Natsue

Natsue is a solo choreographed by Kanjuro Fujima VIII and performed by Daniel Proietto, drawing on the lineage of Japanese traditional dance within the Fujima school.

Following years of training within Fujima Ryū, Proietto was entrusted with this work in 2016. The solo was created specifically for him and formally signed by Kanjuro Fujima VIII.

Lineage and Commission

Natsue was commissioned as the second act of Simulacrum, a duet by Alan Lucien Øyen for Daniel Proietto and Shoji Kojima. The work enters into dialogue with Kojima’s life and early experiences on the coast of Mugi, Japan, where he spent his childhood.

Rather than illustrating biography, the choreography distills memory, absence, and transformation into gesture and rhythm.

Narrative and Transformation

The solo traces the figure of a mother separated from her child at birth. In its final passage, she dissolves into the sea — a recurring image that links loss, distance, and continuity.

This imagery is carried through movement rather than narrative explanation, allowing the story to unfold as sensation and presence.

Ritual, Nature, and Performance

Natsue has also been performed outdoors, including a rendition under heavy rainfall in Kobe, where weather became an active element of the work. The soaked kimono, the resistance of the body, and the force of the environment entered the choreography, shifting the performance toward ritual.

The film version preserves this attention to materiality and exposure, allowing gesture and stillness to remain central.

Language and Sound

The music and vocal material were composed by Kanjuro Fujima VIII. The lyrics originate from text by Alan Lucien Øyen and Andrew Wale, written in English, then translated into Japanese and later into Old Japanese, preserving cadence, density, and historical resonance.

Context within KNOW NATION

Natsue is presented on KNOW NATION as part of an ongoing engagement with embodied traditions, transmission, and cross-cultural practice.

The work is offered without reinterpretation, allowing the encounter to unfold through attention, duration, and respect for lineage.

Credits

Performance: Daniel Proietto
Choreography & music: Kanjuro Fujima VIII

Film: Junpei Iwamoto
Assistant directors: Aya Fujima, Akane Fujima

Lyrics: Alan Lucien Øyen & Andrew Wale
(from Simulacrum, based on the life of Shoji Kojima)

Commissioned and produced for: Rokko Meets Art – 2023 Beyond
by Mirai Moriyama / ARK Artists in Residence Kobe

Originally produced by: Winter Guests, with support from Arts Council Norway