New Nambu (9) “Futo〜 Who was Hirohito Koyama?”

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Text:Onnyk

The review of the event organized at <Proto Theater> ( in Shinjuku district Takadanobaba ) 
 

 “不図”  is a word we read “Futo”. It means “unintended”. This strange name project was planned to mourn for the person called Mr. Hirohito Koyama. I guess most people can’t remind soon when they hear his name.

He died at 58 years old. He died lonely before 60, we regard it as the cycle completed in one’s life, at his home in Hachiouji. The cause of death was brain infarction, not the first time. Although he wasn’t known well, but known to people who have involved in a part of avant-garde/experimental art activities centered upon Tokyo. He wasn’t a professional artist, and also didn’t make money to live as a critic. However, he had an enough critical eye, which make us to think “It may be really great”, if he appreciated it.

And, making his friends to think “What was he?” with a question mark until death, he has passed away. He was such a strange person. After he died in 2010, the project to mourn him was begun, but it faded away or didn’t develop smoothly, it finally realized 3 years after his death. A plan office for a Hirohito Koyama mourn project was operated by Hiroaki Arasaki, Masami Irumagawa, Toshihiko Endo, Yasushi Yuda who was linked by fate deeply, the project was held as a name “Futo～ Who was Hirohito Koyama?”

I line up members who joined this project:

Shinichi Arai (Performance), Hiroaki Arasaki ( he formed a group with Mr. Koyama), IZA(Singer), Masami Irumagawa (Cellist), Hiromi Unakami (critic), Toshihiko Endo (dance), Wataru Okuma (Cicala-muta), Onnyk (The fifth column), Geso (The fifth column), Yasuo Kobayashi (Theater), Takeo Suzuki (Sound performance), Kenichi Takeda (A-Muzik), Masami Tada(Sound Performer), Hiromichi Fuzii (Actor), morning landscape (Theatre), Yamada building firm (Theater), Yashushi Yuda (Theater)

I hear this was a lineup. But, now I have no information whether all man joined.

At this time, the booklet which his friends and acquaintances compiled texts by Mr. Koyama and they published pictures or memorial writings was published. This was called “7711 Hirohito Koyama text”. Moreover, CDR named “Futo- then, the song is stopped” was attached to this booklet. This was compiled the reading, remix of environmental sounds, works of electronic music, live performance by Mr.Koyama himself, you can understand he remained works composed minutely though he made only a few recordings.

I wrote the detail on the booklet, since I was 20 years old, I met Koyama a lot of time, co-performed with him and asked him to come to Morioka, my town. And, he really drank hard with friends. He projected a cherry blossom enjoying party every year by himself, he participated in a year-end party and he took easy to stay a lot of drunks who couldn’t go home up. Although he was smart by his appearance, in fact he has really friendly personality, I can say he was a well talented host of parties in a sense.

However, he was a strong man who we couldn’t easily refute him because he constructed a firm logic for the development of his thoughts whether he got drunk or didn’t. So, he was such person, once he said “This has highly some good points.“, the value of that work suddenly rose. It was same for theatres, books and vinyl records. If Koyama praised it, we must check it once by ourselves. He made us have such feeling. I wonder he was a connoisseur in an old term.

  

However, not only a sense of beauty in an aesthetic sense but also the knowledge which comprehends philosophy, thought, critic tell us meaning of life about works and authors, the historical meaning and problem presentation. So, he positively wrote introductory essays and texts of recommendation in a golden era of rental record shops, and offered a text for the CD of Mr. Irumagawa’s solo. Moreover, he made an amazing complete musical archive in Koishikawa library as a library clerk.

 

And, he positively intervened the radical theatrical movement “absolute theater” named by Kenryu Izawa, he also volunteered the chairperson in the discussion. A bachelor, Mr. Koyama took early retirement and bought a detached house a little far from the town and had a plan that he permanently exhibited his great archives anyone can freely use this house. Then, he died when it would be realized soon. Mr. Koyama had finally practiced to build the open space for people with sticking to his intention.

 

Oh, I’ve written until here, I can finally begin the review of the mourn project. Well, I agree to this mourn project since the early time, when I sent what I wonder whether such length is good, I was said “ Please let us to use this as it is.” and it was published on the booklet though they didn’t revise various false. I also had the will to play the duo with Mr.Irumagawa again, so I played the live performance. I played the alto sax with the mouthpiece for tenor and the flute with same mouthpiece.

In that sense, Mr. Irumagawa is the best existence for my motivation. It’s the cello, but it’s not the cello, it is an instrument, but it is not an instrument. No, non-instrumental called the cello, something shaped the cello is there. The sound generated from there is thoroughly non-segmental, and not only fragments but also relationship of disjunction without a break.

I screwed my sound into this space, and I enjoyed to imagine I was forced out, pretend not to know, lied down to the ground, looked up at the sky, wandered about, stood alone, fainted and shouted. A great clarinet player, Mr. Okuma said “ Please break into during my performance ”, so I enjoyed to force my way into his performance with Mr. Suzuki.

Well, although I joined only on 27th, I will review what I watched. By the way, the venue, “ proto theater “ is the studio in the center of a residential area, which is under control by a theatrical group D’AM. Hiroaki Arasaki and Mr. Koyama went way back, they formed “Event Accident 7711” we can call a project group or a performance group. And he recalled Mr. Koyama by a movie and reading of his own novel at this time.

I have no word about the cello by Masami Irumagawa. I feel powerlessness of a word. I admire Mr. Koyama who shows smart texts on that CD. Although Hiromi Unakami got involved in Absolute Theatre, now he aggressively dispatched “retirement declaration” which is “all activities of expression are only harmful.” He would be in common with Mr. Koyama who was sensitive about unproductiveness of activities of expression during his lifetime.

Toshihiko Endo showed the movement called “Kairo-ha (circuit group)” which they curiously transform IT technology into the analog style. His performance was really  planned in the detail and was steadily put on the stage. However, what is dance? Is dance a musical performance by using a body? What is connected with IT.? IT =it. ES=s in Germany. Oh, I feel like I will write and write. His Butoh tempts words and unconsciousness.

Speaking of  Wataru Okuma, his band “Cicala-Mvta”, he played the clarinet solo and violently moved about with tearing off a newspaper by his legs. GESO gave his opinion whether the structure of the work “ Man Machine II ” on the cassette series called “ the fifth column tape ” was really practiced in front of the participants, and the carefulness of Mr. Koyama was known again.

Takeo Suzuki is a sound performer connoisseurs know and a great player of throat singing. Using two analog machines called a small cassette recorder which it was difficult to get, he made the visible effect of delay into his work. Although it may symbolize mourn project organized “late (or delayed)” in a shrewd view, “mourn” will always come to delayed like regret if I think moreover.. There are a funeral performed while in life, but you wouldn’t be mourned while in life.

 

Speaking to Ken’ichi Takeda, although he is the unparalleled existence as the leader of a brigade (band), “A-Musik” which aims to the sideshow of revolution and the player of a hybrid Japanese instrumental called Taisho-goto, he had a presence like a prominent figure in the place for mourning Mr. Koyama.

Masami Tada was a member of musical group, GAP which had existed before, and also he is a member of a legendary improvisation group “East Biophonic Symphonia”,. a developing group of it “Marginal Consort”. Although he plays various self-made instruments, those were not only electronic material, he showed extremely somatic sound performance with object like handed down magical goods. The best performance I had ever seen during this project.

The strange name theatrical unit called “Yamada building farm” was highly impressive. Although music and composition were also so inorganic that I felt great, I was disillusioned just as one actor appeared and come to perform, not I was brought to illusion from reality (not wrong). What I watched was a stage! ( I was noticed that.) She had lost because of her beauty and acting ability. I watched such woman actors many times. With many efforts, they reached the level that they believe it as the truth, which means that the actor must have the beautiful surface and to be a looked existence, But, it’s a kind of the niche (trap for himself).

 

True actors don’t play a role who is watched, but they make watcher can watch what they watch, they disappear at that moment, it is like that such actors didn’t exist anywhere, that is “ The function itself which they can watch what is what.” So, I’m attracted the normality (dress, movement, direction) of the group leader who doesn’t look like an actor. He was a carpenter by all appearances.

It is really good that the name of this group is “Yamada building farm”. In that sense, the existence of that cute female actor made the show not “work” but “play”. It’s a strange relationship. Well, because the two contrastive person made me notice it, if they had such

an intention, I would be extremely pierced by their plan.

By the way, what and where do I put stress on my activities? I feel miserable when I think emptiness of my performance. Pure abstract or sound design? Will I do it by one-man stage play or by a contest with a follower of another school? Is there a meaning of such thing? More than these, is it important that I remain some one song ? Although late Mr. Koyama was the existence as a dilettante recognized by himself and other people, I felt his works and recordings were stable as well constructed ones again.

 

But, what I feel more than that, the existence of people he united. Since the moment this project finished, the participants return to their field of activities, the sphere of behaviors. And almost all those aren’t cooperated with. They only come to there to offer flowers for the one name of Hirohito Koyama. No one positively answered the question “What was Koyama Hirohito?”. It only remains the rigidity of tautology “He is him”.

Although I won’t say it is good that I remain even one song, what a means of remembering the meaning of life, but if it is better that the existence return to Ku-mu (emptiness), such a means is only a ghost. Will I make efforts to become a cool ghost. The world is full of ghosts.