Rohm Theatre, Nuit Blanche 2021
Following the premiere of the symphonic piece Amaterasu in September at Osaka Symphony Hall, Amaterasu II revisits the same work through the lens of the N’SO KYOTO format.
Amaterasu, the sun goddess in Japanese mythology, is one of the principal deities of Shinto. This piece explores the parallels between her legend— as recounted in the Nihon Shoki (712 AD) and the Kojiki (720 AD)— and recent discoveries in solar physics regarding the formation of the Sun.
According to solar physics, the Sun’s birth unfolds in three stages:
- A primordial cloud of particles collapses under gravitational forces.
- Particles begin to coalesce, forming a denser mass.
- A nuclear reaction ignites, giving birth to the Sun.
The legend follows a strikingly similar sequence:
- Amaterasu’s brother, Susanoo, provokes her wrath until she retreats into a cave, plunging the world into darkness.
- The gods unite, crafting objects and devising a plan to lure her out.
- Amaterasu emerges, restoring her eternal radiance.
In this spatialized performance, two dancers embody the dual narratives—myth and science—reinterpreting the Sun’s creation through movement and sound.
