Angura is one of my major obsessions. But I had very similar reservations about Eckersall's Performativity and Event in 1960s Japan: City, Body, MemorAngura is one of my major obsessions. But I had very similar reservations about Eckersall's Performativity and Event in 1960s Japan: City, Body, Memory. There's a lot of theorizing and analysis, and less description of the work of these fascinating theatre groups. The first illustration appears on p. 142, and has nothing to do with the performances. I have to read slowly to grasp the (often) dense academic prose, which makes the sprinkling of typo howlers extra-distracting. (The iconic 90s performance group was dubbed "dump type" in one instance, oops.)
The chapters in Part 3, each focusing on one group, with more descriptions of their work, are more interesting for me. (The groups are sometime Terayama collaborator Rio Kishida, Daisan Erotica, dumb type, and Gekidan Kaitaisha.)...more
I like the first two chapters on Zero Jigen and Iimura's butoh cine dance. Maybe Palgrave is too cheap, but with such visual subjects, some photos wouI like the first two chapters on Zero Jigen and Iimura's butoh cine dance. Maybe Palgrave is too cheap, but with such visual subjects, some photos would have been helpful....more
The satirical "Suicide Manual" is pretty good. But you do have to slog through pieces on pachinko, horse-racing (including racehorse sex, no it's not that entertaining), baseball, boxing, gambling etc....more
An encyclopedic reference. If you're associated with certain libraries, you may be able to download a free pdf.
For such a visual medium, this book couAn encyclopedic reference. If you're associated with certain libraries, you may be able to download a free pdf.
For such a visual medium, this book could use more photos/illustrations, of concepts like "inserting the hip".
The 200+ pages of Section 1 covers the pioneers, Hijikata and Ohno. It's great to get a better sense of the cultural context and their influences, though some of the articles are a bit too academic for me (and I'm a huge butoh fan.)
Section 2, covering the 2nd generation, is thankfully a little lighter on theory. The articles on Dairakudakan, Yoko Ashikawa and Ko Murobushi focus more on specific pieces and performances.
Section 3, New sites for butoh, overviews the spread of butoh outside Japan. I appreciate the listings of performers, projects and festivals, but more photos would be nice.
Theory understandably returns in Section 4, Politics, gender and identity. Chiayi Seetoo's "Death Rituals...", about Hata Kanoko's projects in Taiwan that engage with local politics and events, is really fascinating.
I'm really curious about the nuts and bolts, and was looking forward to Section 5, Pedagogy and practice. Caitlin Coker's "The Daily Practice of Hijikata Tatsumi's Apprentices from 1969 to 1978" has a number of jaw-dropping descriptions of the cult-like practices of the day. According to Bishop Yamada:
They woke up at around 8:30 a.m., trained from 10 a.m., and got ready for working as a show dancer from the afternoon, went to the cabaret or club at 5 p.m., performed two or three times between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., returned to Asbestos-kan, trained from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., and then slept from 6 a.m.
And on finances:
All apprentices, both men and women, debuted as show dancers at the cabaret shortly after entering Asbestos-kan (see Figure 42.3). Their performance salary went directly to Hijikata’s wife Motofuji Akiko and was then used for the studio, performances, and their livelihoods. Out of that salary, which ranged from about 10,000 to 20,000 yen (approximately $95 to $191), the apprentices received 500 yen (about $4.80).
I knew about the show dancing, but the financial arrangements, whoa.
Finally, Section 6 Beyond Butoh is a hotchpotch of practice overviews and poetic/personal testimonials. My favorite is Aaron Kerner's "The cinematic forms of butoh films", which includes a filmography with quite a few items that I haven't seen, some of them oddly not referenced in the text, many available online. A selection (kanopy is free for some public library members):
Great selection of Shuji Terayama's posters, and stills from plays and films. Wish I could read the Japanese text...Great selection of Shuji Terayama's posters, and stills from plays and films. Wish I could read the Japanese text......more
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