Ungrudgingly admired by seasoned dirtbags and muscular young rock rats, she is, even though still young, perhaps the first female climber whose accomplishments may transcend gender, and the first rock climber who could become a household name. The real miracle may be that a little girl from the unmountainous island of Manhattan, born to insular, artistic immigrants who had never tied a figure-eight knot, became, by the age of fourteen, possibly the best female rock climber ever-a Gretzky of the granite. She and Poppo both struggle with English, despite having lived in New York City for nearly forty years.Ĭlimbing was not originally a part of the plan.

I think she has monkey DNA.” Tsuya has a sardonic sense of humor, and a husky laugh.

Tsuya recalls that even in the hospital nursery Ashima ceaselessly moved her hands, arms, and legs: “All the time, not stop. In June, 2001, a daughter was born: Ashima. When Tsuya turned fifty, they were ready to give up, but their doctor urged them to try once more. For more than ten years, they tried to have a child, availing themselves of every method they could afford. The Times described his movements onstage as those of “a powerful, slightly wry priest.” Spin noted his ability to discern gods in the neighborhood trash and pronounced him “strong on punk ethics.” Meanwhile, Tsuya, who was working as a saleswoman at a Japanese clothing store in the East Village, paid the rent.Įventually, Poppo and Tsuya got married. In them, Poppo is limber and lean-a ghoul in gold or white paint. Videos of a few of these performances have survived into the YouTube age. He founded a troupe, called Poppo and the Go-Go Boys, which had as many as twenty dancers, most of them women, and they performed at downtown theatres-La MaMa, the Kitchen, the Joyce-and toured overseas. Naked save for a loincloth, and spray-painted gold from head to toe, he danced sometimes with a burning dummy, amid fires he’d set on the sidewalk, or he surfed atop passing taxis, or he stood still for twenty minutes, barefoot, on a block of ice.

By the mid-eighties, he was a minor celebrity in the East Village arts scene, known for his intense brand of street theatre. When winter came, he began performing both inside and outside night clubs downtown: the Mudd Club, Pyramid, Danceteria. Most days, he danced there in the shallow pool. Tsuya was right-New York was very exciting.Īfter a week, Poppo found a stage: the fountain in Washington Square Park. After a couple of years, Tsuya flew to New York on a tourist visa and sent word that the city was more exciting than Tokyo or London. Upon their return to Japan, Hisatoshi, who went by the nickname Poppo, took up the study of Butoh, an avant-garde dance form. After graduating, they travelled together to Europe and, captivated by the punk scene in London, settled there for a while. Hisatoshi Shiraishi, the father, was from the southern island of Shikoku, and Tsuya Otake, the mother, was from Fukushima, where her family had a garment factory. The mother and father of Ashima Shiraishi, a fourteen-year-old New Yorker who has been called the most talented rock climber in the world, met in fashion school, in Tokyo, in the early seventies. Photograph by Pari Dukovic for The New Yorker Her body assumes a seemingly infinite variety of forms, each of a different utility.

Rok ninja puzzle