Overwhelming imagery of Yukio Mishima created by Maurice Béjart, expressed by The Tokyo Ballet for the first time in 10 years

2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the ritual suicide of Japan's most famous postwar novelist, Yukio Mishima. When Maurice Béjart set about choreographing a new ballet for The Tokyo Ballet in 1993, he chose Mishima as a motif.

However, he did not create a biography nor use ballet to illustrate Mishima's work of literature whose importance was not yet fully recognized at that time. It was Béjart's bold experimentation to "simply suggest, and above all, love ーwithout ever judging".

The ballet opens with the sea, an important symbol in Mishima's works. From the sea roars, appear a schoolboy, Mishima, and four other selves who develop imagery of the themes of Mishima's masterpieces including Kyoko's House, Forbidden Colors, Rokumeikan, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion and his lifetime aesthetic motif, Saint Sebastian.

The Tokyo Ballet has performed M not only in Japan but also internationally at prestigious theaters including the Palais Garnier, Teatro alla Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Hamburgische Staatsoper where it received huge critical and public acclaim. In commemoration of the 50th death anniversary of Yukio Mishima, The Tokyo Ballet will perform the ballet in October 2020 for the first time in 10 years.

Performance Dates

Venue

Tokyo Bunka Kaikan (Tokyo)
http://www.t-bunka.jp/en/access/index.html

Tickets (tax included)

●Please note that we are to present the performances with the utmost caution in line with national and regional guidelines for novel coronavirus infection prevention measures, and that the performance dates and details are subject to change depending on circumstances. We will be posting on our website a list of novel coronavirus precautions upon attending the performance. Audience members are kindly asked to read it before attending the performance.
●Children under 6 years old are not admitted to the auditorium.
●Program and casting as of 20 April 2020 are subject to change. Changes in the program and cast do not entitle holders to return or exchange tickets.