THE LATEST RELEASE BY ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS HAS BEEN DEDICATED FOR KAZUO OHNO; ANTONY HEGARTY HAS ALSO CHOSEN THE PHOTOGRAPH OF THIS LEGENDARY BUTOH DANCER FOR THE CRYING LIGHT CD COVER ART
ANTONY IS NOT ONLY AN ACCOMPLISHED SINGER/SONGWRITER BUT ALSO VISUAL ARTIST, & THIS MAYBE EXPLAINS HIS BEAUTIFUL & UNCONVENTIONAL CHOICES FOR THE AESTHETICS OF ALL OF HIS RELEASES
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& HERE SOME IMAGES OF ONE OF THE JAPANESE PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS IN MY LIBRARY, ITS BUTTERFLY DREAM (WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY EIKOH HOSOE & DESIGN BY TANADOORI YOKOO) PUBLISHED IN 2006 BY SEIGENSHA
HOSOE HAS PICTURED KAZUO OHNO SINCE HIS BUTOH BEGINNINGS IN 1960S
ONE OF THE FIRST PERFORMANCES BY KAZUO OHNO
WITH HIS BUTOH PARTNER TATSUMI HIJIKATA
WITH HIS WIFE
NEAR HOME
IN COMA
KAZUO OHNO WAS BORN IN HOKKAIDO IN 1906 & HE DANCED UNTIL 2000
‘AFTER HIS 90TH BIRTHDAY, HE WAS STILL ACTIVE AS A BUTOH DANCER. THE LAST OVERSEAS PERFORMANCE WAS REQUIEM FOR THE 20TH CENTURY. WHICH WAS HELD IN NEW YORK IN DECEMBER 1999. BUT IN THE SAME YEAR HE HAD EYE TROUBLE & HIS PHYSICAL STRENGTH GRADUALLY STARTED WANING. YET KAZUO OHNO CONTINUED DANCING AS IF HE WAS NOURISHED BY HIS AGE. WHEN HE COULD NOT WALK BY HIMSELF, HE DANCED WITH THE SUPPORTS BY OTHERS. WHEN HE COULD NOT STAND EVEN WITH THE SUPPORTS, HE DANCES AS HE SEATED HIMSELF. WHEN HIS LEGS DIDNT MOVE AS HE WANTED, HE DANCED WITH HIS HANDS. WHEN HE LOST HIMSELF, HE CRAWLED ON HIS KNEES & AUDIENCE WERE MOVED BY WATCHING HIS BACK’
THE BUTOH DANCE TRADITION IS CONTINUED BY KAZUO OHNO SON YOSHITO OHNO