was a Japanese

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

poet, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer. His works range from radio drama, experimental television, underground (''Angura'') theatre, countercultural essays, to

Japanese New Wave The is a group of loosely-connected Japanese filmmakers during the late 1950s and into the 1970s. Although they did not make up a coherent movement, these artists shared a rejection of traditions and conventions of classical Japanese cinema in ...

and "expanded" cinema. Many critics view him as one of the most productive and provocative creative artists to come out of Japan. He has been cited as an influence on various Japanese filmmakers from the 1970s onward.

Life

Terayama was born December 10, 1935, in

Hirosaki is a city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. On 1 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 168,739 in 71,716 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a castle town fo ...

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...

, the only son of Hachiro and Hatsu Terayama. When Terayama was nine, his mother moved to

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

to work at an American military base, while he himself went to live with relatives in the city of Misawa, also in Aomori. Terayama lived through the Aomori air raids that killed more than 30,000 people. His father died at the end of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

in Indonesia in September 1945. Terayama entered

Aomori High School is a high school in the city of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Originally a junior high school named , the school was established on September 11, 1900. Aomori Prefectural First Junior High School in Hirosaki and Aomori Prefectural Second Ju ...

in 1951 and, in 1954, he enrolled in

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

's Faculty of Education to study Japanese language and literature. However, he soon dropped out because he fell ill with

nephrotic syndrome Nephrotic syndrome is a collection of symptoms due to kidney damage. This includes protein in the urine, low blood albumin levels, high blood lipids, and significant swelling. Other symptoms may include weight gain, feeling tired, and foamy ...

. He received his education through working in bars in

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

. By 18, he was the second winner of the Tanka Studies Award. He married Tenjō Sajiki co-founder Kyōko Kujō () on April 2, 1963. Kujō later began an extramarital affair with fellow co-founder Yutaka Higashi. She and Terayama formally divorced in December 1970, although they continued to work together until Terayama's death on May 4, 1983 from

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

of the liver. Kujō died on April 30, 2014.

Career

His oeuvre includes a number of essays claiming that more can be learned about life through

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

than by attending school and studying hard. Accordingly, he was one of the central figures of the "runaway" movement in Japan in the late 1960s, as depicted in his book, play, and film ''Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets!'' (). In 1967, Terayama formed the

Tenjō Sajiki , was a Japanese independent theater troupe co-founded by Shūji Terayama and whose members include Kohei Ando, Kujō Kyōko, Yutaka Higashi, Tadanori Yokoo, and Fumiko Takagi. It was led by Shūji Terayama and active between 1967 and 1983 (unt ...

theater troupe, whose name comes from the Japanese translation of the 1945

Marcel Carné Marcel Albert Carné (; 18 August 1906 – 31 October 1996) was a French film director. A key figure in the poetic realism movement, Carné's best known films include '' Port of Shadows'' (1938), ''Le Jour Se Lève'' (1939), '' The Devil's Envoys ...

film ''

Les Enfants du Paradis ''Children of Paradise'' (original French title: ''Les Enfants du Paradis'') is a two-part French romantic drama film by Marcel Carné, produced under war conditions in 1943, 1944, and early 1945 in both Vichy France and Occupied France. Set in ...

'' and literally translates to "ceiling gallery" (with a meaning similar to the English term "

peanut gallery A peanut gallery was, in the days of vaudeville, a nickname for the cheapest and ostensibly rowdiest seats in the theater, the occupants of which were often known to heckle the performers. The least expensive snack served at the theatre would of ...

"). The troupe was dedicated to the avant-garde and staged a number of controversial plays tackling social issues from an iconoclastic perspective in unconventional venues, such the streets of Tokyo or private homes. Some major plays include "Bluebeard" (), "Yes" (), and "The Crime of Fatso Oyama" (). Also involved with the theater were artists

Aquirax Uno (born March 13, 1934), a Japanese graphic artist, illustrator and painter. His work is characterized by fantasized portraiture, sensuous line flow, flamboyant (and occasionally grotesque) eroticism, and frequent use of collage and bright colors. ...

and

Tadanori Yokoo is a Japanese graphic designer, illustrator, printmaker and painter. Yokoo’s signature style of psychedelia and pastiche engages a wide span of modern visual and cultural phenomena from Japan and around the world. Career Tadanori Yokoo, bo ...

, who designed many of the advertisement posters for the group. Musically, he worked closely with experimental composer

J.A. Seazer , known professionally as Julius Arnest "J.A." Caesar (born 6 October 1948), is a Japanese film and theater music composer. Seazer enjoyed popularity among students in Japan during the 1960s, and worked closely with director Shuji Terayama and ...

and folk musician

Kan Mikami is a Japanese folk singer-songwriter and actor. His music, heavily influenced by American blues, was popular in Japan in the 1970s. He re-wrote the lyric of the song "Yume wa Yoru Hiraku" for his cover version in 1972, which was banned for its ...

. Fellow

alumnus Kohei Ando collaborated with Terayama as a Production Assistant. Playwright

Rio Kishida was a Japanese playwright and director. She wrote several plays about women and the problems they faced in a patriarchal society that run parallel with the second wave of the feminist movement in Japan. Even though she did not strictly identify h ...

was also part of the company. She viewed Terayama as a mentor, and together they collaborated on ''Shintokumaru'' (''Poison Boy''), ''The Audience Seats'', and ''Lemmings''. Terayama experimented with 'city plays', a fantastical satire of civic life. Shuji Terayama's grave

] Also in 1967, Terayama started an experimental cinema and gallery called 'Universal Gravitation,' which is still in existence at Misawa as a resource center. The Terayama Shūji Memorial Hall, which has a large collection of his plays, novels, poetry, photography and a great number of his personal effects and relics from his theatre productions, can also be found in Misawa. With the Tenjo Sajiki Troupe, Terayama directed two plays at the Shiraz Arts Festival, "Origin of Blood", in 1973 and "Ship of Folly", in 1976. In 1976, he was a member of the jury at the

26th Berlin International Film Festival The 26th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 25 June – 6 July 1976. The Golden Bear was awarded to the American film '' Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson'' directed by Robert Altman. The Japan ...

Legacy

Terayama published almost 200 literary works and over 20 short and full-length films. In 1997, the Shuji Terayama Museum was opened in

Misawa, Aomori is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 39,093, and a population density of 330 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Misawa is the location of a large military base, Misawa Air Base, ...

, with personal items donated by his mother, Hatsu. The museum was designed by visual artist

Kiyoshi Awazu Kiyoshi, (きよし or キヨシ), is a Japanese given name, also spelled Kyoshi. Possible meanings *''Kyōshi'', a form of Japanese poetry *Kyōshi, a Japanese honorific Possible writings *清, "cleanse" *淳, "pure" *潔, "undefiled" *清志, " ...

, who had previously collaborated with Terayama. As of 2015, the museum's director is poet Eimei Sasaki, who had previously starred in ''Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets'' (1968).

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

named an award after Terayama with the inauguration of their Asahi Performing Arts Awards in 2001. "The Terayama Shūji Prize is meant to recognize artistic innovation by individuals or organizations who have demonstrated artistic innovation". However, the awards were suspended in 2008. In March 2012,

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

in London hosted a tribute to Terayama that was attended by Kyōko Kujō and Terayama's assistant director, Henrikku Morisaki.

Works

His oeuvre is well known for its experimentalism and includes:

Plays

* ''La Marie-Vision / Kegawa no Marie'' (1967) * ''

Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets is a 1971 Japanese feature-length experimental drama film directed by Shūji Terayama. A metaphor for Japan's descent into materialism, it follows a young man's disillusionment with the world around him and his determination to achieve something ...

/ Sho o Suteyo, Machi e Deyō'' (1968) * ''The Crime of Dr. Gali-gari / Gali-gari Hakase no Hanzai'' (1969) * ''The Man-powered Plane'' (1970) * ''Jashumon'' (1971) * ''Run, Melos / Hashire Melos'' (1972) * ''The Opium War / Ahen Senso'' (1972) * ''Note to a Blind Man / Mojin Shokan'' (1973) * ''Origin of Blood'' (1973) * ''Knock'' (1975) * ''Journal of the Plague Year / Ekibyo Ryuko-ki'' (1975) * ''Ship of Folly'' (1976) * ''The Miraculous Mandarin / Chugoku no Fushigina Yakunin'' (1977) * ''Directions to Servants / Nuhikun'' (1978) * ''Lemmings to the End of the World / Lemmings - Sekai no Hate Made Tsurettete'' (1979)

Short fiction

* Collected in: '' The Crimson Thread of Abandon''

Essays

* ''When I Was a Wolf (Boku ga ookami datta koro)''

Screenplays

* ''Mothers / Haha-tachi'' (1967), directed by

Toshio Matsumoto (25 March 1932 – 12 April 2017) was a Japanese film director and video artist. Biography Matsumoto was born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan and graduated from Tokyo University in 1955. His first short was '' Ginrin'', which he made in 1 ...

* ''

The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan is a 1970 Japanese film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. It was Japan's submission to the 43rd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. Screen play by Shuji Terayama. Cast *Tatsuya Na ...

'' (1970), directed by

Masahiro Shinoda is a retired Japanese film director, originally associated with the Shochiku Studio, who came to prominence as part of the Japanese New Wave in the 1960s. Early life Shinoda attended Waseda University, where he studied theater and also partici ...

* ''

Third Base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

'' (1978), directed by

Yōichi Higashi is a Japanese film director. He began his career working on documentaries at Iwanami Productions but, after going independent, turned to fiction film. He won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for '' Yasashii Nipponjin'' in 1971, ...

Short films

* ''Catology'' (1960) (lost) * ''The Cage / Ori'' (1964) * '' Emperor Tomato Ketchup / Tomato Kechappu Kōtei'' (1971, short version) * ''The War of Jan-Ken Pon / Janken Sensō'' (1971) * ''Rolla'' (1974) * ''Chōfuku-ki'' (1974) * ''Cinema Guide for Young People / Seishōnen no Tame no Eiga Nyūmon'' (1974) * ''The Labyrinth Tale / Meikyū-tan'' (1975) * ''Hōsō-tan'' (1975) * ''Der Prozess / Shimpan'' (1975) * ''Les Chants de Maldoror / Marudororu no Uta'' (1977) * ''The Eraser / Keshigomu'' (1977) * ''Shadow Film – A Woman with Two Heads / Nitō-onna – Kage no Eiga'' (1977) * ''The Reading Machine / Shokenki'' (1977) * ''An Attempt to Describe the Measure of A Man / Issunbōshi o Kijutsusuru Kokoromi'' (1977)

Feature-length films

* '' Emperor Tomato Ketchup / Tomato Kechappu Kōtei'' (1971, long version) * ''

/ Sho o Suteyo, Machi e Deyō'' (1971) * '' Death in the Country / Den'en ni Shisu'' (a.k.a.: "Pastoral Hide and Seek") (1974) * ''Boxer / Bokusā'' (1977) * ''

Fruits of Passion ''Fruits of Passion'' (french: Les fruits de la passion; ja, 上海異人娼館／チャイナ・ドール, ) is a 1981 French-Japanese co-production directed by Shūji Terayama and starring Klaus Kinski. The film is loosely based on the novel ...

/ Shanhai Ijin Shōkan'' (1981) * '' Grass Labyrinth / Kusa-meikyū'' (1983) * ''Video Letter'' (1983, with

Shuntarō Tanikawa (born December 15, 1931 in Tokyo City, Japan) is a Japanese poet and translator. He is one of the most widely read and highly regarded of living Japanese poets, both in Japan and abroad, and a frequent subject of speculations regarding the Nob ...

) * '' Farewell to the Ark / Saraba hakobune'' (1984)

Photography

* ''Photothèque imaginaire de Shuji Terayama - Les Gens de la famille Chien-Dieu'' (1975)

Notes

External links

*
Tate Modern retrospective, London, 2012.
7 vols of films at U B U W E B

* Terayama-related localities in Tokyo (in Japanese)
Essay on ''Emperor Tomato Ketchup'' in ''Afterall Journal'', 2009

"Farewell to the Ark" brochure from the 1985 Cannes Film Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terayama, Shuji 1983 deaths 1935 births Deaths from cirrhosis Japanese racehorse owners and breeders Japanese male poets Japanese lyricists Japanese film directors Japanese essayists Magic realism writers Japanese experimental filmmakers People from Aomori Prefecture 20th-century Japanese poets 20th-century Japanese dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Japanese musicians 20th-century essayists People from Hirosaki Writers from Aomori Prefecture Musicians from Aomori Prefecture 20th-century Japanese male writers