The "Feminine Principle" in Butoh: A Methodology that Spans History, Cultures, and Disciplines? or Developing a "Feminine" Body-Space on a Sunday?

Abstract

I am concerned with gendered body-space, and whether the aspiration for a notion such as 'feminine principle' is or can remain valuable in con-temporary-space. In an earlier article, a tantric interpretation of the dance work Kagemi, choreographed by Ushio Amagatsu, I introduced the notion of supposed interaction between 'male and female,' known and defined in various ways in Japan as in-yo-do, in China as yin-yang, in Tibet as yab-yum. In South Asia the notion of male and female body-space, although found in Taoism, Buddhism and Hinduism, is central to the way of Tantra. Unlike notions of female body-space found in Japan, or China, in South Asia, in Tantra the notion of the 'feminine principle' considered the female aspect as active and the male aspect as passive. I am reflecting on whether the positing of ancient notions of the 'feminine principle' are effective in contemporary-space; whether a significant re-conception of body-space is possible, and for whom; and if the pursuit of such an aspiration may need a jettisoning of the historic insights altogether.