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Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. Low-angle shot of a big taiko drum on a wooden stand. The percussionist stands in front of the taiko facing away from the camera. Wearing a white headband and a fundoshi with shiny skin, he is doing a horse stance with arms in the air, hitting the drum with drumsticks.

The Ondekoza​

Details
Programme: Rediscoveries
Year: 1981
Director: Tai Kato
Format: DCP / 107 min.
Language: Japanese (with Chinese and English subtitles)
Audience: Everyone
Location: House 1, House 2
Accessibility:
More Info:

Ticket Information

Standard: HKD 85

Concession: HKD 68

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. Low-angle shot of a big taiko drum on a wooden stand. The percussionist stands in front of the taiko facing away from the camera. Wearing a white headband and a fundoshi with shiny skin, he is doing a horse stance with arms in the air, hitting the drum with drumsticks.

The Ondekoza​

Founded by performer Den Tagayasu in 1971 on Japan’s Sado Island, The Ondekoza was an art commune known for its harsh training, strict discipline, virtuosic brilliance, and radical pursuit of traditional drumming practices. Featuring Tai Kato’s signature extreme low-angle shots and epic mises en scène, the film is a testament to the interdisciplinary and collaborative spirit of the period. Recorded on location, The Ondekoza boasts a score by Fluxus composer Toshi Ichiyanagi and stage design by artist Tadanori Yokoo. A feast for the senses, this documentary is Kato’s last feature as a director and a final portrait of the troupe before it splintered in the late 1970s. The subsequent emergence of an eponymous group contributed to complicated copyright issues. The film remained virtually unseen for decades until its production company Shochiku restored the work in 2016.

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. Front shot of two young male musicians kneeling of bumpy rocks playing Shamisen. Wearing a white headband and traditional Japanese festival apparel, they stare at the camera with a serious expression.

Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. Front shot of five male percussionists illuminated by spotlights on a dim stage. Wearing a white headband and traditional Japanese festival apparel, they sit with their legs crossed on the floor, holding a drum with both hands on their laps and their eyes closed, appearing intensely focused.

Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. On a stage with falling snow, there is an opened oil-paper umbrella on the floor at the foreground. At the back is a geisha in red and blue apparel, reaching out a hand to the opened umbrella.

Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. Front shot of two young male musicians kneeling of bumpy rocks playing Shamisen. Wearing a white headband and traditional Japanese festival apparel, they stare at the camera with a serious expression.

Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. Front shot of five male percussionists illuminated by spotlights on a dim stage. Wearing a white headband and traditional Japanese festival apparel, they sit with their legs crossed on the floor, holding a drum with both hands on their laps and their eyes closed, appearing intensely focused.

Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. On a stage with falling snow, there is an opened oil-paper umbrella on the floor at the foreground. At the back is a geisha in red and blue apparel, reaching out a hand to the opened umbrella.

Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. Front shot of two young male musicians kneeling of bumpy rocks playing Shamisen. Wearing a white headband and traditional Japanese festival apparel, they stare at the camera with a serious expression.

Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. Front shot of five male percussionists illuminated by spotlights on a dim stage. Wearing a white headband and traditional Japanese festival apparel, they sit with their legs crossed on the floor, holding a drum with both hands on their laps and their eyes closed, appearing intensely focused.

Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. On a stage with falling snow, there is an opened oil-paper umbrella on the floor at the foreground. At the back is a geisha in red and blue apparel, reaching out a hand to the opened umbrella.

Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. Front shot of two young male musicians kneeling of bumpy rocks playing Shamisen. Wearing a white headband and traditional Japanese festival apparel, they stare at the camera with a serious expression.

Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. Front shot of five male percussionists illuminated by spotlights on a dim stage. Wearing a white headband and traditional Japanese festival apparel, they sit with their legs crossed on the floor, holding a drum with both hands on their laps and their eyes closed, appearing intensely focused.

Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Still of documentary titled ‘The Ondekoza’. On a stage with falling snow, there is an opened oil-paper umbrella on the floor at the foreground. At the back is a geisha in red and blue apparel, reaching out a hand to the opened umbrella.

Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

About the Director

Tai Kato (1916–1985, Japan) was a director and screenwriter recognised for his works with Toei Company during the 1960s. Having worked as an assistant director on Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon (1950), Kato became specialised in making hardboiled yakuza and samurai (chambara) films, including Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Match (1969) and Red Peony Gambler: Oryu's Return (1970).

Image at top: Tai Kato. The Ondekoza, 1981. Photo: Courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd.

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