Morinori | Biwa Performer & Installation Artist – The Tale of the Heike Reimagined
Artist Statement
Morinori is a Biwa performer and installation artist based in Japan. Through the Japanese classic The Tale of the Heike, she explores how narrative and the sound of the Biwa resonate beyond time.
In her recent works, she transforms traditional recitation into spatial experience, weaving sound, air, and the gentle movement of cloth and form. Her installations search for the boundary—SAKAI—that lies between “here” and “there,” between presence and absence.
Her practice seeks to reconstruct the cultural spirit 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, unfolding like a scroll to reveal the story within. The work expresses the boundary between “here” and “there,” between the visible and the invisible.
In Owari no Rokudai (2025), the unfolding of the scroll reflects the shift of power from the Heike to the Genji clans. The installation is completed when Morinori performs within the cord boundary spread before the scroll, where sound and narrative intertwine.
Photo: “Owari no Rokudai”, 2025
SAKAI-03 — TAGGING / Traces of Voices
An installation where a passage from The Tale of the Heike is handwritten on transparent polyethylene sheets, engraving traces of voice and the resonance of breath into the space. Each written character becomes a record of the performer’s body, where writing and voice, memory and space, overlap and merge.
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 creative practice unfolds in two directions.
One is her independent artistic practice as Morinori, which engages in 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 expression.
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, art and society.
Contact / Inquiries
For art commissions, exhibitions, or collaborations, please contact:info@morinorijapan.com
For educational programs, workshops, or cultural collaborations, please reach out to Biwakousha, the non-profit platform directed by Morinori https://biwakousha.com info@biwakousha.com
