Dear Ms. Yuko Nishikawa
It‘s my pleasure to write to you for the first time. My name is Haruki Uike, I have been living in London for over 10 years, and work in a media company. I am humbled to acknowledge that I have virtually no knowledge or history of appreciating Nihon Buyo and Butoh. In a way I have become a “Gaikoku-jin (foreigner), and yet I dare to write to you because the expressions by you, Nishikawa Sensei and Matsuoka-sama, have struck a deep chord in my heart, across the sea.
A sad and sensuous scandal.
Such phrase floated in my mind as I read the plot of “Kane-no-Misaki”. I wished to find out what went on between the monk and Kiyo-hime. That is why I was motivated to view “Kiyo-hime Confidential” online in London.
In London, I have had opportunities to see Swan Lake by Royal Ballet and a contemporary interpretation by Matthew Bourne. As you well know, Swan Lake is a tragic romance between a princess who has turned into a swan by a curse, and a prince. As English is not my mother tongue, ballet which has no lines, is a free expression without a language barrier. Where there no lines, there are no rules for interpretation either. To me, Kiyo-hime Confidential overlaps with Swan Lake.
However, there are differences between the two pieces. In “Swan Lake”, the princess and the prince are united in heaven, whereas the monk did not accept Kiyo-hime’s love.
“Kane-no-Misaki” is inundated with contradicting emotions, love, hatred, jealousy, sorrow. Unlike a swan, a snake has fangs, is phlegmatic and scary. In “Swan Lake”, the loveliness and tragedy are expressed by graceful and dynamic movements of the limb.
On the other hand, Nishikawa-Sensei, you transformed yourself into a snake, no, something out-of-this-world, with a single fan and movements. Lines and physical expressions were pared down. It appeared mysterious emotions emanated from your gorgeous kimono.
Could “Kiyo-hime” be imaginal sketches of the monk and Kiyo-hime, that is not told in the story? While you and Matsuoka-sama are positioned face to face, your eyes never meet. Both of you appeal to each other through different physical expressions. The two souls who are desperate to convey their feelings are so frustrated, sad and are not meant to be united, but can never be apart; the monk and Kiyo-hime are destined to roam across the other world and this world eternally. Such was how my imaginations were fired up.
I felt free and contemporary possibilities transcending borders, cultures and time, in “Kiyo-hime Confidential” with no spoken lines, like “Swan Lake”.
I look forward to seeing how you and Matsuoka-sama will expand those possibilities.
On an evening with a beautiful moon.
Haruki Uike
(Based in London, in a media service)
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