I recently published my anthropological research study The Art of Contortionism: An Introduction to and Analysis of Chinese Contortionism in a Historical, Political and Social Context aiming to position the art of contortion in scholarly literature, exploring its history and development, and to open up this valuable field for future discussion and research. With this article, I would like to tie in on my previous work in East Asia and explore the development of contortionism in Japan through an anthropological lens by taking historical and social aspects into account.

In order to map the development of contortion in Japan, it is imperative to encompass historical events that might have influenced the development of contortion practices in Japan. Events to consider are the beginning of the China-Japan relations in the 8th century which sparked the first recorded encounter with circus arts, the moment Japan opened up to the world again after more than 200 years of isolation (1639-1853), enabling an artistic exchange between Japan and the West, as well as contemporary events such as the opening of the first contortion studio in Japan in 2015. During my research of different articles, books and archival circus programs, and in my interview with Ayumi Moco Osanai, the founder of Contortion Studio Nugara Japan, I was able to reconstruct a guiding thread of...