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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 January 2025
This article considers the Okinawan aesthetic of Kumiodori and the role of absence in making a performance. There are two case studies of Kumiodori performances selected for this article, both written by the maker of this theatre style – Tamagusuku Chōkun. I watched both performances of Kōkō no Maki and Nidō Tekiuchi in the National Theatre in Okinawa. I discuss the concept of absence, described as ma (間), through the theory and the interpretation of those performances. The article begins with a brief outline of Kumiodori and the cultural context of the Ryukyu Kingdom, followed by description of the concept of ma in literature, live performance and the culture in general. Finally, two case studies are introduced. The article aims to present an example of the Okinawan version of ma in theatre.
1 National Theatre Okinawa, Kumiodori, at www.nt-okinawa.or.jp/traditional-okinawan-performing-arts/english/Kumiodori_en.html (accessed 25 February 2024).
2 Satoko Oka Norimatsu and Gavan McCormack, ‘Ryukyu/Okinawa: From Disposal to Resistance 琉球/沖縄、処 分から抵抗へ’, Asia–Pacific Journal, 10, 38 (2012), pp. 1–13, here p. 1.
3 Ibid., p. 3.
4 Smits, Gregory, Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1999), p. 18Google Scholar.
5 ‘To the late 13th century and to Eiso's reign tradition ascribes the introduction of Buddhism into Okinawa. A Japanese priest named Zenkan is said to have been shipwrecked and washed ashore sometime between 1265 and 1274. He was given permission to construct a small place of worship, and under the king's patronage a temple was built at Urasoe, named the Gokuraku-ji.’ George Henry Kerr, Okinawa: The History of an Island People (Rutland, VT and Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle, 1958), p. 48.
6 Ibid., p. 70.
7 Ibid., p. 167.
8 National Theatre Okinawa, Kumiodori.
9 Yano, Teruo, Kumiodori wo kiku (Tokyo: Mizuki Shobō, 2003), pp. 11, 33Google Scholar.
10 Sachiyo Ito, ‘Origins of Traditional Okinawan Dance’, PhD thesis, New York University, 1988, p. 46. To briefly explain the terms, Nirai Kanai is the name of a land beyond the sea (to the east), Amamiya Shineriya is where the ancestors’ spirits live (to the north) and Obotsu Kagura is where the gods reside (above the visible sky).
11 Japanese names in text are presented with surname and first name format. Here, Tamagusuku is the surname.
12 Komine, Naganori, ed. and trans., Nufani: English Translation of Kumiodori and Okinawan Poetry (Urasoe: Okinawa Bukku Sābisu, 2008), p. 173Google Scholar.
13 Yano, Kumiodori wo kiku, p. 33.
14 Komine, Nufani, p. 1.
15 Norimatsu and McCormack, ‘Ryukyu/Okinawa’, p. 4.
16 The Asahi Shimbun, ‘Rich Okinawan Language Is in Danger of Soon Becoming Extinct’, at www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14622095 (accessed 25 February 2024).
17 Norimatsu and McCormack, ‘Ryukyu/Okinawa’, p. 5.
18 ‘In some caves, Japanese soldiers slaughtered civilians, or forced them to commit mass suicide. Some residents died of starvation. Outside, hell broke out as artillery fire, mortar shells and flame throwers killed Japanese troops and residents en mass’ (Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum).
19 Nicolas, Alexandre, ‘Kunigami, Miyako, Okinawa, Yaeyama, and Yonaguni’, in Moseley, Christopher, ed., Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, 3rd edn (Paris: UNESCO Publishing, 2010), pp. 1–154Google Scholar, here pp. 145, 147, 148.
20 Wang, Yaohua, Chūgoku to Ryūkyū no sanshin ongaku, trans. Atsumi, Kaneshiro (Tokyo: Daiichi Shobō, 1998), p. 299Google Scholar.
21 Brink, Dean Anthony, Philosophy of Science and the Kyoto School: An Introduction to Nishida Kitaro, Tanabe Hajime and Tosaka Jun (London, New York and Dublin: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021), p. 26CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
22 Yu, Donghua, ‘Leaving Blank Space: The Highest Realm of Chinese Painting’, Arts Studies and Criticism, 1, 1 (2020), pp. 1–3Google Scholar, here p. 1.
23 Ibid., pp. 2–3.
24 Lucken, Michael and Rosen, Miriam, ‘The Limits of Ma: Retracing the Emergence of a “Japanese” Concept’, Journal of World Philosophies, 6, 1 (2021), pp. 38–57Google Scholar, here p. 55, outline the various meanings and contexts of the empty space–time defined as ma (間): ‘Maai: [literally] meeting of mas; finding the distance (esp. in the martial arts). Ma ga au: [literally] having ma that connects; having the right timing. Ma ga nukeru: [literally] having ma that misses out; not keeping to the beat. Ma ni hamaru: [literally] falling into ma; adapting perfectly. Ma ga nobiru: [literally] extending ma; putting off (in time). Ma ga chijimu: [literally] shortening ma; moving forward (in time).’
25 Kono, Tetsuya, ‘Phenomenology of Ma and Maai: An Interpretation of Zeami's Body Cosmology from a Phenomenological Point of View’, New Generation Computing, 37 (2019), pp. 247–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar, here p. 247.
26 Motosugi, Shozo, ‘Ma in Traditional Japanese Theater: The Ma of Space and Ma of Time’, in Kodama, M., ed., Ma Theory and the Creative Management of Innovation (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), pp. 195–214CrossRefGoogle Scholar, here p. 195.
27 ‘Nufa Bushi’, a song that was played in the moment of separation in Nidō Tekiuchi:
Komine, Nufani, p. 112.
28 Ibid., p. 112.
29 Before the main performance, on that day, there were a couple of much shorter dance performances. All of them were loosely connected to the theme of the main performance, which is loyalty to the family and love finding its expression in self-sacrifice. What struck me at the beginning of those dances was the intensity of colours and the simplicity of scenography. Onstage we can see vivid colours of costumes highlighted by the background light – the same bright colours that are on Okinawa on a sunny day. The red is a hibiscus red; blue is often presented with turquoise – the colours of the clear and warm tropical ocean. The subtropical location of the island of Okinawa is clearly visible in the performances. Even before the main Kumiodori performance, there are songs and dances in the Okinawan language. The poetic text is sung with extended vowels, so the sound seems almost continuous. The translation into Japanese is always available at the side of the stage. While we listen to the sounds of the language from the past, we can read the meaning at the side. The first performances are dances telling stories about crops, sailing, the pine tree (symbolizing timelessness), longing and loneliness, love and hope. In all the dances, performed either solo or in pairs, there is only a single prop – for example, a single handmade narrow cloth called minsā. This is a piece of fabric that symbolizes love. The tradition comes from the Yaeyama Islands, and the name describes an item – a narrow piece of cotton cloth. It was made with the thought of a loved one, usually by a woman, as a sign of an accepted marriage proposal or of love. The pattern of four squares and five squares alternately is symbolic. The reading of numbers four and five make a message of everlasting love. Everything else happens in the imagination of the audience, through the medium of sung poetry. The songs not only present images that explain what we might see through the eyes of the dancer, but also pose questions which everyone in the audience will have to answer individually. As an example, there is a scene where a woman holding a minsā sings a story that she is standing on the shore and had to bid farewell to the loved one. Maybe this will be the last time she sees him. One of the questions posed by the song is, ‘How can you say goodbye to a loved one’. What is characteristic of this type of performance is that there is no extreme facial expression or rapid dance movement. The dancer's face is, rather, still; the movement is stylized and organized into a collection of defined forms. What is particular to this type of performance is the near disconnection of the emotional layer and the body of the dancer. The emotion presented by the body is so nuanced that without some knowledge of the cultural context, one might not notice the tilt of the head or the subtle eye expression. The layer of emotion is narrated by the chorus (jiutai), singing in the background and supported by the instruments: the sanshin, koto, drum, flute and kokyu (National Theatre Okinawa). After the dances there is the main performance of Kumiodori. The movement of Kumiodori is based on the movement from Okinawan dances.
30 Mingxiang ji 冥祥記, or Records of Signs from the Unseen Realm, was written by Wang Yan 王琰 (around 500 CE). Translation and study on the book are accessible in Robert Ford Campany, Signs from the Unseen Realm: Buddhist Miracle Tales from Early Medieval China (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2012).
31 The performance was a part of the Kumiodori appreciation event, with a lecture about the theatre before the performance. As a part of the event, one week later, a theatre sightseeing tour was organized by the theatre. This included a one-hour workshop with the Kumiodori actors. The National Theatre, where Kumiodori takes place, was built in 2004. The first time I visited the theatre was in 2013. Back then, I recall, there was not much support for English-speakers. Ten years later, there are audio guides available with translations into Japanese and English. Leaflets were available in English. What is most encouraging, for the live events, is that there were English interpreters available for every group, giving international tourists a better understanding of the genre and the Okinawan tradition.
32 National Theatre Okinawa, Kumiodori.
33 The freeze-frame pose is called mie in Kabuki, but in Kumiodori it is known as nana mijichi. Ito, ‘Origins of Traditional Okinawan Dance’, p. 106.