Description

I injured my knee in Brazil. Since natural healing seemed better than surgery—in addition to my concern for my wife’s condition (note: Urara Kusanagi)—we decided to cancel the tour and return to Japan. It took eight months for it to be healed completely. I worked as a taxi driver during the time I was suspended from performances. I think it was 1996 or 1997. Then Takashi Morishita invited me to an event called “Tatsumi Hijikata ’98” for Hijikata’s thirteen death anniversary. We planned a project comprised of a performance I danced, and a symposium with philosopher Kuniichi Uno and Osamu Nishitani, as it seems that Hijikata was preoccupied with the works of Artaud and Bataille. We also had another symposium about Butoh, where Hidenaga Ohtori and Keisuke Sakurai joined in. They are not experts of Butoh, but we thought a symposium that took place with people who only talked Butoh would be boring. Ohtori had attended my performance, and Sakurai had just published his book Nishi Azabu dance school. I was invited for other opportunity at this time by Sakurai, and also by the Setagaya Public Theater. These opportunities were thanks to Morishita and Sakurai’s efforts.

From his speaking

Murobushi paid homage to his master by dancing in that performance with the use of Hijikata’s recorded voice from “The Compassionate Soul Bird Comes to Unfurl Its Rustling Skeletal Wings” as music (the title was taken from Hijikta’s monologue. It was a vinyl record initially given to people who attended his funeral, subsequently released on CD, and also published as a book).

(Y.O)

translation

Ikuya Odamaki