Introduction: Hijikata Tatsumi: The Words of Butoh

Abstract

For the first time in English, we present many of Hijikata's aesthetic and poetic texts. These texts are put into context by Kurihara Nanako's introductory essay. The section includes an interview with Hijikata and a conversation between Hijikata and Japanese experimental theatre innovator Suzuki Tadashi. Hijikata Tatsumi died in 1986, but his impact on Japanese and world performance remains strong. One of the founders of butoh, Hijikata's dances were “blistering images of emaciation and death”, yet beautiful.