Morinori | Biwa Performer & Installation Artist｜Reimagining The Tale of the Heike
Artist Statement
Morinori is a biwa performer and installation artist based in Japan. Through the Japanese classical epic The Tale of the Heike, she explores how narrative and the sound of the biwa resonate across time.
In her recent works, she transforms traditional recitation into spatial experiences, weaving sound, air, and the subtle movement of cloth and materials into immersive environments. Her installations investigate the boundary—SAKAI—that lies between “here” and “there,” between presence and absence.
Her practice seeks to reinterpret and reconstruct the spiritual and cultural foundations of Japan’s ancient performing arts as a form of contemporary art.
Selected Works
SAKAI-01 — MAKI / Unfolding Story
A spatial installation in which lengths of cloth are suspended and unfold like a scroll, revealing a story within the space. The work explores the boundary between “here” and “there,” between the visible and the invisible.
In Owari no Rokudai (2025), the unfolding scroll reflects the historical shift of power from the Heike to the Genji clans. The installation is completed when Morinori performs within the cord-defined space before the scroll, where sound and narrative intertwine.
Photo: “Owari no Rokudai”, 2025
SAKAI-03 — TAGGING / Traces of Voices
An installation completed through performance in front of polyethylene sheets on which a passage from The Tale of the Heike, “Sakaro” (Volume 11), is written in Roman letters.
SAKARO２5 — Sound Video
An installation completed when Morinori performs before a backdrop of polyethylene sheetson which a passage from The Tale of the Heike, “Sakaro,” from Volume 11,is written in Roman letters.
Projects / Collaboration
Morinori’s practice unfolds in two parallel directions.
One is her independent artistic work as Morinori, encompassing installations, video works, and performances that explore the boundary between “here” and “there.”Through these works, she reinterprets the classical art of Heike Biwa—the recitation of The Tale of the Heike accompanied by the biwa—into contemporary visual and spatial forms.
The other is Biwakousha, a non-profit platform she directs, dedicated to the study and documentation of Heike Biwa and Satsuma Biwa.Working in collaboration with local communities and cultural institutions, Biwakousha focuses on the preservation and transmission of Japan’s traditional performing arts.
Together, these two practices form a continuum in which artistic creation and cultural inheritance coexist, bridging past and present, tradition and contemporary expression.
Contact / Inquiries
For exhibition proposals, commissions, or artistic collaborations, please contact:
For educational programs, workshops, or research and cultural collaborations related to Heike Biwa and Satsuma Biwa, please contact Biwakousha, the non-profit platform directed by Morinori:
