was a Japanese dancer who became a guru and inspirational figure in the dance form known as
Butoh
is a form of Japanese dance theatre that encompasses a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement. Following World War II, butoh arose in 1959 through collaborations between its two key founders ...
.
[ He is the author of several books on Butoh, including ''The Palace Soars through the Sky'', ''Dessin'', ''Words of Workshop'', and ''Food for the Soul''. The latter two were published in English as ''Kazuo Ohno's World: From Without & Within'' (2004).
Ohno once said of his work: "The best thing someone can say to me is that while watching my performance they began to cry. It is not important to understand what I am doing; perhaps it is better if they don't understand, but just respond to the dance."][Childs, Martin]
"Kazuo Ohno: Dancer who co-founded the modern Butoh style and brought it to the world stage"
''The Independent'', July 7, 2010.
Early life
Ohno was born in Hakodate City, Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
on October 27 in 1906. He demonstrated an aptitude for athletics in junior high school and graduated from an athletic college in 1929, teaching physical education at a Christian high school. In 1933, Ohno began studying with Japanese modern dance pioneers Baku Ishii
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
and Takaya Eguchi
Sharp Takaya Electronics Industry Co. Ltd. is a computer equipment manufacturer mostly owned by Sharp Corporation.
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, which qualified him to teach dance at the Soshin Girls' School in Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
, from which he retired in 1980.
In 1938, Ohno was drafted into the Japanese Army as a lieutenant, and later rose to captain. He fought in China and New Guinea, where he was captured and interred by the Australians as a POW.[ The war and its horrors provided him with inspiration for some of his later works, such as'' Jellyfish Dance'', thought to be a meditation on the burials at sea he had observed on board the ship transporting soldiers back to Japan.
]
Career
After the war, he began work on his dance again, and presented his first solo works in 1949 in Tokyo.[ In the 1950s, He taught Mime Studio with Shinya Ando by Hironobu Oikawa. Yoshito Ohno was student of the studio. Later, he met Tatsumi Hijikata, who inspired him to begin cultivating Butoh, a new form of dance evolving in the turmoil of Japan's drab postwar landscape. Hijikata, who rejected the Western dance forms popular at the time, developed with Ohno and a collective group the vocabulary of movements and ideas that later, in 1961, he named the Ankoku Butoh-ha movement.
During the 1960s, Ohno sought his own style, while collaborating with Tatusmi Hijikata. In 1977, he premiered his solo ''La Argentina Sho'', directed by Hijikata and dedicated to the famed Spanish dancer ]Antonia Mercé
Antonia Mercé y Luque (September 4, 1890 – July 18, 1936), largely known by her stage name, La Argentina, was an Argentine-born Spanish dancer known for her creation of the neoclassical style of Spanish dance. Considered one of the most f ...
(known as "La Argentina") whom he had seen perform in 1926. He received Japan's prestigious Dance Critics' Circle Award for the performance and subsequently toured the piece, impacting the international dance world from the 14th International Festival at Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle
Nancy ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Nanzisch'' is the prefecture of the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was annexed by France under King Louis XV in 1766 and replaced by a provi ...
in 1980, to his American debut in 1981 at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...
in New York City. Other cities on the tour included Strasbourg, London, Stuttgart, Paris and Stockholm.
With Hijikata directing, Ohno created two more major works, ''My Mother'' and ''Dead Sea'', performed with his son, Yoshito Ohno. Other works include ''Water Lilies'', ''Ka Chō Fū Getsu lowers-Birds-Wind-Moonand ''The Road in Heaven'', ''The Road in Earth''. He was awarded a cultural award from Kanagawa Prefecture in 1993, a cultural award from Yokohama city in 1998, and the Michelangelo Antonioni Award for the Arts in 1999.
Teaching
Ohno established the Kazuo Ohno Dance Studio in 1949, and built the Kamihoshikawa studio in 1961 in Hodogaya, Yokohama, for the creation and rehearsal of his choreography. Now under the aegis of son Yoshito Ohno, the Kazuo Ohno Dance Studio conducts workshops, produces performances and has established a butoh archive, collecting and classifying all materials related to butoh and Kazuo Ohno's legacy. Ohno's studio is currently open for students to attend. Classes are directed by Yoshito.
Personal life
A devout Southern Baptist
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The word ...
since his conversion as a young man, Ohno supported himself throughout much of his life as a physical education teacher at Kanto Gakuin High School, a private Christian school in Yokohama from which he retired at 86.
In popular culture
Ohno starred in the films ''O-shi no shozo'' Portrait of Mr. O(1969) directed by Chiaki Nagano
is a unisex Japanese given name used mostly by females and is occasionally used as a surname.
Possible writings
Chiaki can be written using different kanji characters and can mean:
*千秋, "thousand, autumn"
*千明, "thousand, light"
*千晶, " ...
; ''The Scene of the Soul'' (1991) by Katsumi Hirano
is a common Japanese given name used by either sex.
Possible writings
Katsumi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean:
;as a given name
*克己, "overcome, self/oneself"
*克巳, "overcome, sixth earthly branch"
*克美, "ov ...
; and the documentary ''Kazuo Ohno'' (1995), directed by Daniel Schmid
Daniel Walter Schmid (26 December 1941 – 5 August 2006) was a Swiss theatre and film director.
Biography
In 1982, his film '' Hécate'' was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. His film '' Beresina, or the Last Days of ...
. He also appeared in several films by German director Peter Sempel
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
, most notably in the music film ''Dandy'' (1988) alongside Blixa Bargeld
Blixa Bargeld (born Christian Emmerich, 12 January 1959) is a German musician who has been the lead singer of the band Einstürzende Neubauten since its formation in 1980. Bargeld was also a founding member of the Australian rock band Nick Cave a ...
, Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...
, and Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich (; born Lili-Marlene Premilovich; March 30, 1949) is an English-American singer, songwriter and musician. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Single ...
, among others. He wrote three books on Butoh, including ''The Palace Soars through the Sky'', a collection of essays and photographs; ''Dessin'' with drawings and notes on his Butoh creations; ''Words of Workshop'', a collection of lectures given in his workshop; and ''Food for the Soul'', a selection of photography from the 1930s through 1999. The latter two books were combined and published in English as ''Kazuo Ohno's World: From Without & Within'' (2004, Wesleyan University Press). In October 2006, soon after Ohno's 100th birthday, Kyoto-based publisher Seigensha released a photography book in homage to Ohno featuring the works of Eikoh Hosoe
is a Japanese photographer and filmmaker who emerged in the experimental arts movement of post-World War II Japan. Hosoe is best known for his dark, high contrast, black and white photographs of human bodies. His images are often psychologicall ...
entitled ''The Butterfly Dream''.
Later years and death
In 2001, though he lost his ability to walk, Ohno continued performing and developed ways to express himself through dance solely by moving his hands. In recent years, Ohno had been under nurse's care at home, but he continued his stage appearances, particularly in the Butoh works of his son Yoshito Ohno. In January 2007, he made his final public appearance in Yoshito's Hyakkaryoran at a gala celebrating his 100th birthday. Ohno died of respiratory failure on June 1, 2010 in Yokohama, Japan at the age of 103.
Notes
External links
"Hidden Body photography site"
Kazuo Ohno Dance Studio
Retrieved May 17, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohno, Kazuo
1906 births
2010 deaths
Deaths from respiratory failure
Japanese male dancers
Japanese centenarians
Japanese Christians
People from Hakodate
Butoh
Men centenarians