Moving to Japan

on the road again

As many of you will know, I have a bit of an obsession with Japanese philosophies. As a distant onlooker, my current understanding of Japanese thought comes through the translated, condensed versions of the words - in English.

Some of the following are my favourites…

IKIGAI 生

This blends two words: “iki” meaning “to live,” and “gai” meaning “reason,” which translates to “a reason to live.” It's a concept that encourages people to discover what truly matters to them and to live a life filled with purpose and joy.

WA 和

This refers to relational space. WA is a Japanese cultural concept usually translated into English as "harmony". It implies a peaceful unity and conformity within a social group in which members prefer the continuation of a harmonious community over their personal interests.

During my Masters, I performed a few times with art partner in crime, Eleanor Cox, exploring notions of WA. Having been isolated in person due to the lockdown, these performances sought to explore what that physical ‘space between’ felt like, when we were able to be once more in each other’s company. We performed on the beach, in a church and outside the Turner Contemporary as part of POW Festival.

WA - 和 Whitstable < (watch here)

MA 間

The symbol for MA signifies 'gap, space, pause'.

It is often used to refer to what is claimed to be a specific Japanese concept of negative space.

This notion of MA is something that keeps returning to me; it is that spaciousness; that void. It is the need for nothingness, in order to function fully in other ways. An example is how a cup requires the empty space within it in order for you to fill it and sip from it; if there was no empty space, it would not function at all.

Here’s another little piece I did, in relation to MA. The sound is important.

BUTOH 舞踏

As my practice looks at the body in varying spaces, it makes sense for me to lean towards dance performance. Butoh originated in Japan with a performance called Kinjiki by Tatsumi Hijikata in 1959.The two Kanji characters that form Butoh (舞踏) translate to dance and step, although it was originally called ankoku butoh (暗黒舞踏), 'dance of darkness’. Its primary purpose is a rejection of perfected dance poses; each movement seeks to bring the perpetrator closer to their intuition, their body, and lean into imperfection. Early days of research, but I utterly recommend a read of this article by Frances Barbe.

SO!

With this hunger and desire to better my art practice and understanding of Japanese culture, I’m packing my bags indefinitely. Let me know if you’d like a postcard.

Onweirds!