The key phrase for Kyoto Experiment 2025 is “nameless leaf clings to the matsutake mushroom”, and is taken from a haiku by Matsuo Basho. The festival aims to become a place for diverse people to encounter performing arts and engage in dialogue.

Basho’s haiku, in which a leaf from an unknown tree that is not matsu (pine) are stuck to a matsutake mushroom, provokes thoughts about encounters with the strange and unfamiliar and how to coexist with them; as well as the idea that as we grow older, these encounters are born because there are places which allow us to remember the strange and unfamiliar. The feeling of discomfort about things unfamiliar and the differences between ourselves and others could easily become the cause of divisions that tear the world apart. However, with this key phrase, we propose that it is precisely because we find ourselves in this present age that through experimental performing arts we can see the noise and the unfamiliar in a positive light and offer a small act of resistance to the divisions that surround us.

The festival consists of three programs: “Kansai Studies,” a program that researches the Kansai region, where the festival is rooted, and aims to cultivate a foundation for future creation; “Shows,” a lineup of experimental performing arts and exhibitions from around the world; and “Super Knowledge for the Future [SKF],” a series of talks and workshops that explore the relationship between experimental performing arts and all kinds of different topics beyond the world of art.

The lineup of artists participating in the festival are as below. Please note detailed information on our website is currently available in Japanese only. Information in English will be available on our website from the end of July.

☞ Kansai Studies
Takuro Oshima [Exhibition]

☞ Shows
Adam Kinner & Christopher Willes [Performance]
ALKDO, MARJINAL, Radigals [Music]
Ayaka Nakama [Dance]
Back to Back Theatre [Theater]
Jang-Chi × Ming-Chen Lee × Ness Roque × Yu-Ju Wen [Theater]
Jun Tsutsui [Theater]
Mark Teh / Five Arts Centre [Theater]
Martha Luisa Hernández Cadenas [Theater]
Masamitsu Araki [Music, Performance]
Midori Kurata / akakilike [Dance]
Takuya Murakawa [Theater]
Tania El Khoury & Ziad Abu-Rish [Performance, Exhibition]

☞ Super Knowledge for the Future (SKF)
The Busstrio [Theater]

☞ Echoes Now
Curated Program: Maki Kawaguchi
Mayo Koide, hayate kobayashi, Kumiko Takahashi [Performance]

Curated Program: Takuya Tsutsumi
Tomonosuke Kurachi [Performance]

Curated Program: Nagara Wada
Leu Wijee + Nagara Wada [Theater, Dance]

Dates ☞ October 4th (Sat) – October 26th (Sun) 2025 (23 days)
Venues ☞ ROHM Theatre Kyoto, KYOTO ART CENTER, Kyoto Art Theater Shunjuza, THEATRE E9 KYOTO, Kyoto City University of Arts Art Gallery @KCUA, Library of Kyoto City University of Arts (ITO Memorial Library), Kyoto City Sakyo East Area Iki-Iki Citizen Activity Centre, CLUB METRO and other locations

Organized by Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival Executive Committee
[Kyoto City, ROHM Theatre Kyoto (Kyoto City Music Art Cultural Promoting Foundation), KYOTO ART CENTER (Kyoto Arts and Culture Foundation), Kyoto Performing Arts Center at Kyoto University of the Arts, THEATRE E9 KYOTO (Arts Seed Kyoto)],
General Incorporated Association Kyoto Experiment

Tickets sales start Friday August 8th at 12:00.
(Website ticket page will be open from the end of July)