Since ancient times, deep mountains have often been portrayed as realms inhabited by marginalised and enigmatic beings. In Japanese folklore, Yamamba is a type of yokai (supernatural being or spirit) that manifests as an old woman residing in the mountains. In the oral traditions of the Taiwanese Indigenous Atayal people, a community of women lives deep within the mountains, a place known as Temahahoi. What if these mountains of Japan and Taiwan were interconnected across borders, allowing Yamamba and the Temahahoi people to meet?

Sticky Hands, Stitched Mountains is the inaugural collaborative project by Nanako Matsumoto, a Tokyo-based dance artist and Ciwas Tahos, a Taiwanese visual artist based between Taipei and Melbourne. Matsumoto’s “Yokai Body” methodology, which constructs texts and choreography through meticulous research, merges with Tahos’ queer approach to exploring culture and gender identity, resulting in a transnational mountain within the theatre. What voices will these women employ to convey their stories?

Together, the artists ask how the space of Temahahoi and Yamamba can survive when the mountains, the land and the trees are taken away and traumatised by neo-liberal patriarchal capitalism, and hope to grow the baby camphor tree back and expand the mountain using recycled paper.

Performance times

Thurs 23 Oct, 5.30-7pm
Fri 24 Oct, 6-7.30pm
Sat 25 Oct, 6-7.30pm

Creative team

Artistic Concept & Performance, Nanako Matsumoto & Anchi Lin (Ciwas Tahos)

Choreography, Nanako Matsumoto

Video Concept & Design, Anchi Lin (Ciwas Tahos)

Video Software Design & Technical Support, Bih Ru Wang

Surtitle Design & Technical Support, Daichi Abe

Atayal Language Consultant, Apang Bway

Choreography Support, Kengo Nishimoto

Sound Design & Operation, Mina Hayashi

Sound Advice and Support, Tzu-Ning Lin

Lighting Design & Operation, Tsai-Fei Wang

Original Lighting Design, Kana Watanabe

Dramaturg, Nagara Wada

Stage Manager, Kodachi Kitagata

Production Coordinator, Yuko Kuroda

Research Cooperation, Alak Akatung, Junya Kouno, Kobayashi Zoen Co., Ltd., Sakujiro Shimomura, Keita Tanaka, Jing-Yao He, Yasuko Yokoshi, Temu Nokan

Sticky Hands Stitched Mountains is presented by Performance Space as part of Liveworks 2025.

Commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and The Japan Foundation for Liveworks 2025 and presented by Performance Space.

Supported by Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan | Japan Arts Council and The Playking Foundation

In cooperation with Kyoto Experiment Premier Performance/Co-Production: Kyoto Experiment, The Japan Foundation, Taipei Performing Arts Center

Photography by Haruka Oka. Courtesy of Kyoto Experiment