9. The Warped Qualia

 

Dear Readers and Butoh Friends

Thank you for your interest in the Butoh Course. Unfortunately, now the coronavirus is increasing in India Himachal Pradesh. We have to wait for the resuming of the school until it will calm down. But this less communication state is a big chance to research the darkness of the body. We attach the PDF of the Practice Guide. Please study by yourself reading it. Hope to see you soon!

Life Resonance Art Center

9. The Warped Qualia

One day, Hijikata Tatsumi said to his wife, "I wonder what the warped body is?" (Akiko Motofuji, Hijikata's wife in her book The memories of Hijikata Tatsumi.)

              He used to make the sound at his various joints in the bed at night often. Butoh dancer digs various tunnels in the body for twenty-four hours.
Hijikata grew up in the Akita prefecture where is placed at the northern edge of Japan. They have their own deep culture based on animism traditional which has a big difference against modern western culture in Tokyo, Japan.
Hijikata felt deeply warped Qualia in his body between his natural body from Akita and modern Tokyo where he moved in his twenties. For me, the warped Qualia are the most important for creation. Almost all of my butoh pieces started from the warped Qualia.
              I investigated them for long years. I moved from the countryside of Japan; Wakayama to big city Osaka, too. I felt a big gap against a modern city life in Osaka. I could imagine the depth of warped Qualia for Hijikata because the gap might be extremely bigger than my case. Warped Qualia happen between different cultures, customs, but not only that. 

 

What are the warped Qualia?

Warped Qualia have so many variations in the multi-dimension; pressed, twisted, frozen, shrunken, rotten, decayed, blocked, collapsed, weakened, surprised, attacked by unknown uncomfortable feelings, strange emotion, itchy, afraid, something wrong, a momentary subtle feeling, and so on. I cannot explain them generally. But I can say a thing about them. 

Warped Qualia happen between life and the world. It is a necessity for life. 
Warp means a necessary change by an unknown stimulus that life did not know yet how to resonate with it. The change might lead to death. But life had to decide to do or not to do at the risk of life. The change by the warped Qualia was on the risk between life and death.

Warped Qualia, edge Qualia, and the proto dream
I found the hidden connection among warped Qualia, edge Qualia, and the proto dream. They are connected in the deep non-dual realm as oneness as the necessary creation for life. They are the most important experiences for surviving. 
The deepest warped Qualia appear as the proto dream which has become an unforgettable dream in our life, sometimes it repeats many times. When Life receives an important warped quale, life creates a deep impressive dream to remember it. Then a deep secret and mystery is folded in our proto dream and warped Qualia. There may be a key for who am I?  Or where is your uniqueness from? 

Hijikata investigated in the warped Qualia through the life. He finally digs out the deepest warped Qualia as his last butoh dance: A girl. The dead sister was one of the deepest warped Qualia for him. Why his favorite sister had to leave from home when he was a child and had to sell her body in a foreign city. It was an unsolved mystery for him in his childhood. He investigated it throughout his life. And finally, he could succeed in reverse the warped qualities of the creation of the butoh.