Under the blazing sun at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on Monday, three men and one woman in beautifully-embroidered, warrior-like costumes swung their heavy iron swords and started a fierce battle on the greenish meadow. People started to gather, fascinated by the refined movements of their bodies and the sounds of their swords.
O-Getsu-Ryu (
Translated as "Cherry Blossom and Moon Subculture," O-Getsu-Ryu is also the name of a new
category of performance art that combines music, dance, theater and tsurugi -- a Japanese sword fighting style.
Most of the 20 performers have received training in tsurugi -- translated in the Yamato dialect as "exhausting one's life in order to reach a heavenly state" -- for over 15 years.
The tsurugi/dance performance has no script. Instead, the audience is invited to follow the story through the body language of the performers, and the powerful Yamatian songs of Kamiya Mihoko, one of the practitioners of this ancient art form.
"Yamatian is an ancient language that no one can speak any more. I learned of the Yamatian voices from my grandmother. It is a way of singing to let yourself be part of the universe, a way of expression to open yourself up to the sky. I believe beautifully resonating voices can cross the language barrier and strike the audience's hearts without any media," Mihoko said.
Having studied ancient and medieval music and literature, the leading lady said they had spent 10 years trying to blend the movements of tsurugi with music before the establishment of O-Getsu-Ryu.
"Dance has rhythm. It's easy for any dance to go with the music. The rhythm of tsurugi comes from breathing. It's in between each inhale and exhale. The rhythm can also be heard and felt in the air stirred by the strokes of swords. It really took us a while to understand the basic elements of such performances," she said.
Sakuy tells of a Sakuya princess and a young samurai who battle against the god of darkness. In ancient times, darkness meant a world without sounds. In a world divided into dark and light, the Sakuya princess uses her celestial voice and songs to serve as a guardian of the sphere of light.
But the god of darkness kills the princess' grandfather, who is the master of the young samurai. The young man is seriously injured during the fight and the girl is also taken captive by the forces of evil. Darkness envelops the earth.
The samurai is determined to sacrifice his life to defeat the forces of evil, so he perfects himself in his studies of the martial arts taught by his master. Now the time has come for the young warrior to set out on the odyssey, to rescue the princess and save the spirits of samurai from the suppressing hands of the evil god.
Sakuya is the group's latest work and went on a tour of 29 cities in Europe last year. Echoing the aesthetic theme of previous productions, this piece attempts to deliver the spirituality of Bushido in Japanese culture. Sakuya's beauty lies in its
ephemeral nature. The moment petals fall onto the group represents the moment of the samurai's death. The fleeting beauty inspired by cherry blossoms inspires samurai to sacrifice themselves for justice and honor.
Art director and choreographer Fumio Matsuki explains the samurai spirit thus: "To face one's death without fear, and fight for justice persistently. It's an indescribable beauty. The death of a samurai is the ultimate beauty, like a dream of cherry blossoms falling in the spring. To risk one's life in order to fulfill a samurai's duty under difficult and dangerous circumstance. Such courage is in the name of beauty."
"Each and every movement of tsurugi delivers a sense of decisiveness. To me, it symbolizes life, in which every moment also implies a sense of determination. The moment two swords collide with each other is a reflection of the moment of encounter and departure in life. Such is the philosophy I'd like to convey in our performance."
Founded in 1995, O-Getsu-Ryu has drawn inspiration from the ancient history of Japan. Tale of Genji (2000) is a love story based on the masterpiece written by Lady Murasaki Shikibu in the 11th century. Musashi and Himiko (2002) are, respectively, stories about famous samurai in the early 17th century, and Japan's first queen in 3 AD.
In 2002, the group was "discovered" by a Dutch impresario at the Tokyo Performing Arts Fair and has quickly won the hearts of European critics since then. In Japan, meanwhile, O-Getsu-Ryu is said to have an influence on thousands of Kendo groups and strives to incorporate contemporary rhythms into the ancient art of sword fighting.
Performance Notes:
What: Sakuya
When: Tonight through Sept. 30. All shows begin at 7:30pm
Where: Taipei (Sept. 23 to 25, 國父紀念館); Taichung (Sept. 26, 台中中山堂); Zhongli (Sept. 27, 中壢藝術館); Tainan (Sept. 28, 台南市立文化中心); Chiayi County (Sept. 29, 嘉義縣表演藝術中心), Kaohsiung (Sept. 30,
Tickets: Tickets cost between NT$500 to NT$2,500, available online at
http://www.artsticket.com.tw, or call (02) 3393 9888.
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