The Routledge Companion to Butoh Performance

by Bruce Baird (Editor), Rosemary Candelario (Editor)

The Routledge Companion to Butoh Performance provides a comprehensive introduction to and analysis of the global art form butoh. Originating in Japan in the 1960s, butoh was a major innovation in twentieth century dance and performance, and it continues to shape-shift around the world. Taking inspiration from the Japanese avant-garde, Surrealism, Happenings, and authors such as Genet and Artaud, its influence can be seen throughout contemporary performing arts, music, and visual art practices. This Companion places the form in historical context, documents its development in Japan and its spread around the world, and brings together the theory and the practice of this compelling dance. The interdisciplinarity evident in the volume reflects the depth and the breadth of butoh, and the editors bring specially commissioned essays by leading scholars and dancers together with translations of important early texts.

588 pages, Paperback

Published June 30, 2020

Reviews

[Bill Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 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):

Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis:
https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/100725

Butoh: Piercing the Mask
https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/41896

Wargames (dir. Donald Richie):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=judBL...

Himiko:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKTmD...

Summer Storm (w. Hijikata):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEM9S...

[Mills College Library]

792.80952 R8696 2019