives birth to the Sun, mother of the fetus: Mitsuyo Uesugi
- Presumed to have been staged around July 1980.
- Performer(s)
- Kazuo Ohno Dance Studio
- Director/Choreographer
- Kazuo Ohno
- Venue
- Kazuo Ohno Dance Studio
- Year performed
- 1980
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Suzuranto Butoh Event: Mai Mizore
Performance commemorating the publication of 'Suzuranto Shashin-shu: Mai Mai LOVE - Yami-suru Shiroki Maihime-tachi' [Suzuranto Photo Book: Mai Mai LOVE - White Dancers in the Dark] (Published 30 October 1981). Suzuranto was an all-female butoh group led by Yuki Yuko, and was a subset of the Hoppo Butoh-ha group led by Bishop Yamada. The group was named after lily of the valley [Suzuran in Japanese], a beautiful and poisonous plant. Toyotama Garan was the rehearsal space of Dairakudakan in Toyotama, Nerima Ward.
- Performer(s)
- Hoppo Butoh-ha
- Venue
- Dairakudakan Rehearsal Studio Toyotama
- Year performed
- 1981
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Suspicion
Third collaboration between hardcore contemporary dance company Kakuya Ohashi and Dancers and emerging alternative rock band Kukangendai. The piece explores themes of documentation, memory, and rebirth, with the dancers wandering in search of memories in the fading light. The title is taken from Alfred Hitchcock's film "Suspicion".
-Kazuo Ohno Festival 2012
- Performer(s)
- Kazuo Ohno Dance Studio
- Director/Choreographer
- Kakuya Ohashi
- Venue
- BankART Studio NYK
- Year performed
- 2012
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SUSABI [S’amuser]
Premiered in Paris, 1989. 'S'amuser' (Susabi in Japanese), means 'play'. It is a part of the dance series 'Shozoku wa Mizu' [Costume is Water] which embodies the structure of self-love expressed in 'Awahi' from the same series, based on the Noh play 'Izutsu'. The beauty and dangers of love are expressed through a dance performed on top of a 1m² x 6mm glass sheet balanced on 5-6 cups filled 70% with water. During the performance in Paris, there was an incident where the dancer broke through the glass sheet, which later became a theme in Masaki Iwana's fourth feature film 'Charlotte-Susabi' (2017).
-Masaki Iwana Solo Butoh Dance- Performer(s)
- Studio 200
- Director/Choreographer
- Masaki Iwana
- Venue
- Studio 200
- Year performed
- 1989
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Survivor
Solo dance piece inspired by Melchior Lengyel's play "The Miraculous Mandarin", which explores the boundaries between sexuality, life and death, reality and fiction, and the sacred and the profane. Electronic sounds are transmitted from the stage throughout the performance. It was presented as part of the 4th Theater X International Dance Festival in 2000.
-Sakurai Ikuya Dance Performance
-The 4th Theater X International Dance Festival 2000
- Performer(s)
- Ikuya Sakurai
- Director/Choreographer
- Ikuya Sakurai
- Venue
- THEATER X
- Year performed
- 2000
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The Sun’s Kiss
A youth calls out to the sun as it bathes all things in light, making them shine, and sinks while dyeing the clouds of the western sky gold. This work premiered in 1968. Having been taught by her father that “nature is the teacher of art,” Mieko Fuji had always loved the sun; yet in the 1960s, amid the vexations of the human world, she sought themes in the cosmos. It was during this period that she rediscovered the theme of the sun, presenting the large-scale work “Breeze From the Sun” in 1966. In 1968, she also began the joint performance “Children of the Sun Dance Recital,” involving her students and their pupils’ children, centered on the idea that “dance is for everyone.”
- Music: Art Blaky
- Due to the deterioration of the half-inch magnetic tape on which the footage was recorded, the image quality is poor.
- Performer(s)
- Mieko Fuji Dance Company
- Director/Choreographer
- Mieko Fuji
- Venue
- National Theatre of Japan : Small Theatre
- Year performed
- 1968
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The Sun God’s Temptation
Performance documentation of Kumano Spark (Kumano International Art Festival) for which Byakko-sha's founder, Isamu Osuka, served as artistic director. Featuring percussionist Dou Dou N'diaye Rose from Senegal, Indian dancer Shakti, modern dancers from the Kuniko Kawakami Dance Studio, and the all-female Japanese drum group HONO-O-DAIKO, the piece brings Osuka's vision of Kumano as a platform for international arts to life, highlighting its unique geography and rich ancient culture. Produced exclusively for the festival, this work was directed by Osuka.
The Kumano International Art Festival was held as part of the World Resort Expo.
-Bentenjima Marine Open Air Theatre
-Kumano Spark: Kumano International Art Festival
- Performer(s)
- Byakko-sha
- Director/Choreographer
- Isamu Osuka
- Venue
- Bentenjima Marine Open Air Theatre
- Year performed
- 1993
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The Summer I Danced in Busan – Strange Dance
A documentary following Shoichi Fukushi's participation in the Busan International Seaside Dance Festival in summer 1997. In addition to an interview in which Fukushi discusses his own philosophy on dance, the programme highlights other aspects of his work through conversations with butoh dancer Shigeya Mori and folklorist Norio Akasaka, both of whom have had a strong influence on him. It also includes a discussion with Teruko Fukushi, who works alongside him. The documentary showcases Fukushi’s unique approach to dance as he improvises in the markets and on the beaches of Busan, joining strangers and creating emotional exchanges in each moment, revealing the true essence of his style of work.
- Performer(s)
- Shoichi Fukushi
- Director/Choreographer
- Shoichi Fukushi
- Venue
- Busan
- Year performed
- 1997
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SUKANPO
Fourth performance of "Masahide Omori Butoh: Ammonite Claws". Born in a mining town in Hokkaido, Omori recalls eating "sukanpo" (Japanese knotweed) that grew in clusters in the fields during his childhood. In this work, he seeks to discover a body that, while always present, remains useless and unnamed. Jokyo Gekijo [Situation Theatre] actor Goro Tenjiku, and Tokikei - a performer from Tatsumi Hijikata's "Twenty-Seven Nights for Four Seasons" - make unplanned appearances on stage. Near the end, actress Aoi Nakajima calls out "Omori-san, you're doing great". After the performance, Kazuo Ohno, Tatsumi Hijikata, Nario Goda, Kazuo Nagao, Nobuo Ikemiya, Jean Kalman and others can be seen in the audience. The footage captures the atmosphere of butoh performances of that time.
- Performer(s)
- Terpsichore
- Director/Choreographer
- Masahide Omori
- Venue
- Terpsichore
- Year performed
- 1984
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Suitei-Koji
Numerous stories rise, are expelled, and are swallowed up by the Swamp of Memories. In what appears as an ambiguous boundary between land and water, a feast of female butoh unfolds.
- Performer(s)
- Butoh-sha Tenkei
- Director/Choreographer
- Mutsuko Tanaka
- Venue
- Terpsichore
- Year performed
- 2019
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Strange loneliness
A woman and a girl meet and lie on two trees, as if they are doubles. They sleep, exchange words, and expand their imaginations of the outside world. Where is this? A voice they hear reminds them of time. The play between these two lonely yet fulfilled individuals nurtures their fundamental trust, while opening doors to the world.
- Setsuko Yamada Dance Performance
- Performer(s)
- Setsuko Yamada
- Director/Choreographer
- Setsuko Yamada
- Venue
- Spiral Hall
- Year performed
- 2005
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A Strange Hotel
The final piece from the 'THE MUSIC POTLATCH' series, which began in March 1985 and was held at Shibuya Jean-Jean. It is the only piece in the series in which Anzu Furukawa performed with Japanese music. The lively exchanges between Furukawa and Yasosuke Kineya, the "Japanese Paco de Lucia", have the audience laughing out loud.
The entire performance takes place at a "Strange Hotel", which is based on the house of a demon from the nagauta song "Adachigahara".
Act 1: Happy New Year ("Sanbaso" [New Year celebratory performance])
Act 2: The Room Next Door (Yasosuke-Anzu Battle of Talents)
Act 3: The Secret of the Hotel ("Adachigahara" - the complete nagauta song)
- Performer(s)
- Anzu Furukawa
- Director/Choreographer
- Anzu Furukawa
- Venue
- Jean-Jean
- Year performed
- 1986
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The Strange Dreaming Being (Welwitschia)
This abstract work is inspired by Welwitschia mirabilis, a plant that lives for a thousand years in the deserts of Namibia, feeding only on sea mist and growing with only two leaves. Welwitschia, slumbering in a harsh environment, is born from a flower in a dream and plays inside a cosmic egg, then wanders in the deep jungle, carries fire and water, and longs for the lives that have passed by.
- Performer(s)
- Performance Troupe TAIHEN
- Director/Choreographer
- Manri Kim
- Venue
- AI Hall (Itami City Theater Hall)
- Year performed
- 1992
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The Story of Sun and Moon (rehearsal)
The Story of Sun and Moon' is a tale of light and shadow. It is also a story of a man's 'torn soul' as he searches through a labyrinth of light and shadow. The 'shadows', which at times turn into demi-gods and at times into kannon [goddess of Mercy], invite him to open several doors. Another self walks from the bottom of the water mirror. Rituals of death and rebirth in a labyrinth of expansion and contraction. A dream that regresses. The body of the dream is caught up in a spiral vortex...
- Footage of a full-length rehearsal from a residency in Hinohara village in December 1992.
- The performance took place at the Seed Hall in Tokyo from 22 January 1993 - 26 January 1993.
- Performer(s)
- Yukio Waguri + Kozensha
- Director/Choreographer
- Yukio Waguri
- Venue
- Hinohara village
- Year performed
- 1993
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Step into the Night, Odette
In March 1998, butoh dancer Ippei Yamada (aka Bishop Yamada) stayed in Kyiv and choreographed "Dark Wings" for the National Shevchenko Theater Ballet Group, which was performed at the National Opera of Ukraine. It was the first time these ballet dancers, including Anna Kouschneryova, a national star in Ukraine at the time, had ever encountered butoh. This work is a remake of "Dark Wings", performed in Tokyo with mostly the same cast under the new title "Step into the Night, Odette".
- Performer(s)
- Hoppo Butoh-ha
- Director/Choreographer
- Ippei Yamada
- Venue
- Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre
- Year performed
- 1998
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Standing
A solo piece exploring the speed and accents of movement through repetition.
- Performer(s)
- Bonjin Atsugi
- Director/Choreographer
- Bonjin Atsugi
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The Standing Sticks: May Only I Live Long
Director Yasunori Ikunishi turns two texts by Tatsumi Hijikata - "Yameru Maihime" and "The Compassionate Soul Bird Comes To Unfurl Its Rustling Skeletal Wings" - into a theatrical performance. The words of Hijikata, uttered by two performers who barely move, mix with silence and the sound of trains, reverberating round the underground space. Within, the bodies tremble, and their fluctuations are imparted to the viewers, creating a different experience and story for each. These "fluctuations" are carefully picked out through video and sound by Yasunori Kakegawa.
Texts: From 'Yameru Maihime' and 'The Compassionate Soul Bird Comes To Unfurl Its Rustling Skeletal Wings' by Tatsumi Hijikata
-Tokyo Real Underground (Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL Special 13): 1 April - 15 August 2021
-Takao Kawaguchi Selection: Un Certain Regard
- Performer(s)
- NPO Dance Archive Network
- Director/Choreographer
- Yasunori Ikunishi
- Venue
- Filmed at Former Hakubutsukan Dobutsuen Station [Museum Zoo Station]
- Year performed
- 2021
