Hijikata Tatsumi and Butoh: Dancing in a Pool of Gray Grits (Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History)

Presents the performance art 'butoh' as an evolving artistic bodily response to the Japanese society of the 1960s-1980s - a society characterized by conflict and proliferating information. Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 Acknowledgments 14 Notes on Style 16 1. Introduction: And, And, And 17 2. Forbidden Eros and Evading Force: Hijikata’s Early Years 31 3. A Story of Dances that Sustain Enigma: Simultaneous Display and Sale of the Dancers 74 4. Pivoting Panels and Slashing Space: Rebellion and Identity 120 5. My Mother Tied Me on Her Back: Story of Smallpox 152 6. The Possibility Body: Embodying the Other, Negotiating the World 173 7. Metaphorical Miscegenation in Memoirs: Hijikata Tatsumi in the Information Age 199 8. Epilogue: The Emaciated Body in the World 220 Appendix: Original Japanese Names, Terms, and Dance Titles 232 Notes 241 Bibliography 280 Index 293 Hijikata Tatsumi's explosive 1959 debut Forbidden Colors sparked a new genre of performance in Japan - butoh: an art form of contrasts, by turns shocking and serene. Since then, though interest has grown exponentially, and people all over the world are drawn to butoh's ability to enact paradox and contradiction, audiences are less knowledgeable about the contributions and innovations of the founder of butoh. Hijikata Tatsumi and Butoh traces the rollicking history of the creation and initial maturation of butoh, and locates Hijikata's performances within the intellectual, cultural, and economic ferment of Japan from the sixties to the eighties. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction: And, And, And....Pages 1-14 Forbidden Eros and Evading Force: Hijikata’s Early Years....Pages 15-57 A Story of Dances that Sustain Enigma: Simultaneous Display and Sale of the Dancers....Pages 59-104 Pivoting Panels and Slashing Space: Rebellion and Identity....Pages 105-136 My Mother Tied Me on Her Back: Story of Smallpox ....Pages 137-157 The Possibility Body: Embodying the Other, Negotiating the World....Pages 159-184 Metaphorical Miscegenation in Memoirs: Hijikata Tatsumi in the Information Age....Pages 185-205 Epilogue: The Emaciated Body in the World....Pages 207-218 Back Matter....Pages 219-293 Hijikata Tatsumi's explosive 1959 performance Forbidden Colorssparked a new genre of performance in Japan - butoh: an art form of contrasts, by turns shocking and serene. Since then, interest has grown by leaps and bounds, and now people all over the world are drawn to butoh's ability to enact paradox and contradiction. However, knowledge of butoh's founder has lagged behind Hijikata Tatsumi and Butohtraces the rollicking history of the creation and initial maturation of butoh, and locates Hijikata's performances within the intellectual, cultural, and economic ferment of Japan from the sixties to the eighties