Tatsumi Quotes & Sayings

However objective one's analytical approach may seem, [Some dude] argues, we must recognize the myth of objectivity as another rhetoric, another metadiscourse fashioning our sense of 'reality.' Although avant-gardism has long been believed to be a metafictional rhetoric displacing reality, we must not forget that it is a framework of reality that has been constructed rhetorically--whether its rhetoric is ontological or consumerist or creative-masochistic. — Takayuki Tatsumi

A man shouldn't go crying like that, people will think you're weak. — Ryuhei Tamura

There are as many types of Butoh as there are Butoh choreographers. — Tatsumi Hijikata

Western dance begins with its feet firmly planted on the ground whereas Butoh begins with a dance wherein the dancer tries in vain to find his feet — Tatsumi Hijikata

When one considers the body in relation to dance, it is then that one truly realizes what suffering is: it is a part of our lives. No matter how much we search for it from the outside there is no way we can find it without delving into ourselves. — Tatsumi Hijikata

The story entitled 'Good-Bye' is probably Tatsumi's most well-known work, and I think it's a good representation of many of Tatsumi's skills and stylistic tendencies. — Adrian Tomine

The dance of darkness must spout blood into the air, in the name of the experience of evil — Tatsumi Hijikata

Even your own arms, deep inside your body feel foriegn to you, feel that they do not belong to you. Here lies an important secret. Butoh's radical essence is hidden here. — Tatsumi Hijikata

The rat gave birth. Six little ones ... cute baby rats ... None of them are like Hitler. — Yoshihiro Tatsumi