June 3, 2022
Keio University
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the performance of "A Story of Smallpox" (*Hōsōtan*), a seminal Butoh work by Hijikata Tatsumi. In 1972, Hijikata Tatsumi presented five works in his long-running performance series "Twenty-seven Nights for Four Seasons," which he dubbed "Tohoku Kabuki." This exhibition will feature archival footage of the first work, "A Story of Smallpox," along with valuable related materials and the results of the Hijikata Tatsumi Archive's activities. While examining the Butoh and philosophy of Hijikata Tatsumi, who innovated Butoh with "A Story of Smallpox" and marked a new page in the history of world dance, this memorial year exhibition once again asks the question, "What is Butoh?"
Exhibition Website
Art Archive Exhibition XXII: A Story of Smallpox—Already Cut Off from the Life That Bore It
Please see below for the full press release.