Butoh, which was initiated by Tatsumi Hijikata in the late 1960s, was not just a revolutionary dance movement but a magnetic sphere in which artists from various disciplines interacted, with Hijikata as a catalyst. Like Sergei Diaghilev in the 1920s, Hijikata served as a matchmaker between dance and visual art. Hijikata’s works are remembered as a remarkable achievement in the history of performing arts and he is acknowledged as the greatest influence on Japanese art since the 1960s. For one night only, d-net’s San Francisco Butoh Festival and SF Cinematheque will present two legendary films which have never been seen before on the West Coast. Hoso-tan (the Story of Smallpox) (1972) and Heso to Genbaku (Navel and A-Bomb) (1960). These films will be introduced by Hijikata’s dance partner and widow, Akiko Motofuji