Ghosts of Pre-Modernity examines how post-war Japanese avant-garde artists, through Butoh, invoked pre-modern traditions to confront the trauma of modernity and reconstruct national identity.
Ghosts of Pre-Modernity: Butoh and the Avant-Garde is the publication of my Master’s thesis exploring how post-war Japanese avant-garde artists, namely the founders of Butoh but also peers in photography and film, invoked pre-modern spirits to confront the traumatic legacy of World War II. By drawing on ancestral memory and ritual, these artists reimagined Japanese identity beyond wartime nationalism, offering a haunting meditation on loss, resilience, and cultural renewal.