Kazuo Ohno, was a Japanese dancer and one of the pioneers of Butoh (“dance of utter darkness), the influential Japanese dance-theater form. With its playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, characters with whitened faces, its slow movements and physical distortions, Butoh was a reaction in part to the horrors World War II.
Ohno’s solo performances were irresistibly powerful. A humanist, he communicated the themes of the form through recognisable characters, most often flamboyantly female.
Ohno had continued to perform beyond his 100th year, until his death in 2010 at the age of 103.
Photo by Eikoh Hosoe
Photo by Eikoh Hosoe
Shadow Vue 