Bunt ciała is a sketched portrait of Tatsumi Hijikata, a controversial artist and a man full of contradictions. It is also an attempt at identifying the origin of butoh through interpretation of his essays. The author concentrates on the performer’s childhood years, which Hijikata spent in Tohoku province, because this is the time and place that seems to have shaped the dancer’s imagination and stagecraft. Recalling events from that period, she shows how he himself – as a mature artist – ennobled his memories, elevating ordinary situations to the rank of creative revelations. Using examples of selected choreographies by Hijikata, she also reconstructs the birth process of the new form of dance expression and its realisations in stage performances. The illustrations are an additional advantage of the book: photographs of shows and demonstrations featuring Hijikata at the Manggha Museum, including performances by the author herself (who also ‘practices butoh’).