Human art.
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Setouchi Circus Factory creates a “contemporary circus culture found nowhere else,” born from the character of the Setouchi region.
Our Mission
01
Creating a culture found nowhere else
Contemporary circus is an art form that uses highly trained bodies and evolves freely and flexibly by incorporating diverse artistic elements, including music, theatre, dance, visual art, and video. As a pioneer in Japan, we create a culture born from the character of the Setouchi region.
02
Fostering
Believing that people are the key to strengthening a region, we foster talent through event management and circus classes. We nurture the abilities to create, collaborate, and condition and express the body, opening the door to each individual’s potential.
03
Connecting the region with the world
We work with local communities on creative and production projects, support the activities of artists and staff from overseas, and share our work with the world through networks in Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Co-creation transcends national borders and has the power to connect people in the region with people around the world.
Board Composition
Representative Director
Michiko Tanaka
Directors
Hideki Kato (Koso Nippon)
Yukiko Manabe (President and Representative Director, Fuji Construction Co., Ltd.)
Toshinori Yagi (Attorney, Hekikai General Law Office)
Mitsuaki Yamashita (President and Representative Director, Big Bang Co., Ltd.)
Takashi Iwama (Representative, Satoai Management Support 88)
Auditor
Yasumasa Manabe (President and Representative Director, Takamatsu-Kotohira Electric Railroad Co., Ltd.)
Founder and Representative Director
Michiko Tanaka
Contemporary Circus Director
In 2004, while working for The Hokkaido Shimbun Press, she encountered contemporary circus and was deeply struck by the way performers lived by relying solely on their bodies. She decided to become a contemporary circus specialist. In 2007, she left The Hokkaido Shimbun Press for France, and in 2009 published “I Want to Encounter Circus: French Circus Turned into Art.”
After working in performing arts at the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale and the Setouchi Triennale, she became independent. Wanting to “create a base in Japan for developing a contemporary circus culture and sharing it with the world,” she moved to Kagawa Prefecture and founded Setouchi Circus Factory to create a new culture with local communities.
While continuing to create works with artists from overseas and performers from Japan, she is advancing the development of artists, staff, and technicians and securing creative spaces with the cooperation of the local community. Building on its accumulated knowledge and experience, the organisation aims to become a cultural hub attracting global attention in five and ten years. An official member of the international circus and street performance network Circostrada.
Since 2024, producer of Tokyo’s Heaven Artist TOKYO. Since 2026, director of “ARTE TOKYO CIRCUS” at Tokyo’s art festival ARTE TOKYO.
