Critics in Residence @Kyoto Experiment 2024 / Luca Domenico Artuso

The Delegation of the European Union to Japan has held “Critics in Residence @Kyoto Experiment 2024” to explore the possibilities of criticism in culture and the arts during the international performing arts festival Kyoto Experiment 2024 (held 5-27 October). This initiative is organised by the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, operated by the Goethe-Institut Tokyo, and supported by Kyoto Experiment and the Saison Foundation.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Potentialities of Suspension: A Rooted Approach to Experimentation at Kyoto Experiment 2024

Does buffering have a rhythm? This year, Kyoto Experiment (KEX) answered that question with an emphatic yes! Under the theme ētto ētto, the festival invited participants to embrace the rhythm of pause and reflection suggested by these filler words. This act of buffering—rethinking, looking back, and moving forward—aligned with the festival’s 15th anniversary, marking it as a significant milestone. Observing KEX for the first time through the curators’ lens of ētto ētto became, for me, an exploration of the festival’s experimental ethos.

As a researcher in Japanese Theatre and Performing Arts, joining the Critics in Residence program provided me with the unique opportunity to experience the full lineup of 17 performances, contribute to the symposia, and engage in critical conversations with artists and curators, all while observing the public’s dynamic engagement with the festival. It was a whirlwind intellectual journey, one that would not have been as extraordinary without the incredible group of journalists, scholars, and critics from Europe, Japan, and Taiwan assembled by the residency program. Our constant conversations throughout the festival were both intellectually insightful and enriching. Together, we engaged in mutual “buffering,” challenging and inspiring each other to reflect on our shared experiences of the festival and its performances. At times, I thought I had clarified my ideas about a show or the festival, only to find myself questioning them moments later. Even now, a month after KEX’s conclusion, its polyrhythmic energy continues to resonate, prompting me to process its many layers at my own pace.

Witnessing the diverse assemblage of experimental works and the kaleidoscopic lineup of performances at KEX evoked to me the analogy of a chemical solution a state of fluid immersion where relations dissolve and rearrange, holding the transformative potential to form new assemblages. This image, for me, encapsulates the collaborative choices and contributions of KEX’s artistic direction to the contemporary scene. Their curatorial vision blended evolving elements, merging local and global perspectives with a readiness to challenge conventions.

Witnessing the diverse assemblage of experimental works and the kaleidoscopic lineup of performances at KEX evoked to me the analogy of a chemical solution*1 a state of fluid immersion where relations dissolve and rearrange, holding the transformative potential to form new assemblages. This image, for me, encapsulates the collaborative choices and contributions of KEX’s artistic direction to the contemporary scene. Their curatorial vision blended evolving elements, merging local and global perspectives with a readiness to challenge conventions.

Through this deliberate approach, KEX fostered a remixing of established forms and the integration of new elements, breathing fresh life into the present state of performing arts. A movement that, by borrowing the curators words, can be understood as an affirmative step toward negotiating “the space between the collective and the individual, self and other, and the act of reconstructing different stories—cultural, personal, political—in dialogue with the past.

A striking example of innovation within contemporary Japanese performance emerged in three works: Stand by Me by Shinichi Anasako, Pijin Neji, and Tentenko; Sticky Hands Stitched Mountains by Nanako Matsumoto and Anchi Lin (Ciwas Tahos); and Yasuko Yokoshi’s readaptation of (premiered at the Aichi Festival 2021). Together, these performances exemplified how KEX’s curatorial direction catalyzed challenges to the conventional divide between “traditional” and “experimental” Japanese performance, creating a dynamic space for contact, exchange, and innovation.

In my perspective, these three pieces directly engage with Kyoto itself, a city whose heritage of classical performing arts uniquely enriches its cultural life. This cultural backdrop shapes an audience attuned to gestures and ideas adapted from these traditions. Why not, then, risk the “profanity” of blending the two worlds to create new assemblages for such an audience?

The so-called “classical” performing arts, such as Noh theatre and Nihon-buyō, are often regarded as the quintessence of Japaneseness. This perception has elevated these practices to the status of intangible cultural heritage, yet it has also controversially led to their being seen as monolithic and untouchable. As a result, many contemporary Japanese artists prefer to avoid engaging with the complexities inherent in this legacy or choose to ignore it altogether.

Like the hesitant expression of ētto ētto, which interrupts a main narrative and unexpectedly redirects it, KEX provided a favourable environment to reframe the relationship between contemporary “classical” and “experimental” performance. It created a space for hesitation, buffering, exploration, and exchange—ultimately giving rise to new forms of interaction between Japan’s cultural heritage and its contemporary practice.

In Lynch, Yasuko Yokoshi’s choreography subtly and ingeniously incorporated elements from Noh. The use of an empty stage, where props were added and removed during transitions, echoed Noh conventions. Yokoshi also used Noh masks retrieved from Kyoto’s discarded household goods. Her choreography included virtuosic gestures drawn from Japanese dance, sections of which would have been recognized by local audiences. Dramaturgically, transitions between acts featured improvisational prompts akin to the aikyogen of mugen Noh. Even a simple mobile hanger was transformed into the tsukurimono (stage prop), reminiscent of Funa Benkei’s boat.

In Stand by Me, the dramaturgy seamlessly brought prose theatre into a gallery space, with electronic music setting the rhythm for the four main characters. These characters acted realistically, without artifice, alongside Noh actress Tanaka Haruna, whose utai singing and Noh-inspired stage presence blended so effortlessly into the performance that it evoked a warm response from an enthusiastic audience. This interplay of Noh and contemporary elements opened much-needed dialogue to reinvigorate the relationship between “classical” and contemporary performance in Japan.

Finally, Sticky Hands Stitched Mountains by Nanako Matsumoto and Anchi Lin (Ciwas Tahos) recreated and empowered marginalised women’s histories, emerging from the liminal spaces of the mountain through the Taiwanese Atayal Indigenous oral story of the Temahahoi woman and the Japanese yokai Yamamba, as represented in Noh. The performance demonstrated how local inquiry can serve as a reparative tool for artists who do not share a common language. By addressing the wounds of patriarchal history, the performance reimagined an inclusive, plural, and queer future. This future already begins to take shape within the piece itself, reshaping Yamamba in a Kyoto context where audiences are familiar with her Noh depiction.

In conclusion, my participation in the Critics in Residence program at KEX 2024 has sparked foundational “buffering” on the state of Japan’s contemporary performance scene. This brief intervention offers a distilled snapshot of my reflections on KEX’s profound impact. As I ponder the constellations nourished by this festival’s remarkable curation, I see how it enriched the Japanese contemporary performing arts scene this past October. It was as if sakura blossomed at the start of autumn, an unexpected burst of vibrancy, fleeting yet brimming with untimely potential.

*1
This analogy resonates with and draws inspiration from Raymond Williams (1921-88)’ notion of structures of feeling, which describes emerging trends of thought, specific to a given time, and the cultural sensibilities that manifest through interactions between various socio-political and cultural forces. For more, see: McCormack, Derek P. (2022). “The Elements of Affect Theories” in Gregory J. Seigworth et al. (Eds.), The Affect Theory Reader: Wordings, Tensions, Futures. Duke University Press, pp. 63–85.

Luca Domenico Artuso
Luca Domenico Artuso is an Italian PhD researcher in Theatre and Intermediality at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. His research interests span from a primary focus on feminist and queer readings of Noh Theatre to Japanese Contemporary Performances. Since 2024, Luca’s theatrical reviews have been published in collaboration with the Belgian magazine Etcetera, specialising in theatre and contemporary performance. Luca has previously served as specialist librarian at the Japan Foundation’s Library in Rome (2019-2023). In 2018, he founded Gesshin, a Japanese Studies student association at the University of Venice (IT), a young hub for intercultural exchange between Italy and Japan. He is a member of the Performance Studies International Association.