Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Wakayama Art Museum, this exhibition sheds light on Kazuo Ohno’s day-to-day life. As well as being a devout Christian from the pre-war days, Ohno was a PE teacher at the Yokohama Baptist Mission School for many decades. And while his dance was admired throughout the world, Ohno himself constantly placed great value on everyday life. Focusing on his Butoh, his deep faith, and his life, this exhibition seeks to tap into the innermost “Kazuo Ohno” with the help of unpublished materials, snapshots, videos, testimonies by relatives, and so on.
Dates & Time :
Friday 28 Sept. thru Saturday 8 Dec., 2018. 13:00-17:00 (till 19:00 on Fridays)
Closed on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays
Venue :
Wakayama Art Museum-Media Art Gallery (Ginza, Tokyo)
→ Wakayama Art Museum Website
Admission fee :
500 yen. Free for junior high school students and under.
Produced by Wakayama Museum
Co-produced by NPO Dance Archive Network
In collaboration with Kazuo Ohno Dance Studio
projects
The Kazuo Ohno exhibition “Daily Bread” : the life of the Butoh dancer who passed away at the age of 103
Is this Dance? “Kazuo Ohno” is still among us.
Kazuo Ohno
Born in Hakodate, Hokkaido in 1906. While he worked as a PE instructor at the Soshin Baptist Girls School in Yokohama, Kazuo Ohno learned modern dance under Baku Ishii and Takaya Eguchi. Due to the Pacific War, he had to break away from dance for the war years, but on his return he became active as a modern dancer. In the 1960s he seeked for his own expression while working together with Tatsumi Hijikata. In 1977, Ohno presented solo performance “Admiring La Argentina,” dedicated to his muse whose Spanish dance he watched half a century ago. With the same piece he made his European debut at the 14th Nancy International Theater Festival in 1980, which made a big impact on dance community worldwide. Since then he performed all around the world and made “Butoh” well-known. He continued his dance only with his arms and hand with passion even after he had difficulty walking by himself. He passed away in 2010 at the age of 103.
Access to the venue
Wakayama Art Museum-Media Art Gallery
Kunimitsu Building 4,5F. 2-11-19 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
2 minutes’ walk from Exit 11 of Ginza 1cho-me Station on Tokyo Metro Yurakucho line
→ Access・Map