Genya and the World of Suodori*
The word Buyo (dance), which we all use nowadays, was not coined until the modern era. In the Edo period, the dances that were widely performed in Kabuki theaters were called Shosagoto. Shosagoto is said to be composed of three elements: mai, odori, and furi. Furi is about gestures, and its meaning is close to the word shosa in shosagoto. The word shosa refers to concrete things and actions, while mai (still dance) and odori (dance with movement) are abstract expressions. Since the modern era, Japanese dance has expanded its world to include abstract expressions, and it has certainly developed into something that is difficult to call shosagoto.
In classical ballet, there is also a method of expression called mime. In mime, the characters converse with each other using a certain set of gestures. I personally like the classical taste of mime, but in modern times, it seems to be considered a rather old-fashioned way of expression, and is often converted into dance when it is rechoreographed.
When I saw your performance of Genya, the prop that was made of many fans layered together caught my attention. I thought it must be implying something, but depending on the viewer it can also appear to be something different. There was a gesture that looked like you were shaking off something that was clinging onto you, but it wasn’t a concrete gesture. You seemed to be shaking off something invisible, but what you were shaking off is left up to how the viewer sees it. I’m quite certain that title of the work, Genya (Wilderness) must also symbolize a type of emotional landscape.
Such expression may seem to be very unkind to the viewer, but it’s actually a common technique used in Eastern artistic expression. The viewer’s imagination is actually stimulated when the expression is spared. The imagination is aroused, and the beauty, taste, and emotion of the work is created by imagining what is not expressed. It’s an expression that is common to paintings that leave blank spaces or do not use colors, as well as short poem style literature such as tanka and haiku.
The Noh master Zeami famously said, “Keep it hidden, and the flower shall bloom” – in other words, less is more. There is also a performance style called Hakama Noh, in which expressions are kept even more secret. In Suodori, a style of dance in Nihon buyo, characters are not portrayed specifically. This gives freedom to the audience to imagine what they cannot see. It may be unkind to them, but the world that is expressed on stage has no limits, and is bountiful. Furthermore, it’s almost like a modern abstract expression, but can perhaps be said that it is actually an expression that link to traditional artistic expression.
Toshihiro Nakagawa
Professor, Musashino Academia Musicae
*Suodori is a style of Japanese dance that keeps the dancer’s costumes, props, and hair-and-makeup minimal, in order to emphasize the dancer’s physical technique and interpretation of the piece.
Dear Professor Nakagawa,
Thank you very much for your letter.
As I read your letter and thought about Suodori, two works by Hasegawa Tohaku – the Azuchi-Momoyama period painter – popped into mind. The “Maple Trees,” a gorgeous gold mural painted with great precision, and “Pine Trees,” a painting whose blank space allows the viewer to feel the air and humidity. Both paintings are Tohaku’s masterpieces and national treasures, but two opposite worlds were portrayed by a single painter. For Nihon Buyo dancers too, there are two opposite styles of dance – the gorgeous Kabuki dance expression, and bare dance, which is devoid of ornaments and focuses on emotional expression.
When I was young, I told my master that I wanted to dance her masterpiece Genya someday, which represents modern Suodori . Her answer was, “First, study the big classical works of Nishikawa-ryu. If you don’t have any of the basic elements required to be a performer (the heart to dance, physical dance technique, and understanding of the piece) and yet strip things off, what will be left?”. And now that I have danced and choreographed classical dance pieces, her words have become very clear to me. It is when I examine myself as a dancer, and develop a deep understanding and rich feeling for the pieces, that I can strip off the extra and the clarify the theme of the piece… It’s indeed a time-consuming process.
As you mention, I also feel that there is a lot of potential in Suodori. I plan on continuing to study it my entire life, so that I can dance better Suodori and create better pieces.
Yuko Nishikawa