日本舞踏起源於反叛的六○年代，战败后日本社会依旧处於极度低迷，街头反战、学运与反美风潮接连四起。在这样的社会氛围中，受了欧洲前卫艺术影响的「舞踏之父」，土方巽，起而颠覆传统，便是创造了表现强烈丑陋的新兴舞蹈：舞踏。舞踏意图揭露潜抑体内，「埋藏在社会史背后的原始本能」，故称为「暗黑派舞踏」。

Although Butoh is often viewed as Japan's equivalent of modern dance, in actuality it has little to do with the rational principles of modernism. Butoh is a theater of improvisation which places the personal experiences of the dancer on center-stage. The dancer is used as a medium to his or her inner life, but not for the portrayal of day to day existence. A Dionysian dance of nudity, eroticism, and sexuality, Butoh's scale of expression ranges from meditative tenderness to excessive grotesqueness. By reestablishing the ancient Japanese connection of dance, music, and masks, and by recalling the Buddhist death dances of rural Japan, Butoh incorporates much traditional theater. At the same time, it is a movement of resistance against the abandonment of traditional culture to a highly organized consumer-oriented society. An alliance of tradition and rebellion, Butoh is one of the most fascinating underground dance movements. "Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis" is a visually striking film portrait shot on location in Japan with the participation of the major Butoh choreographers and their companies.

源九郎经义被误颠覆朝野，为兄长追杀，日夜逃亡，四面楚歌，心情就如踏虎尾般战战兢兢。