Being sucked in by the light that comes through the hole
That body is adorable
Just live
〜〜〜〜〜〜〜
I danced with artist Wakana Yamauchi's work ``Premonition of Paradise''. Wakana draws creatures and trees that were victims of the Hiroshima atomic bomb and Fukushima nuclear disaster, and brings them back to life in her paintings.
My Butoh is surrounded by the vibrations of the works, the room where they are displayed, the people who gathered, the music that is playing.
Wakana drew my dancing body.
Every time I dance, I confirm that my body is moved by something invisible that comes from pictures, music, words, and people themselves. I feel like I can feel things even more now that I'm this old.
The short, thorny, graceful hawthorn. The slender hawthorn trunk and branches twist as the years go by. In winter they are particularly beautiful, standing clinging to misty wildernesses and craggy rocky outcrops, or clustered on open ranges of hills that their appearance is spectacular. Leaves and flowers appear simultaneously in May, signalling the change of season from spring to summer. Hawthorn flowers bloom in clusters, so that at the height of spring, rows of white froth run across the fields and mountains, a scene aptly captured by the English writer H. E. Bates as 'the fluffy cream floating in May'.
In spring, when the hawthorn flowers are in full bloom, the air releases a musky, sweet, rich fragrance all around. Small round berries turn burgundy in autumn.
In Ireland, hawthorn is still cherished as a magical tree protected by the fairy kingdom. Tradition has it that if you cut down a single hawthorn tree standing alone in a field or burial mound, you will lose your livestock and household possessions.
Hawthorn trees protect wells and springs as fairy trees. The beautiful flowers of hawthorn are also said to deliver prayers to the heavens. Even today, many people tie rags and other items to hawthorn trees standing near wells and springs, wishing for good luck or that their love will reach the person they love.
Before Christianity, hawthorn was the supreme fertility symbol and at the May Festival, people confided their love, danced to their heart's content and made love in the woods. Among the Celts, spring was the season for marriage, and it was customary to bring a bouquet of hawthorn flowers to weddings to ensure that the couple would be blessed with children.
In Britain, the earliest known hawthorn goddess was Olwen ('white footprints'), a woman of courage, wit and beauty. The well-known mythological tale of Culhwch and Olwen, in which King Arthur's cousin, Culhwch, overcame 40 impossible tasks that seemed virtually unattainable set out by Olwen's father, the giant king, Yspaddaden, and marry his beloved Olwen.
As the beautiful, white hawthorn flowers opened, people celebrated the power of nature and love to bring new life into the world and marvelled at the miracles of sexual activity, pregnancy and childbirth. For the Celts, sexual activity, pregnancy and childbirth were not something to be ashamed of, but an essential part of life and a sacred expression that one could love.
"Good evening~ 🎵 Tonight, I'm planning to have a talk with the China girl 'Aina' at the bar!"
"Hello, I'm Aina. I'm not good at talking, but I'll do my best. Nice to meet you."
"Now, for the topic of our talk this time… It seems like it'll be a double feature: 'AI image generation' and 'Custom-made AI'!"
"Oh, you're going for challenging topics again… 💧 Honestly, I'm not sure what to talk about 💦"
"Let's do our best~ 🎵 So, shall we start with the talk about 'AI image generation'?"
"Yes, let's. Let's talk about how I got into 'AI image generation'."
"Ah, that's quite interesting."
"You know about trends on X (formerly Twitter), right?"
"Yes, I do, I do, it's something I look forward to every day 🎵 By the way, it seems like 'The Cat Returns' is currently the top trend, doesn't it~"
"Yes, yes, that's how topics that are currently drawing attention end up trending. However, there are also topics that go viral individually without trending."
"You mean topics related to influencers and such, right?"
"Yes. Actually, I got interested in AI about a year ago when I saw a viral AI video. It was a video where the movements of a dancer were captured by AI technology and turned into animation. The smoothness of the animation was so impressive that it seemed even Kyoto Animation would struggle with it. That's when I became convinced that the 'AI era had arrived'."
"So, that's how you got interested in AI."
"Yes."
"And you've been doing it steadily since then."
"Yes. Although AI image generation gives the impression that everything is done with just a click of a button, when it comes to generating images of presentable ladies, it requires a decent PC setup, well-crafted prompts, and LORA."
"How often do presentable images come out?"
"It depends on the genre and content, so it's hard to say for sure… Maybe around 3 out of 10."
"It sounds quite challenging."
"Yes."
"Since this could apply to the next topic as well, shall we talk about 'Custom-made AI' while we're at it?"
"Yes, that's fine."
"Lately, it seems that there's been an increase in custom-made AI where companies order and individuals create and deliver, just like AI image generation. Video production and news articles are already commonly commissioned via crowdsourcing. Do you think AI image generation will also go in that direction?"
"I think it's already happening. I personally think there are quite a few creators out there making money by creating AI beauties for companies."
"It seems like it's more established as a business than one might think."
"Yes, it does."
"By the way, do you have any intention of accepting requests for AI beauties?"
"I am interested, of course. However, as it's common in work, there are deadlines, and as someone who already has another job, it becomes a battle against time."
"It sounds like you're short on time, huh…⁉💦"
"Yes, exactly. It means the number of projects I can take on is limited."
"I see… So, if an individual requested one, would you make it?"
"I would, but it would be a paid service. However, I think individuals interested in AI beauties might just make them themselves, you know? Nowadays, there are smartphone apps that make it easy and free to do so."
"Oh, I've seen articles about that!"
"Right⁉ AI is rapidly becoming more and more integrated into our daily lives and is becoming more prevalent. This year, I think AI will become even more familiar to us."
"Yes, indeed. I'm proud of it 🎵 So, do you have anything else you'd like to say?"
"Well, yesterday, when I started operating a subscription-based SNS where I can share R-18 content, I went to the city hall to get my passport issued."
"I see, I see."
"When filling out the forms, there's a section for travel plans and such. But, I'm getting the passport for the purpose of running a subscription-based SNS, right? I'm not going on a trip abroad. Yet, the staff still asks me, 'So, where are you going?'"
"They ask assuming you're going on a trip abroad, huh?⁉️"
"Yeah, that's right. In my mind, I was like, 'It's for a subscription! I'm not going anywhere abroad! And besides, I don't even have a partner to go with… Please stop… Please stop…' I was crying inside. I never thought I'd be crying inside while getting a passport issued. The world we live in is full of demons."
"Normally, people don't get a passport for reasons like that."
"Exactly."
"Well, I think that's about it for this time. Thank you for the lengthy conversation."
Calendar. Now May 1st, May Day. 'May comes, carried by twins and led by Kupid,' goes the customary Spenserian verse. 'When the fairest maiden on earth scatters flowers, all creatures laugh and murmur and dance. The young should dance and the old should reminisce.
Japanese lyrics used are at the very end. Feel free to let me know about any mistakes or ask any questions about the translation.
Bolded words in the English version represents the words that are written in the song lyrics that they pronounce as the word between dashes (-like this-)
English
Within the stillness known as prelude, the -velvet-[1] curtain
Opens solemnly, let us start “The Chance Meeting of Eternity and an Instant”
Display it in that barren art gallery -gallery- called life
Your lavish compilation -collection-
The scarlet rose’s dazzling passion
The teal night’s permeating grief
Bliss and loathing, the sound that carries those tonal differences
Is clad upon this body of mine
We are the bestowed ones, tasked with depicting these feelings
Let us call that impulse “life” itself, “The Beat of a Soul that Cannot Be Stopped”
The miniature garden we call reality, cannot contain our soul -heart-
It overflows from the world, the beautiful “Echo from the Chance Meeting of Eternity and an Instant”
Is it visible to you too? That blinding light
To succeed in writing from inside the dying out dramatic song
No one could accomplish such thing right? However, let us continue
The insatiable longing of those who do not know what is enough
Creates -art-[2]
That childish illusion, the absolute ideal, the enlightened despair, the distinct borderlines
Color and silhouette, clearly and hazily intertwine
And dance together atop the stage
An interlude to the sigh of admiration, to the that pierce through the barrage of emotions
Let us make precisely those stirred emotions an eulogy, “The Beat of a Soul that Cannot Be Stopped”
If there is meaning in a person’s birth, then you shall know it right here and now
Submit to it now, the beautiful “Echo from the Chance Meeting of Eternity and an Instant”
Is it visible to you too? That blinding light
True art lays between those who create, and those who observe
Born from the noble purpose interwoven between them, let us call that love
It is precisely the meaning of what makes us human, that ties us all together
Worship it now, the miracle that is our meeting
“Amor Vincit Omnia”
Everyone is a bestowed ones, tasked with depicting these feelings
A fitting place to display life, overflowing from a world that has no end
The ”Echo from the Chance Meeting of a Soul” that makes a heart quiver
You can see it right? That beautiful light
[1] velvet is written twice, there is no difference between them. First it is written in kanji (天鵞絨) with the spelling between the dashes (ビロウド) due to how unusual it is to use the kanji for it
[2] Both the kanji (美術) and the katakana between the dashes (アート) mean the same thing. 美術 is usually used to refer to the fine arts, as opposed to 芸術 which tend to just mean art in general, but both are used pretty interchangeably