Jinen Butoh
November 15-16 | Taos, NM
Atsushi Takenouchi JINEN Butoh
Accompanied by live music Hiroko Komiya
“Life of Flower”
2 day workshop
Nov 15th-16th
Sat 1-7pm
Sun 11-5pm
“You are the only flower in the world.
Giving a birth to the flower, blossoming the flower.
Flower opens life.
Flower is a soft body revolution.
Flower is love.
To open to universe with passing through darkness to brightness, passing through life and death.
Flower always circulates life.
Flower continues opening.
A life of a flower draws the circle with the universe.”
Exchange $333
The 2-day workshop will have limited space and the exchange will go towards the costs of hosting Atsushi and Hiroko. If you can contribute in full we would be so appreciative. Anyone who feels called to join, but needs support at this time, please reach out to either Rebecca Frances or Baelyn Elspeth and we will try to support if possible.
Space is limited to 15-20 participants
A minimum deposit of $111 is required to hold your space - please email: allmattersofspirit@gmail.com
where you will be provided a venmo link to complete your reservation.
We are honored to have the opportunity to host this special offering.
There will also be a live performance for the greater community offered on the eve of Friday the 14th,
which may be included in your workshop price*
location TBD -
*as soon as the location is determined for the live performance, we can confirm inclusion of live performance tixs
What is JINEN
Jinen is an old Japanese word. Its meaning encompasses ALL that is even larger than nature. In the West, "Man" exists above "Nature," and maintains and protects it. Above Man, there is "God". In other words, there is a separation between Nature, Man, and God. Jinen expresses the perception of the universe before such a separation occurred. In ALL things there lives god. God is the "Flow of the River of the Universe" that embraces the sun and moon, and the earth that is the origin of the birthing of all Nature including Man. God lives within man, plants, animals, even in man-made things like houses. Jinen is the word that describes the universe, its' origin and natural course. All things connect to this river, and are part of the river of Jinen.
Man generally receives beautiful forms from Nature, such as the plants or animals. However, many forces of nature, such as huge earthquakes that I have experienced myself, destroy people, organisms and nature. This is the breath of this planet. This is also the swirl of the River of the Universe that embraces all life and death, light and dark..
This is Jinen. There is nothing Man can do. All that I was able to do after the earthquake was to live with the people who had encountered life and death, and to pray and dance with them. Inside Jinen, the helpless life force embrace life and death, feel that even such life and death are connected to all things, and dance a prayer. This view of nature has already existed in the art forms created by ancient people. Every life form performs the dance of life and death by being alive. All things are dancing with Jinen.
Jinen Butoh is to join together with all the life that is already dancing, to dance with the flow of the universe that is Jinen. We remove the wall of consciousness that perceives dance as the individual " I “ dancing. We are dancing with, and are danced by, the Jinen, accepting all the environment and conditions around us as Jinen.
Atsushi Takenouchi
Butoh dancer, Choreographer
Atsushi Takenouchi began his Butoh journey in 1980 with the Hoppo-Butoh-ha company in Hokkaido. His final piece with the company, Takazashiki (1984), was created with the direct guidance of Butoh founder Tatsumi Hijikata. In 1986, he created his own path: Jinen Butoh — as a universal expression of nature, earth, and ancient memories, embracing the rhythms of life itself. From 1996 to 1999, embarked on a three-year Jinen tour across Japan, performing over 600 site-specific improvisations rooted in natural landscapes and sacred spaces. Around this time, he learned the spirit of the universe of Kazuo Ohno and Yoshito Ohno.
Since 2002, based in Europe, working on solo Butoh and collaboration projects with dancers and actors, with giving workshops internationally.
His presence extends into film, notably 'Ridden by Nature', an award-winning environmental art dance film by Kiah Keya.
From 2015 to 2020, he directed an intensive Jinen Butoh school in Italy. Today, he devotes himself fully to transmitting Jinen Butoh through seasonal intensive workshops held both in nature and studio spaces — living his art as a continuous dialogue with life itself. In 2021, Compiling these experiences into a book, he published 'Atsushi Takenouchi Jinen Butoh' writing of his Butoh life, workshop contents and his Butoh performance works.
Hiroko Komiya
Musician, Sound Artist
Hiroko Komiya is a sound artist who transmutes the ephemeral - air, space, movement, bodily sensation, and memory - into boundless sonic expressions beyond conventional melody and rhythm. Since 1999, she has been the principal musical collaborator for Atsushi Takenouchi's JINEN Butoh, and has provided live accompaniment for his performances and workshops worldwide.
Her artistic reach extends beyond Butoh, engaging in multidisciplinary collaborations with filmmakers, sculptors, painters, poets, costume designers, and performers for exhibitions and installations. In 2022, she performed an 11-hour tribute performance to Félix Guattari (French psychoanalyst and philosopher) in Paris, alongside Ramuntcho Matta's art music collective and Atsushi Takenouchi. In 2021, she embarked on a new project with US film/sound artist Chris H. Lynn, creating audiovisual performances with Butoh dancers, performed in Vienna,Warsaw, Barcelona, Mexico city, Hong Kong, Athens, and Kumano, Japan.
