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Ma and Traditional Japanese Aesthetics in Spatial Music and Sonic Art

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2025

Austin Oting Har Open the ORCID record for Austin Oting Har [Opens in a new window]
Austin Oting Har*
Affiliation:
University of the Virgin Islands, USA
*
Corresponding author: Austin Oting Har; Email: austinotinghar@gmail.com
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Abstract

This article surveys spatial music and sonic art influenced by the traditional Japanese concept of ma – translated as space, interval, or pause – against the cultural backdrop of Shintoism and Zen Buddhism. Works by Jōji Yuasa, Midori Takada, Michael Fowler, Akiko Hatakeyama, Kaija Saariaho and Jim Franklin created in conscious engagement with ma are analysed with respect to diverse manifestations of ma in Japanese arts and social sciences, including theatre, poetry, painting, rock garden, shakuhachi and psychotherapy. Jean-Baptiste Barrière provided the Max patch for Saariaho’s Only the Sound Remains (2015) for this survey. I propose a framework of six interlinking dimensions of ma – temporal, physical, musical, semantic, therapeutic and spiritual – for discussing creative approaches to ma, alongside their resonance with Hisamatsu Shin’ichi’s seven interconnected characteristics of Zen art: Asymmetry, Simplicity, Austere Sublimity/Lofty Dryness, Naturalness, Subtle Profundity/Deep Reserve, Freedom from Attachment and Tranquility. The aim is first to examine how each composer uses different techniques, technologies and systems to engage with specific dimensions of ma. Second, to illuminate possible futures of exploring these dimensions in spatial music and sonic art through three methods: Inspiration, Transmediation and Expansion.

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Organised Sound , Volume 30 , Issue 2: Perspectives and trajectories in spatial music and sonic art , August 2025 , pp. 152 - 163
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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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