VIDEO WORKS

-Discovering Juggling Through a Global Juggling Journey-

This video series is by Hisashi Watanabe (Head and Mouth, physical researcher and circus artist), who has attracted attention from the dance and circus worlds and presented his work in over 15 countries. The beanbag monster "Ojamihyon" appears in various places around the world and goes on adventures with his balls.

*Ojami means beanbag in the Western Japanese dialect.

• Ojamihyon Episode 4 [Ojami-born]

The birthplace of the beanbag monster Ojamihyon.
Is a new Ojamihyon wriggling with his balls from a pure white space...?
Written and produced by the Japan Foundation (JF) (https://www.jpf.go.jp/)

<Production Information>

• Written and Directed by: Hisashi Watanabe

• Starring: Hisashi Watanabe

• Planning and Production: Atama to Kuchi

• Cinematography and Editing: Miyuki Sakuragi

• Cinematography Assistant: Ayumi Okamoto

• Music: kajii

• Costumes and Production: Sakurako Gibo

• Recorded: November 2021

• Location: Sun Studio, Osaka

<Press Release>

• Nobuko Tanaka (English), Fumiko Kawazoe (Japanese)

(c) The Japan Foundation All Rights Reserved

4 legged monster  "Hyon" sneaks in an art museum and pretends to be the art works...

• Performance: Hisashi Watanabe

• Costume/Film: Sakurako Gibo

• Exhibition: Ronald Ventura

• Cooperation: NAGANO ORGANIC AIR 

• (organized by Nagano Prefectural Cultural Promotion Agency & Nagano Prefecture),

• Karuizawa New Art Museum

• Music: www.evokemusic.ai/jp/

This work was produced as part of the artist-in-residence program of NAGANO ORGANIC AIR project. Special Thanks to Karuizawa New Art Museum.

・Ojamihyon Series, Episode 1

Ojamihyon is a beanbag monster who lives in an old mansion that has been around for hundreds of years.

When no one is around, he sneaks out and plays.

• Juggling: Hisashi Watanabe

• Music: Toru Yamanaka

• Photography & Editing: Miyuki Sakuragi

• Location: Watanabe's family home in Kyoto. A 400-year-old samurai residence.

• Released in July 2017

・Ojamihyon Series, Episode 2

Ojamihyon, the beanbag monster, chases after a beanbag and finds himself in a huge abandoned factory.

As if drawn by the scattered beanbags, he begins his exploration.

• Juggling: Hisashi Watanabe

• Music: Toru Yamanaka

• Cinematography & Editing: Elsa Okazaki

• Planning & Production: fifoo-Bühnenkunstverein

• Filming Location: F23.wir.fabriken, Vienna, Austria

・Ojamihyon Episode 3 "Ojaminchu"

Ojamihyon, the beanbag monster, swims through the ocean and arrives at an island.

Oh, it looks like something is peeking out from behind a rock...

• Starring: Hisashi Watanabe

• Guillaume Martinet

• Music: Makoto Nomura

• Cinematography & Editing: Miyuki Sakuragi

• Ball Production: PM Juggling

• Production: Atama to Kuchi

• Location: Maeda Beach, Okinawa, November 2017

In this video, we tried new things and learned many important things about physicality.
You might be surprised, but we hope you enjoy it.

• NAOKO/Takashi Watanabe

• Photography and editing by Miyuki Sakuragi

• Music by Toru Yamanaka

• Makeup: Yasue Ago

• Styling/Gibo Sakurako

• cooperation/ THE WORLD LOUNGE Co&Co KYOTO

• Special thanks/ Youta Kageyama, Yanagi Miwa, Midori Kurata

Collaborative work with Kajii, a unit that combines heads and mouths with everyday items.
Produced at Strangeseed Shizuoka 2020. 

Due to COVID-19, Watanabe Hisashi and Kajii were unable to meet in person to collaborate.
At that time, a package from Kajii arrived at Watanabe's house... A dining table show with juggling and musical performance!!

• Starring: Hisashi Watanabe/Sou/Kumama

• Video shooting and editing: Sakurako Gibo

It is constructed with an inner bag filled with birdseeds and the high quality outer leather shell.
Different from a normal beanbag, it is bigger, heavier and softer having less inner filling.

The texture of the leather and the softness enable the movements using the entire body, such as holding in the mouth, grabbing by the foot, and putting between the joints. And the heavy weight lets you use the gravity on your body and the balls, like the arms being swung.

• Filmed&edited by Yoshiyuki Sakuragi

• Ball by Radfactor