Echoes of Culture:

Japanese Sound Perception

Sound permeates our daily lives, forming the foundation of culture and art. However, the way we perceive sound varies greatly across cultures.
It has become clear that people from certain cultural backgrounds, including Japanese, have unique characteristics in their perception of sound, rooted in their culture and environment. In the case of Japan, these characteristics are particularly pronounced and have become an intriguing subject of study.

Dr. Tadanobu Tsunoda's groundbreaking research^[1] revealed differences in brain function between Japanese and Western individuals.
Meanwhile, Akikazu Nakamura^[2] focuses on the significance of overtones in traditional Japanese music. By combining these two studies, a clearer picture of the distinctive way Japanese people recognize sound emerges.

This page will provide a detailed explanation of Dr. Tsunoda's discoveries regarding brain lateralization and Nakamura's overtone theory, exploring how these findings influence Japanese musical perspectives and linguistic sensibilities.

Professor Tadanobu Tsunoda's research:

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This is the English translation of the diagram originally created by Professor Tsunoda, with the English version quoted from Ono Sokki^[3].

Professor Tsunoda conducted research on the differences in brain function between Japanese and Western people. The main contents of his research are as follows:

1. Dichotic listening test: He conducted experiments to examine brain responses by playing different sounds to the left and right ears.
2. Recognition of insect sounds: He discovered that Japanese people process insect sounds in the left brain (language brain), while Western people process them in the right brain (music brain).
3. Vowel processing: He demonstrated that Japanese people tend to process vowels in the left brain, while Western people tend to process them in the right brain.
4. Recognition of natural sounds: He revealed that Japanese people tend to process natural sounds linguistically in the left brain, while Western people tend to process them musically in the right brain.
5. Influence of language environment: He suggested that these differences are formed by the language environment in early childhood, rather than by race.^[4]

According to Professor Tsunoda's research, Japanese people use their brains differently from Western people. Japanese people process insect sounds and natural sounds in the left brain (language brain), while Western people process these sounds in the right brain (music brain). This discovery explains why Japanese people recognize insect sounds as 'voices' and are more sensitive to natural sounds.

Tsunoda's conclusion suggests that the use of vowel-dominant languages may be the cause of these left-right differences in the brain. The absence of consonant-to-consonant combinations means fewer combinatorial possibilities, making Japanese simple in its phonetic structure. This simplicity in phonetic structure leads to a high occurrence of homophones, necessitating acoustic complexity for distinction.
Moreover, the constant use of consonant-vowel combinations requires the ability to distinguish acoustically very different changes within a short time. Additionally, vowels have a greater acoustic range. While consonant-centric Western languages have a relatively limited acoustic range, vowel-centric Japanese has a much wider range.

Considering the origins of such languages, it is likely that people who were sensitive to acoustics, possibly due to posture, breathing methods, and natural environment, developed languages with a wide acoustic range comparable to natural sounds.
This may explain why natural sounds and language are processed similarly. As a result of this accumulation, it is thought that differences in the use of the left and right brain have emerged between Westerners and Japanese.

The Value of Different Auditory Experiences:

I acknowledge that there has been some criticisms towards Tsunoda's research.
The concerns about the reliability and reproducibility of his experimental methods, and particularly the criticism of "Japanese supremacy," are significant points.

However, as a musician rather than a neuroscientist, I found his explanations intriguing precisely because they resonated with my own way of hearing sounds. It may be mentioned that the book became a bestseller in Japan because many Japanese people felt a similar resonance.

What deserves attention here is the nature of the criticism towards this research. Isn't it itself a form of colonialist thinking to dismiss simple questions like "Why do Japanese native speakers feel emotion in the sound of insects?" or the curiosity of "Why am I moved by sound fluctuations including microtones?" by simply labeling them as "nationalism"?

I myself sometimes feel that the "ways of listening" described in Western music theory books differ from my own sensory experience. However, I don't consider these differences "wrong" - they are simply different listening experiences. Similarly, it's inappropriate to make value judgments about Japanese auditory characteristics being in some way "superior."

The real issue lies in the absolute insistence that "there can be no theory other than our own." Such criticism of research can become a form of colonialist suppression that denies different perspectives and experiences. While scientific criticism is necessary, it should not deny the existence of different experiences and sensibilities.

Relation to Akikazu Nakamura's overtone theory:

Nakamura's research on overtones provides a perspective that further deepens Tsunoda's theory.

1. Japanese traditional music emphasizes overtones, especially making extensive use of [non-integer overtones].
2. Japanese vowels also have a rich overtone structure.
3. Japanese people are sensitive to subtle changes in overtones.

These characteristics are closely related to the fact that Japanese people process sounds in the left brain. The richness of overtones may be promoting the linguistic processing of sounds.

Regarding [non-integer overtones]:

[Non-integer overtones] are overtones with frequencies that are not integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. These overtones give a distinctive influence to the timbre and play a role in accentuating the individuality of instruments and voices.

Characteristics of [non-integer overtones]:

1. Irregular frequencies: As they are not integer multiples of the fundamental frequency, their waveforms become irregular.
2. Effect on sound quality: They give a rough or muddy impression, adding depth and complexity to the sound.
3. Emotional effect: They evoke a sense of familiarity and warmth, appealing to the listener's emotions.
4. Relation to natural sounds: Many natural sounds, such as wind, waves, and rustling leaves, contain [non-integer overtones].
5. Use in instruments and voices: They are often present in distorted rock guitar sounds and husky voices, enabling unique expressions.

Characteristics of Japanese sound perception:

1. Sensitivity to overtones: Japanese people are sensitive to subtle changes in the overtone structure of sounds.
2. Linguistic processing of natural sounds: There is a tendency to recognize sounds of insects and wind as 'voices'.
3. Fusion of music and language: Japanese traditional music is closely tied to linguistic and musical elements.
4. Emphasis on 'ma': The silence between sounds is also recognized as an important musical element.

These characteristics have a significant influence on Japanese musical expression and sound environment design.
For example, in Japanese gardens, the sounds of insects and water are important elements, which is thought to be based on the unique sound perception of Japanese people.

According to Professor Tadanobu Tsunoda's research, this indicates features observed in individuals who grew up in a Japanese-speaking environment during the critical language formation period from ages 6 to 9.
Specifically:
This includes not only people born in Japan but also foreigners who were raised in a Japanese language environment during this period.
Conversely, even if someone holds Japanese nationality, if they spent this period abroad, they will possess different linguistic characteristics.

1. Professor Tsunoda's research is [Nihonjin no Nō [The Japanese Brain]. Tokyo: Taishukan Shoten, 1978. ; Tsunoda, Tadanobu. Nō no Hakken [The Discovery of the Brain]. Tokyo: Taishukan Shoten, 1981. ; Tsunoda, Tadanobu. 2016. The Brain of Japanese with Japanese as Their Mother Language: Reason・Sensitivity・Emotion, Science of Time and the Earth. Gensosha.], and his research has been continued and developed by Yoshiaki Kikuchi et al. This page also refers to the dialogue between Professor Tsunoda and Fumio Koizumi in Koizumi's book, "What Lies at the Root of Music".
2. The book "Overtones" by Akikazu Nakamura, a shakuhachi performer, was also extensively referenced.
3. Ono Sokki Co., Ltd. "Sound & Brain." Accessed January 16, 2025. https://www.onosokki.co.jp/English/hp_e/patio/brain.htm#.
4. According to Professor Tadanobu Tsunoda's research, this indicates features observed in individuals who grew up in a Japanese-speaking environment during the critical language formation period from ages 6 to 9.
   Specifically:
   This includes not only people born in Japan but also foreigners who were raised in a Japanese language environment during this period.
   Conversely, even if someone holds Japanese nationality, if they spent this period abroad, they will possess different linguistic characteristics.