Tatsumi Hijikata '98 Eve

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	Can Butoh truly transform into a 'minority existence'? Tatsumi Hijikata '98 Eve takaaki kumakura

	presenters of the Eve

	The state of the Eve The 'Tatsumi Hijikata '98 Eve' was held at the East Gallery in Ebisu on January 17, 1998. This year is the 13th year since the death of Hijikata in 1986. Taking this opportunity, this year various events are to take place related to Hijikata and Butoh under the title, 'Tatsumi Hijikata '98'. ('Complete Works of Tatsumi Hijikata' will also be published by Kawade Shobo Shinsha.) For the opening, under the planning of Akaji Maro, the 'Eve' event was held with the participation of many dance organizations and dancers. It started with a queue of dancers from the Ebisu station, which reminded us of the opening of the legendary 'Hijikata Tatsumi to nihonjin - Nikutai no Hanran'(translates as 'Hijikata Tatsumi and the Japanese - Rebellion of the Body') in '68 at the Nippon Seinenkan. It was as if a long-forgotten strange object was brought into 'Tokyo', to the town of Ebisu, one of the representative 'trendy' areas in this city.
	the "rave"
	When the queue arrived at the site, there was something like an altar worshipping Hijikata, in the center of the hall. Under several twirling panels of Hijikata's large photograph, offerings such as rice and vegetables were offered, and dancers started to dance in wavering motion around the altar. There was a huge number of people at the site. People of all ages and sexes were squeezed together in confusion. It was literally full of excitement, like a festival. After the late wife of Hijikata, Akiko Motofuji, spoke the opening words, Suehiro Tanemura, Hijikata's friend and editor of the complete works, and the dancers who gathered that night were introduced one after another on the small stages at the four corners of the hall, and they presented their "butoh". Following that, with the Beatles' music, which is closely related to Hijikata, slides of Hijikata showing his various expressions and gestures were projected on the walls. Then, Hijikata's voice. Like his dance, his voice responding to an interview came directly from the deep pain and impulses of his body, strongly echoing in the space. Then, lastly, there was the reading of the telegrams. Messages from Kazuo Ohno and Susan Sontag. It seems that the finale was planned by Maro, but the excited crowd (even Maro himself eventually leading them) totally ignored it, resulting in a rave-like confusion of musicians and dancers.
	The rediscovery of "something like Butoh" The writer has just written the word 'rave', but as he was in the midst of the scenery, there was something which passed in his mind. Why did the 'underground' culture in the '60's and '70's represented by Butoh, not develop into a different form of culture called 'queer' today? Is that because 'geniuses' such as Hijikata and Terayama had died? It is often stated that Butoh has stalled or has fallen into mannerism. That is certainly not all wrong. However, at the same time, is it not also because the power of 'post-modernization', a social phenomenon of 80's Japan, bleached out culture even to its 'dark' layer? Because of the publishing of 'Complete Works of Tatsumi Hijikata' and the 'Tatsumi Hijikata '98', Butoh may be made into a 'major' phenomenon by mass media. Can Butoh fight against the power of symbolization or 'being turned into a trend' by mass media? While fighting, can it truly transform into a 'minor' existence that can create something new and unique in society? We do not think that repetition of the Butoh 'style' will practice 'what is Butoh-like' (in terms of Hijikata's meaning). Rather, what Hijikata saw and tried to realize in Butoh must be urgently re-questioned to discover whether they can operate within the context of the magnetic field that is present today.
	photos: Asbesto Hall

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