This study aims at considering on Japanese postmodern dance, by researching Hijikata Tatsumi’s Ankoku Butoh, Dance of Darkness, which is known for most famous avant-garde dance of 1950s in Japan. Hijikata’s Butoh, started with Kinjiki in 1959, was an entirely new dance form having different qualities of expression from the other dances such as classic ballet and modern dance at that time of Japan. Mostly showing the experimental attempt on the stage by ordinary movement from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, Hijikata changed his performing style from his work in 1968, Hijikata Tatsumi and Japanese – Rebellion of Body. That means that Hijikata tried to make his own movement method. This study focuses on ‘Butoh notation’ as the principal reason of changing movement style of Butoh. By analyzing the existence of Butoh notations and contents of them, the research would figure out the actual relation between notation and creation of a new style.

The purpose of this study is to classify the types of site-specific dance performance based on the characteristics of the site. To analyze the types, I examine articles, interviews, reviews, and internet sources about site-specific dance performance. In conclusion, the general site type is not just the dismantling of the boundary between everyday life and the arts but has the characteristic of a place that provides an opportunity to remind us of our ordinary life through the connection of the subject of work from the characteristics of the everyday venue. The site of specific meanings type is a museum with its own cultural and historical meaning, or the theme of the work is connected from the characteristics of a place where free access by the general public is not possible, and through this, an opportunity to create partnerships with local communities and institutions. The episodic site type is that the subject of the work is connected from the discarded and useless place, and through this, it provides an opportunity to reflect on the historical meaning of the past and concerns about the issues currently occurring at the performance venue. This type has the characteristics of a place that presents the possibility of regenerating the place again.