Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas (A) Analysis and synthesis of deep SHITSUKAN information in the real world


D02-11 Understanding “YUGEN” of Noh’s singing as ambient sound


Shunsuke Kidani Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

This study aims to clarify the physical characteristics unique to Noh chant that make humans perceive “YUGEN”. When listening to Noh’s singing, many Japanese probably recognize it as something unique to Noh. Zeami said, “In Noh, the first and most important thing is to be YUGEN”. The word “YUGEN,” which describes something profound and unfathomable, is a traditional Japanese sense of deep SHITSUKAN. In order to clarify what are the physical characteristics that make us perceive the Japanese beauty and ethereal of YUGEN, this study will not only focus on the human vocalizations in the singing but also on the ambient changes caused by the stage space and the Noh masks. This study focuses on spectral temporal modulation (STM) information, which allows us to simultaneously analyze spectral modulation components (corresponding to the movement of vocal cords and vocal tract) and temporal modulation components (corresponding to changes in ambient). This study will clarify how the perception of YUGEN changes when the STM information is varied through perceptual experiments.