Min Tanaka and Kohei Nawa's 'From the Edge' Performance Explores Buddhist Impermanence in Yamanashi
On January 10 and 11, the Yamanashi Prefectural Citizen's Culture Hall in Japan hosted 'From the Edge,' showcasing dancer Min Tanaka alongside artist Kohei Nawa. Their artistic partnership originated in 1994 at Tanaka's Art Camp Hakushu. Now in his late seventies, Tanaka gained fame during the 1970s for his innovative dance style. In 1985, he established a farm in Hakushu, which led to the inception of a summer festival by 1988. Nawa acknowledges the camp's significant impact on his sculptural techniques. The performance, titled '彼岸より' (higan-yori), drew inspiration from Buddhist themes and Kamo no Chōmei's 1212 work 'Hōjōki,' exploring life and death through striking imagery, including a glass-beaded vulture and a chaotic soundscape by Marihiko Hara.
Key facts
- Performance 'From the Edge' occurred on January 10 and 11 in Yamanashi, Japan
- Collaborators Min Tanaka and Kohei Nawa have known each other for three decades
- Tanaka started as a dancer in the early 1970s, known for avant-garde experiments
- Tanaka established a farm in Hakushu, Yamanashi in 1985 for sustainability and movement development
- Art Camp Hakushu began in 1988 as Japan's first outdoor art festival
- Kohei Nawa volunteered at Art Camp Hakushu in 1994 as an art student
- Japanese title '彼岸より' references Buddhist concepts of the afterlife
- Performance inspired by Kamo no Chōmei's 1212 memoir 'Hōjōki'
- Set design included a glass-bead-covered vulture and flowing mist
- Music was composed by Marihiko Hara
- Tanaka performed in a ragged kimono and interacted with red liquid
- Lighting suggested fire, blood, and volcanic activity
- Performance ended with a silent scream creating unease
Entities
Artists
- Min Tanaka
- Kohei Nawa
- Isshin Inudo
- Kamo no Chōmei
- Marihiko Hara
- Prabda Yoon
Institutions
- Yamanashi Prefectural Citizen's Culture Hall
- Art Camp Hakushu
Locations
- Yamanashi
- Japan
- Hakushu
- Bangkok
- Thailand