In recent years, there has been increasing interest in dance notation by Butoh founder Hijikata Tatsumi, but research on Butoh’s original period of creativity is still insufficient. This project involved the preservation, development and study of valuable material on dance and Butoh which has been discovered in recent years, with the aim of contributing to research on dance in 1960 and Butoh by Tatsumi Hijikata.
The project uncovered the music manuscript for Tatsumi Hijikata’s 1958 work “HANCHKIKI.” Since no material exists for “HANCHKIKI” apart from the performance brochure and a few photographs of the performance, music is a valuable resource for understanding the work. Tatsumi Hijikata originally had piano and wind instruments in mind for the music, but at the insistence of the arranger, the music ended up being closer to the original Ainu source and featured piano, violin, percussion, baritone, and recitation. The music is full of the power and joy of a work set in the land of the Ainu.
Next, project organizers were able to uncover the rare and short-lived dance criticism and research magazine, “THE 20TH CENTURY DANCE” (volumes 1-3 published in 1960). Mimeographed versions of volumes 1-5 published in 1960 were completely reset and edited/published as a new edition. Offering articles on avant-garde 1960s dance and contemporary music as well as writing by Tatsumi Hijikata in one volume, it has become an indispensable resource for research on Japanese dance. In addition, Tatsumi Hijikata’s performance music and other open reels have been digitized under the project (10 reels in total).