Having explored early traces of contortionism throughout Japan’s entertainment history in Part One of this series, I will now discuss contemporary developments, as well as the establishment of the first contortion studio in Japan in my interview with Ayumi Moco Osanai, the founder of Contortion Studio NUGARA. Osanai has a background in Judo, a Japanese martial art form, and fell in love with contortion during a high school exchange program in Mongolia. She has since studied contortion in Mongolia at the Mongolian National Circus and opened her own contortion studio in Japan in 2015. Studio NUGARA (derived from the Mongolian word “Uran Nugaralt” for Contortion) is the first and currently only contortion studio in Japan, and practitioners from all corners of the country travel to Tokyo to study contortion.

Figure 2: Performer and Teacher Ash showcasing contortion in a traditional Japanese Garment, the Kimono. Photo credit: Shun Onozawa Mariam Ala-Rashi: Thank you for taking the time and sharing your story with us. I would like to begin with your decision to study Mongolian contortion.  What was your motivation to study this art form? Ayumi Moco Osanai: I went to Mongolia through a student exchange programme for about three weeks during high school when I was around ...