While I was sitting on the red cushion, just a few centimeters in front of the stage, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
I must confess that this form of dance was completely new to me, even though I have danced all my life. A little mysterious, you could say.
I am talking about Butoh, a Japanese dance form. This form of artistic expression is mystical, physically demanding, and magnetic.
[**image**](https://solkes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1602_03-2-1.jpg)
*Nicolás Chamás Türk © Solkes*
It seemed strange to me, although not entirely impossible, that this form of dance was relatively unknown in Japan itself.
Yet the world lies at the feet of its choreographers and dancers. And rightly so. This is the dance of the dark soul of the post-Hiroshima era.
Butoh Dance: An Expression Born After Hiroshima
In case people have forgotten: in August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of [**Hiroshima and Nagasaki.**](https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki) These two attacks claimed the lives of at least 129,000 people.
[**image**](https://solkes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1602_01-2-1.jpg)
*Nicolás Chamás Türk © Solkes*
More precisely, a uranium gun-type atomic bomb called “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6. Just three days later, Nagasaki was hit by “Fat Man,” a plutonium bomb.
Little Boy exploded approximately 2,000 feet above Hiroshima. The blast had an explosive force equivalent to between 12,000 and 15,000 tons of TNT and destroyed an area of about five square miles of the city.
During the first two to four months after the attacks, the effects of the bombings were so devastating that between 90,000 and 166,000 people died in Hiroshima and between 39,000 and 80,000 in Nagasaki. This means that half of the deaths in both cities occurred on the first day.
As expected, many people died in the following months from burns, radiation sickness, other injuries, and malnutrition. Needless to say, the world, and Japan in particular, would never be the same again.
### **Butoh Is Life**
– Yukio Waguri –
Something in our humanity—or in its absence—changed on that fateful day. Butoh, this dark dance, is a public act of symbolic transformation. Everything begins with the search for a new body, a post-war body.
In the early days of Butoh, the [**Japanese streets**](https://www.japan-guide.com/) were marked by burned bodies and survivors. Pain, suffering, and the inability to understand why all of this had happened were part of everyday life.
Some of the characteristic elements of this form of artistic expression include both playful and disturbing imagery, as well as the use of white makeup.
In Butoh, strange as it may sound, there are no boundaries. There are no extremes either. It is infinite. It will always continue.
The idea is that people do not move themselves. Rather, there is a force that moves, pushes, and pulls them.
Tatsumi Hijikata and the Origins of Butoh Dance
BUTOH was developed by Tatsumi Hijikata. Hijikata believed that a body should not be pushed forward. Instead, the body should be pulled and pushed inward.
Hijikata was a teenager when the bombs fell on his beloved country. Yet his art was not an art against war.
[**image**](https://solkes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1602_04-1-1.jpg)
*Photo: Nicolás Chamás Türk © Solkes*
He became a dancer and choreographer while his country lay in ruins. It was a time when all structures and preconceived ideas could be reinvented. A time when change could only move forward. There was no turning back.
Of course, these two attacks shaped both his life and his dance.
Although the bombings deeply affected him, it is important to understand that his choreographies were not a direct result of the war or the bombings.
Rather, it is more accurate to say that these events served as sources of inspiration. They helped him develop revolutionary, intense, profound, and universal ideas.
It is also fascinating to see how each of Hijikata’s students developed a different approach to dance. This was a direct result of Hijikata continuously changing his teaching methods.
Yukio Waguri and the Evolution of Butoh Dance
After his death, the methodology of Butoh remained largely unknown until Yukio Waguri came along. He developed as a dancer under Hijikata’s choreography. His style often uses highly elaborate visualizations that can be extremely mimetic, theatrical, and expressive.
Waguri made sure that the world became aware of the essence of Butoh. In this dance, what is expressed is perceived as the final visible result. It should therefore not be something a dancer consciously tries to display. Instead, dancers must absorb the choreography in order to make the desired result visible.
Thanks to Waguri, it is possible to learn about and study Butoh-Fu. However, Butoh-Fu is only one part of Butoh, not the entire concept. Butoh has a second founder. His name is Kazuo Ohno. Ohno’s Butoh style is fundamentally different from Hijikata’s.
It is very important to understand that Butoh-Fu was Hijikata’s final creation, and he never completed it. After his death, Waguri reconstructed his method. He was able to do so based on Hijikata’s teachings and notes.
Butoh Dance and the Legends of Tono
There are many ghosts in Japan. Yet not all of them are evil. Ghosts are everywhere. **They are full of vital energy and move like the wind.** When you observe these ghosts from a distance and look at the space surrounding them, you get the feeling that they become one with the landscape.
[**image**](https://solkes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1602_05-1-1.jpg)
*Nicolás Chamás Türk © Solkes*
**“The Legends of Tono”** is a unique choreography that highlights Japan’s supernatural culture. It tells true stories and legends from the mountainous regions of Japan. The piece consists of nine scenes. Its central idea is to show how supernatural beings cross over into our world.
The piece is performed according to the poetic choreographic notation of “Butoh-Fu.” It is important to understand that Butoh-Fu was passed down orally by Tatsumi Hijikata. Each word in this notation has its own choreographic meaning and serves as a basis for interpretation.
This remarkable choreography was created by dancer Macoto Inagawa/4 RUDE in collaboration with second-generation dancer Yukio Waguri. Second-generation dancers are those who learned directly from Tatsumi Hijikata.
Waguri is an artist who remains true to his dance style while constantly evolving. After dancing for several years, he stepped away from the stage. Later, he returned to performing.
I began asking many questions. I was simply curious.
**L.V.A.:** How did you become a Butoh-Fu dancer?
**Waguri:** I had only one teacher. But then I left him and later returned.
**L.V.A.:** Why did you return?
**Waguri:** It is my destiny. I have a responsibility.
**L.V.A.:** Responsibility to whom?
**Waguri:** Responsibility to myself.
[**image**](https://solkes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1602_06-1-1.jpg)
*Nicolás Chamás Türk © Solkes*
As I spoke with this legend of dance, I began to realize that throughout our lives, we make certain discoveries about ourselves. Discoveries about our essence… Perhaps they do not provide all the answers. Yet some things become clear.
### **Butoh-Fu: Die Sprache des Butoh-Tanzes**
Oft wird gesagt, dass Butoh-Fu-Texte poetisch klingen. Tatsächlich steht jedes Wort für eine bestimmte Tanzform, eine Bewegung und eine bestimmte Beziehung zwischen Körper und Raum.
Ja, Butoh-Fu klingt wie Poesie. Doch eigentlich ist es eine „körperliche Sprache“, die die Bewegung eines Tänzers und seine Beziehung zum Raum beschreibt.
„Man tanzt mit den Worten, und dafür braucht man viel Verständnis. Wenn ich zum Beispiel sage, dass du eine Blume bist … welche Art von Blume? Eine Rose, eine weiße Blume, eine dunkle Blume, eine Tulpe? Es gibt also viele Ebenen. Es ist sehr präzise … Du musst darüber nachdenken: Wie viele Blütenblätter hat sie? Welche Jahreszeit ist es? Welche Farbe hat sie? Wie bewegt sie sich im Wind?“, erklärt mir Yukio Waguri.
Wie ich gelernt habe, deutet jedes Wort auf eine bestimmte Bewegung, einen Zustand oder eine Vorstellung hin, die ein Bild des Tanzes entstehen lässt. Mit anderen Worten: Es ist eine Art Symbol, das es Choreografen und Tänzern ermöglicht, ein gemeinsames Bild und eine gemeinsame Bewegung zu entwickeln.
**L.V.A.:** Die Choreografie wirkt frei. Ist sie das?
**Waguri:** Ja. Es ist gut, dass dieser Eindruck entsteht. Der Tänzer ist das Instrument, um die Choreografie sichtbar zu machen. Die Choreografie ist präzise, aber du hast gedacht, dass sie improvisiert war. Dann ist das gut.
Eine Möglichkeit, Butoh-Fu zu erklären, besteht darin, alles in der Natur einzubeziehen: eine Blume, eine Biene, die Sonne, den Wind – einfach alles.
Genau deshalb werden Worte verwendet, um unterschiedlichste körperliche Bilder und Bewegungen hervorzurufen. BUTOH-FU ist eine Methode, die uns bewusst macht, wie wir unseren eigenen Körper wahrnehmen.
Die mysteriösen Worte des Butoh-Fu führen die Leser in eine Welt der Vorstellungskraft im Körper. Sie erreichen eine Ebene, die tiefer liegt als die Bewegungen, die wir normalerweise zum Gehen und Sprechen verwenden.
[**image**](https://solkes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1602_08-1.jpg)
*Nicolás Chamás Türk © Solkes*
Butoh-Fu verlangt von den Tänzern eine sehr präzise technische Herangehensweise und ein außergewöhnliches Maß an Konzentration. Es ist sowohl körperlich als auch mental äußerst anspruchsvoll.
Eine Erfahrung der Transformation
Butoh ist tiefgründig. Es befindet sich in einem kontinuierlichen Prozess der Entwicklung und Veränderung.
Das ist einer der Gründe, warum der dunkle Tanz der Seele so faszinierend ist. Die Vielfalt der Tänzer und Formen des Butoh ist grenzenlos.
Ich bekenne mich als absoluter Fan. Der Körper soll mehr können und sich auf eine andere, ungewöhnliche Weise bewegen.
Die Worte können als Mittel verstanden werden, um diese Bewegungen zu imaginieren und wahrzunehmen. Es ist, als würde man mit dem Körper zeichnen. Wir sind die Leinwand und die Farben.
Dieser Tanz sagt alles. Er geht über unser alltägliches Verständnis von Bewegung hinaus. Er verändert auch die Art und Weise, wie wir mit Bewegung und unserem eigenen Körper umgehen.
Wie Waguri mir sagte: „Butoh ist Leben“ …
