











THE KANJI CABARET
Watch slide show Preparations and performance
Watch on vimeo full performance
Watch on vimeo Kanji Dreams, a short video made as part of
work process
Watch on vimeo Construction of the costume
Watch on vimeo How to pack a costume which is impossible to pack
Performed at the East Asian Museum, Stockholm, October 15, 2023
Duration 45 min
Inspiration from ancient calligraphy signs, the zashiki space for rituals, traditional Japanese performing arts and use of costume and stage art, hayagawari/quick changes and the reveals of drag show, monomane and the reality of things, the use of ogi in jiuta-mai and purifying rituals from shintoism. All in an undefined mix.
Created in relation to the exhibition Juxtaposing Craft,
Oct 15 2022-Oct 15, 2023.
Choreography and dance: SU-EN
Music, shō and electronics: Mattias Hållsten
Costume design, hair and make up: SU-EN
Costume making: SU-EN, Heiko Klandt
Calligraphy: Vikki Quill
Kuroko (assistant in black): Heiko Klandt
Documentation: KAI-EN
Thanks to: raori Hanna Westergren
Production: Mon no Kai/SU-EN Butoh Company
Supported by: Swedish Arts Council, City of Uppsala – Cultural
Affairs Board
Shō is an ancient free reed mouth organ and one of the three primary woodwind instruments used in gagaku, the court music of Japan. The instrument entered Japan from China around the eighth century as a gift to the Japanese court. 17 slender bamboo pipes are seated in a gourd made from cherry tree which is coated in traditional Japanese urushi lacquer, and the shape of the instrument is said to resemble a resting phoenix.