慶應義塾大学アート・センター　Keio University Art Center

Introduction to Art Archive XXVIII: In the Shadows: The Obscure World of Tatsumi Hijikata’s Choreography　Introduction to Art Archive XXVIII

Even though Tatsumi Hijikata’s career in Butoh lasted less than thirty years, it is nevertheless difficult to fully grasp the entirety of his work since Forbidden Colors in 1959. Within this complex legacy, it is clear that Hijikata made a conscious choice to push the boundaries of his Butoh performances after 1970. While the 1960s was one of the peaks of the Butoh Movement, Hijikata went his separate way from those who had also played key roles in this time, intent upon creating yet newer forms of Butoh.
While Hijikata himself was taken aback when he left the stage in 1973, he went on to develop the “Butoh Score” as a method of choreographing Butoh. This exhibition traces movements born of ghosts and shadows, drawing on new international perspectives and experimental approaches to moving images to present and reconsider Tatsumi Hijikata’s method, grounded in his Butoh scores. The exhibition will provide a half-century overview of Hijikata's creative activities since 1976 and will introduce two works in particular: Saga Kobayashi’s 1977 performance of Bitter Light, and Momoko Nimura’s 1978 performance of The First Flower that commemorated the establishment of the Matsudai Annex at Asbestos Studio.
 

Tatsumi Hijikata "Script sheet"
Courtesy of Keio University Art Center and Butoh Laboratory, Japan

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Date

January 19 (Mon) – March 14 (Sat), 2026
11:00 – 18:00

Closed: Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
Temporary openings: January 31 (Sat), March 14 (Sat)
Temporary closures: February 2 (Mon), March 9 (Mon)
*Schedule is subject to change without notice.

Venue

Art Space, Keio University Art Center (KUAC)
(1F Keio University Mita Campus South Annex)

Audience

Everyone welcome

Cost

Admission Free

Enquiries and bookings

Keio University Art Center
2-15-45, Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8345, Japan
TEL +81-3-5427-1621

Exhibition［Introduction to Art Archive XXVIII］

Date

January 19 (Mon) – March 14 (Sat), 2026
11:00 – 18:00

Closed: Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
Temporary openings: January 31 (Sat), March 14 (Sat)
Temporary closures: February 2 (Mon), March 9 (Mon)
*Schedule is subject to change without notice.

Venue

Keio University Art Center
(1F Keio University Mita Campus South Annex, Keio University Art Space)
2-15-45, Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8345

JR: Tamachi station on Yamanote and KeihinTohoku Line
Subway: Mita station on Mita and Asakusa Line, Akabanebashi station on Oedo Line

Audience

Everyone welcome

Cost

Admission Free

Related events

The 40th Anniversary of Hijikata Tatsumi’s Death: Talking together about Hijikata Tatsumi

Date and Time: Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 6:00 PM
Venue: Global Research Lab (G-Lab), 6F East Research Building, Mita Campus, Keio University (“13” on the campus map)

For more information, please see this page.

Screenings of Tatsumi Hijikata’s Choreography from the Late 1970s

We will be holding screenings of select Hijikata productions from the late 1970s.
Please join us for this rare occasion to view the 1977 and 1978 performances below from the Video Information Center Collection*.

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2026
Venue: Global Research Lab (G-Lab), 6F East Research Building, Mita Campus, Keio University (“13” on the campus map)
Time: 18:00〜20:00 Screening of Butoh Performance by Nimura Momoko: Celebrating the Establishment of Asbestos Hall's Matsushiro Branch 〈First Flower〉 (Saisho no Hana, 1978) Performers: Momoko Nimura, Moe Yamamoto

Date：Saturday, March 14, 2026
Venue: Global Research Lab (G-Lab), 6F East Research Building, Mita Campus, Keio University (“13” on the campus map)
Time: 16:30〜18:10 Screening of Butoh Performance by Kobayashi Saga 〈Bitter Light〉 (Nigai Hikari, 1977) Performers: Saga Kobayashi, Yukio Waguri, et al.
          18:15〜19:00 "Introduction to Butoh Scores"  Dr. Rosa van Hensbergen（KUAC Visiting Committee Members, Yale University）

*VIC (Video Information Center, 1972-present) is a movement that recorded various events to produce experimental television broadcasts, such as the 1978 ‘Paravision Ten’ CATV broadcast.
*The documentary screening will not be streamed online.

Enquiries and bookings

Keio University Art Center
2-15-45, Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8345, Japan
TEL +81-3-5427-1621

Organiser(s)

Host: Keio University Art Center
Organizer: Keio University Art Center Tatsumi Hijikata Archive, Portfolio Butoh
Cooperation: Tatsumi Hijikata Asbestos Hall, Butoh Laboratory, Japan, Dr. Rosa van Hensbergen (Yale University) and Shuta Shimmyo (Tokyo University of the Arts, Cable Studio)
Supported by the Kao Foundation for Arts and Sciences

Grant: Support Program to Promote Archives of Media Arts FY2025: Digitizing and Cataloging of Performance and Exhibition Video Records from the post-1970s III / FY2025 Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) : Movement Archive – International Cooperation of Creative Use of Archives (25K03758)

Visitor Information

The Keio University Art Space is a small exhibition room. If you wish to schedule a group of 15 or more people for a student field trip or other group, please contact the Art Center in advance. We will prepare leaflets and other material to make sure that your visit goes as smoothly as possible. We also ask that everyone in your group take care not to distract or inconvenience other visitors while at the exhibition. You will need to coordinate with the Art Center in advance if you plan to conduct a class or other activities for a field trip in the Keio University Art Space. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

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