This sense of dark awe is the sort of veneration that Japanese have toward certain forests and natural objects—in short, it’s an animistic primitive religion. Many places have a “forest that shouldn’t be entered.” Even people who are used to working in the mountains feel there is something there. They are suddenly overcome with fear and it becomes

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Jiro, like Yukio Shakunaga, begins his work at “the source.” He goes to the fish market to find the best tuna; Shakunaga goes to the mountains to find the best porcelain. When they get down to work, both become one with the object they are creating. This unity with the object that they reach in a state of flow takes on special meaning in Japan,

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“ Butoh dance conjures up a universe of the unconscious, the primal, the dark, the grotesque, mud, insects, and death. Performances characteristically show slow and cyclical time dimensions; it is a dance expression that evokes light and growth but also death and decay. Along with the taboos associated with this aspect of existence, there is a... See more